10 common Western superstitions

10. Spilling salt is a bad omen.

Spilling salt is bad luck because in Roman times, salt was so valuable that soldiers were paid in salt rather than money. Spilling it was equal to burning money. I'm not sure where throwing a pinch of salt over your left shoulder negates the action of spilling, but I can tell you that it is where the word 'salary' came from.

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