With a pinch of salt

STORIES BEHIND OUR SUPERSTITIONS

- TOM STICHBURY

BOFFINS have discovered we are far more superstitious than previously thought, as the Daily Star revealed yesterday.

In a recent study, just one in 500 said they weren’t plagued by any irrational fears. Keeping his fingers well and truly crossed, TOM STICHBURY unearths the stories behind some of the world’s most enduring superstitions...

BARKING: The belief that knocking on wood wards off bad luck dates back to Pagan times, when spirits and gods were said to live in trees. Folk would rap on the trunks and ask for protection. It was later linked to Christianity - the wood of the cross - along with a 19-century version of tag called Tiggy Touchwood, in which players claimed immunity by touching the nearest wooden object.