UK NEWS

KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED

Almost half the population believe bizarre rituals will bring them good luck

Saturday October 10,2009

By Sarah Westcott

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MILLIONS of Britons are so superstitious they still touch wood and avoid walking under ladders, a study has found.

Almost half the population believe bizarre rituals will bring them good fortune or ward off bad luck. These include wearing lucky socks or pants, avoiding walking across three drains, and saying “white rabbits” on the first day of each month.

A third of people think it is unlucky to put up an umbrella indoors, four out of 10 regularly touch wood and half of us would never walk under a ladder.

A similar number always make a wish when blowing out birthday candles while a third throw spilled salt over their left shoulder and nearly as many would always put money in a purse or wallet before giving it as a gift.

The study of 3,000 people also found 38 per cent regularly cross their fingers, while a fifth refuse to pass others on the stairs and one in 10 won’t walk on cracks in the pavement.

Interestingly, three quarters of those polled said they knew these superstitions were unlikely to work, but did them anyway “just in case”.

A spokesman for the National Lottery, which carried out the research, said: “People shouldn’t be too hasty to dismiss their superstitions.

“In a poll of lottery millionaires over a third admitted receiving a sign of their impending win, and one in 10 admitted having a lucky charm.” Professor Bruce Hood, author of SuperSense: Why We Believe In The Unbelievable, said: “Whenever we encounter life events where the outcome is uncertain, we are inclined to rituals to recreate the circumstances that we think were responsible for previous successes. Rituals also provide comfort in difficult times, making them less stressful.”