Superstition is a belief, which is not based on reason or fact, but on associations of ideas, as in magic. Some people believe in one or two superstitions. For instance, many people believe that misfortune will happen if the water in which eggs which have been boiled touches your hand. A potato carried in your pocket will ward you off rheumatism. For the prevention of the toothache; some people believe that the sufferer should drive a nail in a big tree.

Others believe that putting on the left stocking before the right causes bad luck. Opening the umbrella inside the house will make you miserable all the day. Horror of number 13 is a popular superstition. Some hotels, in fact, knowing the fear of this unlucky number, exclude this number from all rooms. Crossed knives on a table means quarrel. Some people believe that a broken mirror foretells a death in the family. In England, throughout the middle ages, horseshoes were nailed on the doors. This keeps away evil spirits. The Japanese nail a piece of wood from a certain tree on their walls to keep off the thieves.