How superstitious are you?

[Rush-2112]

I tend to think I'm not very superstitious...but I was walking home today from the store, and saw a ladder suspended above (it was attached onto a truck or something, the other end on a roof.) As I was walking, I thought for a split second walking under it; but almost impulsively, turned and walked around the truck it was attached to. Despite this, I saw many people still walking under the ladder. Guess I'm more superstitious than I thought!

What say you, TB...share your superstitions!

 

[stratovani]

I'm not in the least bit superstitious. I live in the 21st Century, in a world of evidence, with no room for medieval silliness.

 

[turbo chicken]

i am not...

i like to make people uneasy by doing things like walking under ladders... several times in a row.

 

[CrewsControl]

I would walk around a ladder to avoid being struck if someone on the ladder drops a tool or something. Nothing to do with superstition.

I do avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, but that's because I'm a borderline ADHD/Asbergers/OCD type.

 

[nickbass79]

I don't think you are superstitious, I just think you don't want something dropping on your head. Some people have more of an instinct of self preservation, the ones who walked under it, don't.

 

[LarryO]

I don't believe in superstitions.......thats bad luck

 

[MatticusMania]

Ever since I broke that mirror my life has gradually improved.

 

[Unrepresented]

I would walk around a ladder to avoid being struck if someone on the ladder drops a tool or something. Nothing to do with superstition.

+1.

Some superstitions are a product of legitimate functions, and that's the reason they still survive.

There's plenty that aren't, however. Distinguishing between the two is the challenge.

 

[punkjazzben]

I'm not one tiny bit superstitious. But as a historian and a sceptic, I enjoy talk about this stuff. AFAIK the origins of the walking under a ladder superstition were that the ladder, as a triangle, represented the Holy Trinity and to walk through such a shape was blasphemous. But common sense dictates that its a dangerous idea either way.

From the Skeptic's Dictionary entry on superstition:

A superstition is a false belief based on ignorance (e.g., if we don't beat the drums during an eclipse, the evil demon won't return the sun to the sky), fear of the unknown (e.g., if we don't chop up this chicken in just the right way and burn it according to tradition while uttering just the right incantations then the rain won't come and our crops won't grow and we'll starve), trust in magic (e.g., if I put spit or dirt on my beautiful child who has been praised, the effects of the evil eye will be averted), trust in chance (if I open this book randomly and let my finger fall to any word that word will guide my future actions), or some other false conception of causation (e.g., homeopathy, therapeutic touch, vitalism, creationism, or that I'll have good luck if I carry a rabbit's foot or bad luck if a black cat crosses my path).

 

[Solarmist]

Not at all, and I've walked under many, many ladders on jobsites.

 

[MarthaSamira]

Besides the ladder thing, black cats, leave the house with the right foot and keeping a few voodoo dolls around no, not superstitious at all...

 

[bassistjoe93]

"I'm not superstitious... But I am a little-stitious."

In all seriousness though, I'm not at all.

 

[bluesblaster]

your only superstitious if you believe that stuff, so stop believing it and you'll be cured of superstition. No need to thank me, all in a days work here at TBOT.

 

[jp58]

Very superstitious

 

[6jase5]

Very superstitious

Superstition ain't the way.

 

[Junk420]

Growing up a goaltender up here in Canada, one tends to develop...I think "tendencies" is what my dad called it.

To this day, my feet have never touched the blue line.

 

[bluesblaster]

It aint gonna bite you.... go ahead and skate all over that thing. Its just some blue paint encrusted in ice, absolutly nothing to be afraid of..... trust me.

just to clarify ,when you say "feet" you mean like bare feet? street shoes ? or skates ?

 

[Phalex]

I would say I'm not superstitious at all..... And then my best friend suggested we do some ritual he found in a book to summon a demon. I balked.

 

[Dan B]

Depends on the superstition.

Walking under a ladder? That's a bad idea, not a superstition. I've worked in stage lighting and while we try to avoid it we do occasionally drop items (bolts, nuts, trash, and rarely, lamps (bulbs)), and sometimes this is from very high locations (IE if we are doing a focus). Now if the ladder were set up in the middle of a field or somewhere with no discernible purpose, then yeah; I see no problem going under it, but in an active job site? That's risking too much.

Some others I don't see the point. Black cats? The number 13? Stepping on cracks? There things get silly.

 

[machine gewehr]

Black cats are cute.

Mirrors are fun to break but could be an expensive hobby.

Ladders are sometimes dangerous to walk under.

It is silly to open an umbrella indoors, if you really want to do it be cautious as you may poke some one's eye out.

Carrying a dead animals paw is sick, disturbing and not very hygienic. Good luck with the cholera.

I'd like to see you drop that horse shoe onto your big toe.

Superstition is super-silly.

Ooooh and my favourite one: Our fate is written in the stars.

Yeah right, stars are conscious beings making signs at home and make rallies to wave those signs at us so that astrologers can see those and tell us what the **** is going to happen to us. Thanks for taking all the fun of living away Saturn, now I know everything that is going to happen in my life. Thanks for the spoiler, I used to think you're cool.