James Parnell answered
There is absolutely no scientific explanation for good or bad luck. The idea that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck is just superstition, with no scientific grounding at all.
These superstitions date back to medieval times, when the black cat was usually associated with witches or other bad omens.
What is the scientific explanation for the black cat superstition?
These superstitions date back to medieval times, when the black cat was usually associated with witches or other bad omens.
What is the scientific explanation for the black cat superstition?
- There is no scientific explanation, but what is interesting is that the black cat superstition is different in different areas of the world.
- In southern Europe and most parts of the western world, seeing a black cat or a black cat crossing your path is considered to bring bad luck.
- However, in Great Britain, Ireland and Japan, the sighting of a black cat crossing your path is considered to bring good luck! More specifically, in Scotland, a black cat arriving at a home is said to indicate that prosperous times lie ahead for the residents.
- During the middle ages - when black cats were commonly associated with witches - many were slaughtered because people believed that they were demons. This had the rather unfortunate side-effect of increasing the rat population, which then spread the Bubonic Plague, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. The Plague is estimated to have killed 30-60% of the population of Europe.
