VERY SUPERSTITIOUS

Why so many of us can't resist knocking on wood, tossing salt, and more.

- MAYA KUKES

NOPE. Throwing salt over your shoulder when a shaker topples does not have magical powers to influence the future. But a bunch of us still do it! In fact, some estimates find that more than half of Americans are superstitious in some way.

Researchers say it's a control thing an attempt to manage the uncertainty of life. The human brain is inclined to seek out cause-and-effect relationships to find order in the chaos, but sometimes it gets too eager to make connections and mistakes a coincidence for a consequence. Superstitious beliefs are then passed down in families and cultures, taking root in our psyches. Suddenly black cats are getting the cold shoulder.