Although I am generally rational, I am superstitious I never walk under ladders or put shoes on the table If I spill the salt, I go into frenzied calisthenics picking up the grains and tossing them over my left shoulder As a result of these curious activities, I’ve always wondered whether knowing the roots of superstitions would quell my irrational responses Superstition has it, for example, that one should never place a hat on the bed This superstition arises from a time when head lice were common and placing a guest’s hat on the bed stood a good chance of spreading lice through the host’s bed Doesn’t this make good sense And doesn’t it stand to reason that, if I know that my guests don’t have lice, I shouldn’t care where their hats go Of course it does It is fair to ask, then, whether I have changed my ways and place hats on beds Are you kidding I wouldn’t put a hat on a bed if my life depended on it