Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1920-12-18
HAVE PET BELIEFS
Few Men Are Without Some Su.
perstitious Ideas.
And Most of Them Can Be Traced
Back to Comparatively Com
monplace Origin.

What is your pet superstition!
my pet superstition?" you'll prob
ably answer, with elevated eyebrows.
"Why, haven't any. Superstitions are
for the ignorant people"
But pause moment and rummage
around the shelves of your cerebellum
among your store of modern infOrma-
ton and see if there isn't tucked away
in the corner some old, musty, long
forgotten superstition you'd forgotten
was there.
Do you pick up the pin you see lying
in the street?
If you break a mirror does it give
you a moments uneasiness? Honest,
now?
When you knock over the salt cellar
do yOu-not because you believe it does
any good, of course, but because 1t
can't do any harm-dO you take
pinch and throw it over your left
shoulder?
Do you dislike to accept a So bill?
Would you give your friend knife
without adding a penny to break the
charm?
Would you walk under a ladder?
Do you mind being the thirteenth at
dinner?
These SuperStitiOnS are the most
popular and they aren't at all confined
to uneducated, or even uncultured peo-
pie, as has been demonstrated.
Of recent years an eminent scientist
who had collected much interesting
data on superstitiOns among educated
people decided to put his theory to
high test. He went to one of the lead
ing universities of this country.
"My pet superstition The dignif1ed
old college professor echoed the ques-
ton, removing his eyeglasses to get
better view of the impertinent stran-
ger. "My dear fellow! PrepOsterous
Superstitions belong to the dark ages.
We live in a period of culture"
Whereupon the professor proceeded
to enlighten the stranger with a
lengthy dissertation on his university
and his high literary standing, saying
"One of the oldest universities in
the country, sir, one of the finest. AT
present we have an exceptionally high
attendance. Everything has been run
7 ming smoothly here the intellectual
professor halted to lean over and tap
lightly the wooden top of his desk.
1t developed that &c per cent of the
college professors at this university
were wholly without superstitions, but
some of them had their fingers
! crossed.
A great many of our SuperstltiOns
| have grown up with us through SO
many generations that we are hardly
conscious of their presence. Many OF
! these date back to the early Romans
and Greeks.
Salt in ancient times was used in re,
ligious rites, and supposed to possess
propitiatory powers. But when some
careless emperor's elbow knocked the
salt dish over its powers were lost, and
the only way to insure a peaceful re-
sumption of the meal was to appease
the evil powers by throwing a pinch
of the spilled salt over the left Shout
der.
The superstition connected with 8
broken mirror dates from NapOleOn's
| campaign III 1IdiS, Wien llC u1NiuChloi
ly broke the glass over The picture OF
Josephine. Since glass had always
been connected in any form as sym
boIical of life and death, Napoleon
was overcome with fear that some evi
had befallen Josephine. And because
the broken glass caused the great EN-
perOr uneasiness, the woman on the
street car today pales when she drop:
her pocketbOok and her mirror breaks