Special Sub-Topic: Me and My Every Day Bad Luck Click Here To Play: Me and My Every Day Bad Luck

My alarm goes off in the morning, and I crawl out of bed ready for another typical day of bad luck. After a hot shower, I go to wipe off the bathroom mirror but to my horror I accidentally knock it over. Great, now I've already started with how many years bad luck?

seven. A broken mirror is supposedly seven years bad luck to the person who has broken the mirror. This superstition has been linked to the Ancient Romans.

On my way out the front door, I carefully avoid walking under something that my wife has been using to paint our living room walls. What have I escaped bad luck from this time?

a ladder. It is said to be bad luck to walk under an open ladder. This superstition can be traced back to medieval Europe.

Once on the street, I begin walking down the sidewalk, careful to avoid stepping on any cracks. What am I afraid will happen if I do so?

my mother's back will break. As the common saying goes, "Don't step on a crack or you'll break your mother's back". Another version is: "Step on a crack, break your mother's back".

Passing through an alley, I am unable to avoid my next encounter with bad luck. A certain colored cat has jumped across my path. What color was this bad omen?

black. According to a common superstition, a black cat crossing your path is a bad luck omen. This belief has roots in medieval Europe.

To my horror there is a dead body at the end of the alley! Before I exit out onto the main road and call the police, I make sure to avoid doing what with the body (to avoid bad luck)?

stepping over it. Even without belief in superstition, it's probably best to walk as far away from a dead body as possible! This superstition has been linked to Russia.

With all this bad luck around me, it's a good thing I always keep a few items handy to ward off such bad luck. I always keep one of these furry creature's feet on my key chain.

rabbit. Rabbit's feet are known to ward off bad luck. According to Wikipedia.org, "It is likely that this belief has existed in Europe since 600 BC".

With dead bodies in alleys, I think my good luck charm might not be enough today. So after I'm done talking to the police, I make sure to do one other thing before I continue on my way. There is a piece of wood on the side of the road. What do I do with it?

knock on it. Knocking on wood is supposed to reverse bad luck. "Knocking on wood" for this purpose is found in cultures around the world.

I arrive at work just as it starts to rain. At least I avoided getting wet, but I quickly notice a few people who will be having bad luck soon enough. They are opening something inside the building before they leave. What are these people opening?

umbrellas. Opening an umbrella indoors is supposedly a cause of bad luck. Any of the other three would just be common sense! This superstition can be traced to Victorian England.

I don't know if it was the rain or not, but I sneeze as I go to sign-in at the front desk. Thankfully, the guard on duty says something that I hope may erase all the bad luck I've been through (or, at the very least, avoid anymore). What does he say?

"God bless you". Even though some people think gesundheit means "God bless you" in German, it merely refers to "good health". "God bless you", however, is said to keep away bad luck.

As I sit down at my desk, I feel that I can finally put my mind at ease with all the day's worries of bad luck. But when I look at the date on the calendar, to my horror, I see there is no way of avoiding bad luck today. It's the most unlucky day of all! What is today?

Friday the 13th. Friday the 13th, although not month specific, is the most widely known bad luck day of all. Belief of its bad luck is prevalent in the West.