Why Do We Knock on Wood?

If you’ve ever said something like, “The car has been working perfectly all year — knock on wood,” and then rapped your knuckles on the nearest wooden surface, you’re in good company. Across much of the English-speaking world, this simple gesture is a charm against misfortune, a way to avoid tempting fate. Americans typically say “knock on wood,” while Britons prefer “touch wood.” Either way, the impulse is the same: to protect good luck, or to keep a hopeful statement from backfiring. But where does this mysterious superstition come from? Credit: Print Collector/ Hulton Archive ...Read More