Superstition: Black cats are bad omens.
Backstory:
1. Egyptians worshipped Cats as Gods. The Norse God Freya rode in a chariot pulled by cats.
Cats were associated with GODS.
Cats eventually took a big hit to their reputation in 1200s when the Pope Gregory waged a cultural war on Pagan symbols. He dammed cats as servants of Satan. As a result cats especially black were killed across Europe.
Superstition: A full moon brings out the crazies.
Backstory
Lunatic comes from the latin word for the moon: LUNA
Lunar Effect: The influence of the moon on behaviour. Roman Godess of moon Luna supposedly drives one crazy.
Aristotle: He considered the human brain the moistest organ particularly susceptible to Lunas pull.
In some places Emergency room workers still believe in such superstition
Illusory Correlation: Perception that association exist where it actually does not.
Superstition: Break a mirror and see seven years of bad luck
Backstory
Reflection does not just reveal your appearance. Reflection supposedly holds a piece of your soul.
Origin of such beliefs: Romans
Romans were the founders of glass mirrors. Ancient Romans believed that the human body and soul regenerate every seven years. So on breaking a glass mirror you end up fracturing your soul. Fractured souls brings 7 years of bad luck.
Superstition: Say God bless you after a sneeze or risk something worse than a cold.
Backstory
Origin: Pope Gregory 1
Story: During the first recorded plague pandemic in sixth century severe sneezing often portended sudden death. As a desperate precuation, Pope Gregory 1 supposedly asked followers to say God bless you everytime someone sneezed.
Today most people say it for being polite.
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