If you look at the zip codes for Topeka, Kansas, they ALL start with 666. Thank you US Postal Service! ;D
The number 13 may be considered an unlucky number in Western countries, but in Eastern countries the number 4 is considered unlucky and is often skipped for room numbers, floors, and so on. Evidently the number 4 and the word for "death" sound too much alike...
I know people who believe that clipping fingernails in public is taboo. I figure it's like getting your hair trimmed in public. Happens sometimes. Then there are some who are paranoid about other people laying hands on the nail/hair clippings. I guess customs to guard against sympathetic magic have seeped into many cultures in order to protect the next generation by taboo.
I don't mind the taboo on nudity because I don't really want to see that (generic) fat guy's package anyway. It is the same reason why I don't go to Wiccan celebrations. Sluggy Freelance said it best when the subject of nudist colonies came up. No quality control.
Superstitions about cats are endless.
In most English-speaking countries, it is believed to be unlucky when a black cat crosses your path. The origin of this belief was from sailors who believed black cats were lucky and so had as many aboard their ships as possible. If the cat came up to you for attention, good luck. If the cat was indifferent, didn't mean anything. If the cat saw you and ran the other way, bad luck. Evidently people passed it on and this operator game went downhill.
I remember hearing or seeing somewhere that in Japan, it is the white cat that is unlucky if they cross your path at a particular time of day. I think it was after dark or something.
It is said that if you see a black dog in the corner of your eye that isn't there, and the dog barks, however many times the dog barks is how many days you have left to live. Some people are so frightened of this that they will not own black dogs of any sort.
There is a taboo in many places against using one's left hand for most things. In some places it is because the left hand is supposed to be the wiping hand. In others, it is because the local religion suggests that lefties are demon-possessed. So if my parents had 3 left-handed girls and 1 right-handed son, is that supposed to have a hidden meaning?
I can come up with more but time and space are limited.
