The Truth Behind 10 Common Superstitions

Spilling salt has been surrounded by superstition for literally thousands of years. It began with the Ancient Sumerians in 3500 BC, carried on through the Ancient Greek and Roman periods and eventually ended up with your mad aunt who also believes that you shouldn't wear green on stage.

Salt hasn't always been the cheap and cheerful seasoning that we know it as. Throughout history it has been considered as one of the most valuable commodities on earth, to the point where it was the central item in one of Gandhi's most famous protests, the Salt March, and Roman Soldiers were actually paid in salt. In fact, we get our word "salary" from the Roman "Salarium" meaning "salt money".

The bad luck element probably comes from the fact that if you were to spill someone's salt, you'd probably be in for a bit of bad luck in the form of a good slap. Although, if you then began chucking it over your shoulder to try and negate the bad luck (and blossoming black eye), you'd probably only make matters worse. Best to just buy him a pint and say sorry.