World Superstitions Decoded
Black cat, broken mirror, ladder: where do these beliefs come from, and why do they stick?
What this quiz asks
- 1Which number is thought to bring bad luck across much of the Western world?
- 2What do people traditionally do after spilling salt, to ward off bad luck?
- 3How many years of bad luck does a broken mirror supposedly bring?
- 4To avoid tempting fate after boasting about good news, you touch…
- 5In several East Asian countries, which number is avoided because it sounds like the word for "death"?
- 6A horseshoe nailed above a door is meant to draw luck, as long as it is placed…
- 7In France, crossing paths with which animal at night is taken as a bad omen?
- 8Opening an umbrella indoors is said to bring bad luck. What origin is often suggested?
- 9By one popular reading, what would the leaves of a four-leaf clover stand for?
- 10In Spain and Greece, which day replaces Friday the 13th as the unlucky one?
