Why do we, as humans, do certain things and why did we start doing them in the first place? Some superstitions are so ingrained in modern English-speaking societies that many people perform them or, at least, feel slightly uneasy about not doing so. So why don't we walk under ladders? Why, after saying something good, do we knock on wood? Why do nonreligious people "bless" a sneeze? And why are black cats considered unlucky?
SOURCES
https://www.britishmuseum.org/membership/events/ancient-origins-modern-superstition
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3861&context=extensionhist
Sacred Texts, "The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs: Introduction"
Monica-Maria Stapelberg, "Old Wives' Tales?"
B. F. Skinner, "Superstition' in the Pigeon," Journal of Experimental Psychology #38, 1947
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