Origins of 5 Common Superstitions

PATREON: / generalistpapers
Why are we afraid of black cats, breaking mirrors and walking under ladders? And why do we knock on wood, and throw salt over our shoulder?
Some sources:
Popular Superstitions by Mary Hughes
artsandculture.google.com/sto...
www.livescience.com/33507-ori...
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Music by Kevin MacLeod.
#superstitions #black cat

[@robertholt6444]

Poor black cats. Nice music on this one.

[@whycantiremainanonymous8091]

1:40: Russia? I was taught all manner of black cat superstition by my Russian parents. A *white* cat is considered a harbinger of good luck, but a black cat definitely isn't. There's even a popular Soviet tune that goes: "They say it's bad luck/If a black cat crosses your path/But for now it's the other way around:/It's only the black cat who is unlucky".

[@samsonwilkinson8090]

Your illustration shows a man throwing salt over his RIGHT shoulder.

[@TrevorRGHolt]

I liked it! It was easy to follow and you kept a mystical tone in your voice and it was amplified by a good choice of music which was perfect for you setting! I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to your other videos!

[@missread7781]

In UK I was always taught 'lucky black cat'. You could even buy broaches of black cats to bring you luck.

[@user-rh1jo1yy9e]

I've always interpreted the walking under the ladder bad luck as basically "That was really stupid. You're really stupid. You're probably gonna hurt yourself if you keep on being so stupid."

[@JohnDoe-gq8tt]

I agree with you I have always thought the same I think it is more likely

[@davidhallett8783]

Don t listen to everything people tell you

[@kayzeaza]

It’s crazy that people today still don’t like black cats. My black cat is so cute 🥰

[@guitarguru.3572]

I don’t think it was the rats, but rather the fleas they carried. I don’t know that for sure, though.

[@spazbobstinkpants]

To me one of the funniest superstitions is people blessing other people after a sneeze so that their soul does not escape. SMH. 🦨💨 ... Of course there are many variations (which I would love to hear).

[@bravehome4276]

It could be seen as unfortunate that the poor fellow in the video is throwing salt over his right shoulder….

[@tiredoshawott7823]

Friendly reminder: if you see anyone kicking a black cat or something like that, you are allowed to kick the person yourself.

[@spazbobstinkpants]

My daughter named our channel after a black cat and I approve this message.

[@codyofathens3397]

Black cats are unlucky, because idiots hurt them, and then get instant bad luck when good people beat the crap out of the people who hurt the poor kitties.

[@phillippierce5974]

Walking under a ladder comes with a legitimate chance for bad luck. I've seen it! A friend of mine walked under a ladder and ended up wearing the contents of a can of orange oil based paint. Everyone who saw it happen had a good laugh, but he didn't. Better luck next time!

[@kosmonaut5]

these videos are underrated. Love the art and word flow

[@abc_13579]

This is an excellent video; you explain everything very well. I'm looking forward to seeing what other videos you've made.

[@LSSD1292]

Knocking wood - among this five superstitions - is the only one practiced in Greece. We use it when someone says hypothetically that someone fails or dies in an example giving matter.

[@dpainter1526]

Interesting, I always wondered about the throwing salt over the left shoulder!

[@davidhallett8783]

4 29 especially if you don t know which one is your left shoulder. That s sure to bring bad luck right

[@beckoutloud4364]

Awesome content! Thank you for your videos!

[@staahbutteflai9891]

The quality on your videos is very good! You are sure to gain quite a lot views soon

[@gastonville11]

Thx for putting this together.

[@Oukow]

😮 This was cool!! Thank you!!

[@deborahvretis3195]

Love this stuff!

[@vishnurodondo4200]

Great stuff 💯😎

[@uverpro3598]

Nice Halloween episode.

