I have begun to realise recently that I have picked up my grandmothers habit of being a slave to stupid, completely illogical and unrational superstition.
My daughter brought her umbrella still open into the house a few days ago and I grabbed it, closed it down and said "that's bad luck honey bee", she replied in typical four and half year old fashion "why ?" , I couldn't give her an answer ! My daughter has now started a campaign to try and replicate every superstition I know in order to get the desired reaction.
Shoes on tables, knives and forks crossing on dining tables, tossing coins indoors, spilling salt then throwing some over my shoulder, all bullplop, all completely irrational.
My daughters rationality have meant I am now making a conscious effort to eradicate all these ridiculous practices one by one.

Does anyone else have any stupid superstitions blighting their lives ?

Some superstitions have a practical reason behind them. I'd rather not put my shoes on a surface where people put food & utensils that will go in their mouths. Umbrellas are more likely to be damaged when carried open indoors, and are more likely to scratch or poke someone. And I don't walk under ladders because of what might fall from the top of them!

Otherwise your superstitions sound pretty harmless to me; I'm having a hard time seeing why they'd be a "blight" -- unless you took them seriously....

No. I've never found a need to believe such nonsense.

Someone did tell me once (Well, a lot of people say a lot, but has very little meaning) that "if a bee comes near you, just say butter, over and over, and it will go away."

When the chance presented itself, a Bee came along. This person recited their silly incantation, and got stung. They could not figure out why it just didn't work.

I asked plainly, "Are you afraid of the bee?"

The answer was yes. Deathly afraid of Bee's to the point that logic resides in the buttocks.

I informed them that Bee's, like any other animals (Most) can smell your fear. Now, I'm not sure if they literally smell your fear, or if that is just a metaphor for "getting that feeling on the back of your neck when your being stared at."

In other words, emotional discharge.

Wives tales and superstitous beliefs usually stem from fear, idiocy, misunderstanding, or just plain retardation.

I've never been superstitious.

When I was a child, I did what your daughter is now doing. I intentionally did everything I was not supposed to do in the way of superstition, to prove to my mother that her beliefs were silly. This including whistling at night (said to attract evil spirits), opening umbrellas indoors, walking under ladders, etc.

She especially hated the fact that, as a young teen, I used the local cemetery as a reading spot--thinking I'd bring home the spirits of the dead (it was quiet there, which made for good reading).

I really hate stepping on cracks in sidewalks. I guess its not a superstition in the sense that I think something bad will happen but I'd rather not step on cracks than step on them for no rational reason whatsoever. I can't say it bothers me that much anymore but it used to.

I give no weight to mindless supersitions at all. As reprobate pointed out, there may be some common sense reasons for these old-wives tales to exist, but not some cosmic "boogeyman gonna git you" nonsense.

I think that the superstition has been replaced in modern culture by the "urban legend." Try as I might to avoid these, sooner or later a co-worker will send a mass e-mail, or post it on a bulletin board, or it will come up in a conversation. But, such is the curse of interacting with the "herd."

The most entertaining part of the whole thing is when you challenge them on the fallacy of their subject. They will continue to defend (sometimes with great passion) their erroneous position.

Hmmm, I seem to recall some clever fellow that equated popular lies with cancers, but I can't quite remember his name......

Hey, reprobate, do you think maybe some of these superstitions came about out of a sort of exasperated retaliation against people's stupidity. I can imagine a person working on a ladder, and along comes some mindless ass--walking under it, and then being stupid enough to say "Why not?" when asked not to.

I can imagine a reply going something like "Because I love lime Jello, and Jesus won't love you anymore if you do, you stupid bastard."

In some situations, if a person has to ask, they don't deserve to know.

Of course, this doesn't really work either, since the one working on the ladder is the one being put in danger. This makes me think the answer may be as cynical as this, but intended the other direction. I think this is more likely, considering that if the asshole walking under the ladder knocks me off of it, no superstition is necessary. I personally guarantee his bad luck, and that it will last a long time--assuming he does.

>>Does anyone else have any stupid superstitions
>>blighting their lives ?

I catch myself doing little things like this from time to time. I can't think of any instances where it becomes self-defeating for me, though. I see it as a mix of liking whimsical things that enrich life (in a Douglas Adams kind of way), and my own natural liking of ritualism.

It seems strange that the 21st century there are still so many who place validity in these things or hope in a lucky charm, but there are good reasons why. For one thing, our species seems to be hard-wired for pattern seeking. One book that went into good detail on the subject was Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things. I think there's a lot to be said on the subject from a Satanic point of view, especially when it comes to the ritual chamber.

You certainly don't want to walk under a ladder that I'm on. There's no telling what I might drop, whether accidental or not.

I'm sure most of us have something, whether or not we are conscious of it.

Do I have superstitions? Sure.

And they're all voluntary.

Such as: I pick my feet up when crossing railroad tracks, at the same time I create a little jingle while doing it; it's fun, so who cares?

I also enjoy picking up pennies when they're face-up, then again, I like picking them up when they're face-down too, but the ones that are face-up make me feel all tingly inside.

Is there any substance to these little childhood delights? Of course not, but they're childhood delights that I remember fondly and continue to replicate in an attempt to create a momentary feeling of nostalgia.

Do I give them a second thought once I've finished the mini-ritual?

Why would I? Nobody's watching anyway.

Yeah, now that I consider the question, I have a couple of superstitions, but they're usually for fun, and I just do them for fun. It adds a little extra magic to the day.

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Does anyone else have any stupid superstitions blighting their lives ?

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I have a superstition. I believe rubbing myself in sardines and swimming in shark infected waters brings bad luck...