Every time I go to the doctor, I’m told to “stay off ladders.” I suppose that’s good advice at my age and, probably, good advice in general.
Ladders have been associated with bad luck I guess just about as long as they’ve existed. That’s all chalked up to superstition, but actually there’s some truth to that superstition. According to OSHA, falls from ladders account for about 20% of all falls and lost workday injuries. I couldn’t find any statistics on accidents caused by walking under ladders, but just the same….
From Egyptian times, ladders were believed to be used to help spirits climb to heaven. Walking under a ladder might disturb and anger a spirit who was using it. In the Middle Ages, walking under a ladder was unlucky because leaning a ladder against a wall formed a triangle. This symbol of divine trinity, Father Son and Holy Spirit, was broken when someone walked through it. But there was another powerful reason for staying away from ladders. Before gallows were invented, criminals were hung from the top rungs of ladders, and their angry ghosts might still be “hanging around.”
But if you do happen to walk under a ladder, there are several ways you can reverse any bad luck coming your way. The “historic” solution is to spit three times through the rungs. This seems to work — maybe it just disgusts the evil spirits into leaving you alone.
So my doctor apparently knows what she’s talking about — be wary of ladders…..
— 30 —