When you see a black cat crossing your path, you panic? When it is Friday the 13th you rather choose not to go anywhere and just stay at home hidden under the blanket? Well, you are definitely superstitious! Sometimes I am just wondering whether there is a logic explanation and origin of the superstitions or it is just a plain common sense.
The walking under ladder superstition
Back in ancient Egypt, priests placed ladders in the tombs for dead people, so if they wanted they might have decided to ascend upward. The created area between the ladder and the wall was believed to be the space of spirits. Ladder leaned against the wall and formed the natural triangle that was believed to be sacred. It was also a space to be avoided as spirits rest there.
Those who somehow walked under the ladder could placate the disturbed spirits by placing their thumb between their index and middle finger. That is the method of warding off the bad luck. People who walked under the ladder in Middle Age in Christian Europe would cross their fingers on both hands, sign of a cross protected them from any evil lurking in the space between the ladder and wall. The interesting fact was that if you were forced to walk under the ladder against your will, you could receive something you wished for.
Although there are still people who are superstitious, nowadays ladders have become more a tool that can cause a lot of accidents. According to the study of American Journal of Preventative Medicine, there were 2.1 million of people sent to hospital because of ladders in years between 1990 and 2005.
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Silvia M.//SMC Editor
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Credits: livescience.com, timelessmyths.co.uk, wisegeek.org, unexplainedstuff.com, popularmechanics.com, googleimages
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