[@vanjapuskaric9860]

I like your videos and consider them wery clear and interesting to watch. In slavic culture also knocking on trees in the woods was important to see if they are hollow. In that case this means that something is living there and could be esaly trapped. Hollow trees have birds nests with egs and mamals with precious fur....but the biggest finding will be the bee nest with honey...this was considered as particularly lucky knocking

[@reachandler3655]

It's my understanding that walking under ladders is bad luck because a ladder would be against the gallows, and the person under it would be hanging from the noose.

[@stevensteven7165]

Interesting stuff

[@gregoryambres1897]

My grandmother would stop COLD in the middle of the street driving if a black cat crossed it, and turn back in the opposite direction. My brother and I thought that she was NUTS.

[@Aprl521]

I liked the information, but twice I tried to clean that spot of dirt off of my monitor.

[@LoriAW3791]

Very interesting

[@user-kw6ez2gc5g]

Greate video,love it

[@NguniPrince]

You know in Southern Africa, witches use cats,owls and rats to spy on their victims.

[@uplink-on-yt]

This is how I think about these: - black cat: very hard to see in low light, thus probably a tripping hazard (not that other colour cats are much more reflective of moonlight or anything) - broken mirror: it's expensive shit, and you'll get a beating from the owner, as they spent a lot of money on it (but I like the explanation that involves atmospheric conditions and the strength of the mirror material) - walking under a ladder: health and safety wasn't much of a concern until around the second half of the 20th century, so walking under a ladder risked a cracked skull from whatever was happening above Support for my interpretations: nope. Just interpretation of human thought and behaviour in a way that seems plausible to me personally. Very likely I'm wrong.

[@adamperryofficial]

Dank video breh

[@user-td6wy7xe8s]

Lots wife looked over her left shoulder and was turned into a pillar of salt

[@obed818]

I’wd be interested in looking about roman’s belief of the seven years life’s cycle, ive been searching on the internet and i cant find anything Oo nice video btw +1

[@gregorygarcia7807]

I understand that black cats in Scotland are good luck.

[@canwelook]

The first superstition I thought of was belief in god(s). So it was interesting that Christianity was associated with other superstitions you selected.

[@Archimedes_1945]

That's not true! Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians do believe that a black cat crossing your path is a very bad luck sign. I am Ukrainian, so that comes from a guy who deals with this on a daily basis.

[@frankmitchell3594]

Used to be so in Britain not so long ago. My wife was given a toy black cat for at our wedding for good luck.

[@alfacentauri3686]

I don't walk under ladders anymore after a tool fell on my shoulder. Pretty good luck that time though. 😉

[@leonlvn2221]

Too funny

[@CAP198462]

Roman mirrors weren’t made in the same way our mirrors are today either. Couldn’t that have something to do with the superstition.

[@jeffersonott4357]

« Their association with bad luck started in medieval Europe, especially in the 14th century ». Narrator in reference to cats. So, yea, why? That was the point of the video, right? But you didn’t explain the reason they were considered a reason for bad luck, just kinda the history of them as a symbol. Did a good job with the other topics, and I enjoyed the video.

[@zayden1569]

Because the black death plague

[@syednouman4932]

epic

[@v.e.7236]

You could have gone to six - the Friday the 13th superstition was due to the Knights Templar being rounded up by the then Pope on Friday the 13th of 1128. Now all Friday the 13ths are bad luck days or days of increased potential for evil to occur.

[@michaeljohn7398]

I am stunned at how stupid some people are when it comes to superstition. Cheers from Michael. Australia.

[@raydawson2767]

The thing with cats,they would catch flees from rats,rats only carried the flees,the flees carried the virus.

[@theobolt250]

A note of concern here is called for. It concerns the cause of the plague or Black Death in the 14th century. You pointed to rats. There is reason to believe that rats as carriers of plague invested fleas played indeed a part in this. But... this is questionable. There is no conclusive proof that this was the case and one or two other culprits have since come to light in the cause of further scientific research for the cause(s) of the Black Death. So, a caveat at least was in place where mentioning of rats as (part of) the cause is done.

[@manassrivastava1214]

Holy Ghost👻

[@davidnotonstinnett]

Audio is so quiet :(

[@daveyclysm483]

Dude...why is the intro 2 seconds at full volume then it kicks back to half volume immediately..!!

