Superstition

Superstition

What do you think of when someone mentions superstition? Black cats?
The rather funky baseline of the Stevie Wonder song? People sneezing
repeatedly and touching the ground for no apparent reason? Superstition
is a very strange thing but even stranger are the people who believe
it.

Take the number 13 for example - what is so amazing? Why 13? It
doesn't make sense. Every couple of months there will be a little
hoo-har because - SHOCK! HORROR! - It's a Friday and it's the 13th.
Look people - the world has stopped on it's axis! Nothing interesting
happens on Friday the 13th, so what's the big deal? According to top
psychologist it's because people preconceive Friday the 13th as being
incredibly unlucky and so they remember all the bad events that day.
Wow. The whole notion is of course utter cots-wallop but people really
do believe 13 to be cryptic. People that is, like the Italians who do
not have a number 13 in their national lottery. The French have a
'secret service' that organizes 'emergency party guests' so that no
host should suffer the horror of having 13 guests. Alas, even the
British don't have a 13th floor in hotels or a 13th row on an
aeroplane. But of course there is an 13th floor and a 13th row it's
just called the 14th.

Superstition is madness in disguise. I was superstitious when I was a
kid but I got too confused I could never remember which way the black
cat was supposed to walk for good luck or bad luck. I couldn't remember
if it was a black bird or a magpie that was supposed to bring good
luck. Or was it bad luck? However, once waiting at the bus stop I was
'deposited' on by a rather rude bird. Apparently it's good luck if you
get hit on the head but the stupid bird missed and it just went all
down my back. This I conclude was perhaps bad luck.