The cat who serves nine masters has earned the right to transport his 10th owner straight to hell. Yes, many strange superstitions stem from the humble cat.

Another popular belief about cats maintains they have nine lives, a relic of the ancient legend that witches can turn themselves into cats a total of nine times before they exhaust their powers.

In some instances black cats are thought to be lucky but black cat charms are not common as a means to lure good fortune.

Some unusual omens and beliefs:

 A man with a hairy chest makes a better lover than one without.

 Pipe smokers who light their pipe from either a lamp or a candle will have an unfaithful wife or lover.

 If you get out of bed on the left side you should put your right shoe and sock on first to counter the bad luck.

 If a woman's apron suddenly falls off, it is an omen that she will have a baby within a year.

 If you find a button you will find a new friend.

 If you move into a new house, you can ensure good luck by walking into each room with a loaf of bread and a plate of salt.

 In Japan it is a superstition that if a cup of medicine for a sick person is accidentally upset, the person will have a speedy recovery.

 Asthma can be cured by eating either raw cat's meat or the foam from a mule's mouth. If either seems just a little too unpleasant, a fortnight's diet of boiled carrots is just as effective.

 To cure baldness, rub generous amounts of goose dung into the bald patches! Perhaps men would prefer a preventive measure supplied by another superstition – never cut your hair when the moon is rising, for it will thin and fall out.