[drivingmenuts]

"Normal people" do it, too - ask a sailor about ship. Some people name and gender their vehicles. To a certain extent, it comes from close association with object.

I'm the guy who drives around with a cartoon drawing of a robot in his car that will utterly destroy anyone who tries to steal it, so I ought to know.

[hildolfr]

Sailors, at least the ones I know, are often superstitious because 1) marine tradition is filled with legends and beliefs 2) the sea is cruel and unforgiving.

No one wants to be sinking while remembering that they forgot to christen the boat , they just killed a seabird, and they stepped onto the boat with their left foot.

My point: I see marine superstition as a cultural affect rather than a sign of any such other psychology.

[kgwgk]

the sea is [a] cruel and unforgiving [mistress]