[@daveyclysm483]

gotta make everything 200x louder. more fireworks. shoutouts and fan prizes and hot pockets. EDIT: good vid

[@myragroenewegen5426]

If there was the same plague and witchcraft panic in Europe as in America, why are black cats, in particular, good luck today in Britain and Ireland. I've either got the history bungled here, or I'm missing a piece of it.

[@Fireball006]

Cats are probably witches tbh

[@pauljohnston8011]

About the mirrors, i heard a different truth.

[@salvtrooper113]

Biblical Christianity has at no point ever taught that knocking on wood calls upon the Lord. Praying is direct communication with the Lord and that’s what the Bible teaches. Nor has it taught that a Ladder symbolizes the Trinity. All these things must be pagan in origin and adapted into “Christian thought” as the Catholics have been prone to do. And in “Christian folklore” it is not taught the devil sits on peoples shoulders or that salt can blind him. Nor is it taught Judas spilled salt. The Bible doesn’t teach it therefore the Church never taught it, it must also be pagan tradition being brought in by Catholic cultural adoption.

[@davidhallett8783]

I have some information that will be useful to you THE REST of your life. At 4 29 you re throwing the salt over your RIGHT shoulder not your left. What state are you all from

[@dougwalker4944]

...opening minute... not rat... flea?

[@LoriAW3791]

People we're always wrecking ecology. smh

[@tashleyh]

Umm new science. Not rat fleas, human lice. Update

[@clintcarpentier2424]

Black cat - Crazy cat lady. Broken mirror - Without a proper vacuum cleaner, you'll be picking shards outta your sole for years. Ladder - Easier to blame your misfortune on dumb luck, rather than admit you weren't paying attention. Yes, this is called blaming the victim; it's how you learn to prevent a repeat. Wood - I got nothing funny here. Just don't knock on my wood. Salt - ? So if you drop your money, be sure to throw it over your shoulder.

[@IvanIvanov-ug5dc]

Oh, no! In Russia we have a lot of stupid people that think that a black cat crossing your path means bad luck. Most of them are not stupid enough to harm the poor animals. But there is no "black cat brings luck" in Russia.

[@kaywired2004]

If that’s what was happening to black cats imagine for black folks …

[@noahway13]

People STILL believe in this stuff, and in gods and angels and demons and goblins.

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

Great video. Well researched and presented. Sadly, if you want a lot of views you need to produce short garbage with a clickbait thumbnail. But that's not my thing so I'm subscribing to your channel. I'll watch them all and give each a thumbs up. Thank you for your efforts. I hope you get properly rewarded for them.

[@freckleKaren]

black cats aren’t a sign of good luck in Russia. we have the same superstitions regarding black cats as most of the world. where did you even get this

[@ralphkrattli6607]

CATS DO NOT HUNT RATS

[@redneckshaman3099]

I'm addicted to pigger nussy ❣️

[@ridanann]

You threw the show over your right shoulder also the Trinity is not Christian it's Celtic Europeans just included it in Christianity because Christianity is literally the Middle East and Europe creating religious baby. An experiment which by the way has failed miserably

[@parkb5320]

I don’t understand how Judas is “a major villain in the Bible”. Had he not betrayed Jesus, Jesus would have never been crucified and thus would have never”died for our sins.” Judas had to betray Jesus in order for us to be redeemed. Had Judas not betrayed Jesus, we wouldn’t have been saved. Judas should be a hero.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

3:45 We just can't admit that the "dryad in wood" is a modern invention? Also, you do know that there is practically no Celtic culture in the British Isles, right? The Celtic tribes inhabited the northern parts of what are now France and Germany.

[@genericcommenter1267]

Never tell an irish or Scottish person that they're not celtic. They keep alive the only celtic languages left in the world.

[@JesusRocksTryPrayin]

Mirrors don't steal souls they cause souls to steal themselves. Vanity. Choose Jesus! Choose life!