Irwin J. Weill

“ As the traditional companion of witches, the black cat has become an omen that misfortune and ill luck will quickly follow in its wake... In early times superstitious people believed that witches and evil spirits could assume the forms of black animals, particularly black cats—and during the middle ages the brain of a black cat was considered an important ingredient in witchcraft recipes and prescriptions! ”

“ The origin of the very old superstition that a four-leafed clover' portends fortune and happiness is lost in antiquity... One old legend is that Eve, upon being ejected from the Paradise, took a four-leafed clover with her. ”

“ In Monte Carlo and other gambling places there is a belief that after a suicide of an unlucky player, all those playing against the bank will win! When the news of a suicide becomes known, therefore, the card rooms at once fill with eager players!
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed. ”