Communications You are walking down the street and there is a ladder on the sidewalk. Do you go under it or around it? You walk a little further and you see a four leaf clover. Would you pick it up or keep walking? As your walking, you see a black cat cross your path. Would you ignore it or run to the nearest tree so you could “knock on wood”? You may have found that one or more of your answers have proved you to be superstitious. According to Forbes, twelve percent of Americans are superstitious about walking under a ladder, thirteen percent for a black cat crossing the path, and twenty five percent for knocking on wood. We all are superstitious at times and do not even realize it! This topic is appealing to me because it affects everyone. Growing up, my dad was superstitious. He didn’t like the number thirteen or black cats. He would never walk under a ladder and was very careful not to break a mirror. I used to laugh at him but doing this research has made me realize that I’m superstitious in some ways too so I should probably call him and apologize when I’m done.
All countries have their own superstitions that they believe in. First we are going to look at the different superstitions each country follows. Arturo Bartolome lives in Spain and tells the superstition of Salamanca University. There is a frog carved on the wall in front of the doors to the school. Students must touch the frog for luck on test days. It’s believed if they do not touch the frog, they will be unsuccessful.
In Korea, they believe if they see ravens or crows in the morning they will have bad luck for the rest of the day. People there do not wash their hair on test days because it will wash away their memory if what was studied. They don’t cut their nails at night because they believe a rodent will eat them and take their spirit. That superstition came about when