Question 1 of 12Correct: 0
What is the ban on whistling linked to?
Why do such bans last so long?
What is known about the superstition’s origin?
Why do people who do not believe in superstitions follow it?
Why does thirteen seem like an awkward number?
Why do elevators sometimes skip this floor number?
Why do rituals deliberately involve breaking dishes?
Where does breaking a bottle against a ship's hull come from?
Why was the black cat linked to a bad omen in Europe?
Why does the black-cat omen seem convincing?
What is considered magical thinking?
Where is the line between a harmless ritual and a problem?
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Why You Shouldn't Whistle Indoors0/2Why People Knock on Woodin the app0/2Why people fear the number thirteen0/2Why People Break Plates for Good Luckin the app0/2Where the superstition about black cats came fromin the app0/2What Is Magical Thinking0/2
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Answers and explanations12 questions
- What is the ban on whistling linked to? Summoning wind and attracting evil spiritsSailors considered whistling a way to summon wind, while folk beliefs saw it as a way to call evil spirits.From “Why You Shouldn't Whistle Indoors”
- Why do such bans last so long? Following them costs nothing, while breaking them feels uncomfortableSuperstitions outlive their explanations: people repeat them today without believing in them.From “Why You Shouldn't Whistle Indoors”
- What is known about the superstition’s origin? There are several versions, and none is provenSuperstitions rarely leave written traces: they are recorded only after their origins have been forgotten.From “Why People Knock on Wood”
- Why do people who do not believe in superstitions follow it? Knocking takes seconds, while not knocking feels uncomfortableWhen the costs are so unequal, “just in case” beats “that’s nonsense.”From “Why People Knock on Wood”
- Why does thirteen seem like an awkward number? It breaks the familiar complete set after twelveThirteen comes after the convenient complete set of twelve and feels extra in familiar counting.From “Why people fear the number thirteen”
- Why do elevators sometimes skip this floor number? The floor is harder to sell because of superstitionSkipping the number is a business calculation: people avoid such apartments, and the missing floor only reinforces the superstition.From “Why people fear the number thirteen”
- Why do rituals deliberately involve breaking dishes? An irreversible action marks a transitionWords can be taken back, but what is broken cannot, making the event irreversible.From “Why People Break Plates for Good Luck”
- Where does breaking a bottle against a ship's hull come from? Earlier sacrificial libationsIf the bottle did not break, it was and still is considered a bad sign.From “Why People Break Plates for Good Luck”
- Why was the black cat linked to a bad omen in Europe? The cat's night life and independence were linked to evilCats walked silently at night and did not obey people, so they were folded into fears of evil spirits.From “Where the superstition about black cats came from”
- Why does the black-cat omen seem convincing? Memory highlights bad days after a meeting and forgets ordinary onesA bad day after an encounter is easy to remember as a link, while ordinary days give memory nothing to hold onto.From “Where the superstition about black cats came from”
- What is considered magical thinking? Believing that like affects like and thoughts change the worldThis also includes the idea that things that have been in contact stay connected forever.From “What Is Magical Thinking”
- Where is the line between a harmless ritual and a problem? In freedom: can you skip it, and does it replace action?Substitution is dangerous: an amulet instead of a doctor, a ritual instead of preparation.From “What Is Magical Thinking”