Pavement Cracks

Everyone's heard of the old saying "Step on a crack, break your momma's back." What many people don't know, however,  is the origin behind this famous saying.

This superstition had its roots in the early 19th and 20th centuries. However, it was used as a saying for interracial marriage rather than as a warning for stepping on a crack. It was believed that the original saying was either, "Step on a crack, and your mother's baby will be black," or "Step on a crack, and your mother will turn black."

Another interpretation for this urban myth is that it was given as a general warning to children that had ever stepped on a crack in the pavement. It is said that if a child were to ever step on a crack in the pavement, bears would be summoned to that spot, and they would maul the children to death and proceed to devour their remains. It's also believed that if a child were to walk on a lot of cracks in the pavement, it represented the total percentage of bones that their mother had broken, and it was also believed that stepping on a crack would release a demon from the underworld, and that the demon would then go on to wreak havoc.