The world's most bizarre superstitions and proverbs - Christopher Cooper

If you live in Iceland it's important that you wear a new item of clothing on Christmas Day, otherwise you could fall victim to. . .the Christmas. Cat! Cat-lovers will appreciate "Bizarre Proverbs And Superstitions" because there are more devoted to our feline friends than any other member of the animal kingdom. Ireland is the worst place to run a cat over, because there it's 17 years bad luck; in France they believe cats can lead to buried treasure, while the Dutch used to shut them out of rooms in case they were eavesdropping on their private conversations.

Elsewhere in the world, Filipinos will dress up in polka dots on New Year's Eve to attract money in the year ahead. In Korea, they refuse to cut their toenails after dark, fearful that the cuttings will form themselves into a malignant spirit. Elsewhere in Korea, odd numbers are considered lucky and even numbers unlucky, so it's impossible to buy a six-pack of beer, it has to be a seven-pack. When it comes to inscrutable proverbs, nobody does it better than the Chinese, who often use the truism, "All crows are equally black." Though even the Chinese will appreciate the undeniably sensible East African proverb, "He who waters his neighbors cattle must first put his foot in the water hole."