Ever wonder why rabbits and their feet are associated with luck? Or why even though fear of spiders is especially popular, many associate them with luck and prosperity? Or why cats, and especially black cats, carry so many superstitions?

For the month of March, I’ll be looking at the stories behind common superstitions and symbols of luck.

I’m your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Lucky Animals.

The role of E.B. White was played by Jason Bryant from Mat Talk Online.

Love this series? GET THE CD! The entire Luck & Superstitions series is available on CD -- the perfect gift for people who love trivia but aren't into podcasts (yet). http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00ZI65G5

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Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/rabbits-foot-considered-lucky/

http://www.csicop.org/superstition/library/rabbits_foot

http://www.csicop.org/superstition/library/spiders

http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols

http://mentalfloss.com/article/67639/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-charlottes-web

http://people.com/pets/10-lucky-animals-that-can-help-you-win-the-powerball-jackpot/cats

http://goodlucksymbols.com/spider-symbolism/

http://www.luckymojo.com/spider.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/why-we-worry/201407/why-are-we-afraid-spiders

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/why-black-cats-are-considered-bad-luck/

https://archive.org/stream/discoverieofwitc00scot/discoverieofwitc00scot_djvu.txt

http://oddrandomthoughts.com/the-myths-and-legends-of-cats/#ixzz4a86T4PMt

http://kidworldcitizen.org/2013/11/10/anansi-stories-trickster-spider-west-africa-caribbean/

http://kindnessforcats.rescuegroups.org/info/display?PageID=7189

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/must-love-cats/videos/the-legend-of-maneki-neko/

http://www.cracked.com/article_18963_6-cats-more-badass-than-you-and-most-superheroes.html