Other Old Wives' Tales Misconceptions

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Habitual knuckle-cracking causes arthritis. False. Drinking coffee reduces body growth. False. Coffee is a stimulant and may increase body growth, or, more likely, will have no effect. Taking showers or washing your hair when you are sick will rehatch a virus. False. Doctors prescribe cold water showers to bring down temperatures and nasal congestion. Chewing gum, if swallowed, remains inside your body for seven years. False. Chewing gum is excreted like any other undigested piece of food or stray object swallowed. Eating the crust of bread makes your hair curl. False. A pimple on your tongue means that you have lied. False. If your chin does not shine yellow when you hold a buttercup underneath it then you do not like butter. A variation of this tale is that if it does shine yellow, you'll be rich. Veracity would be coincidental, not causative. Don't cross your eyes; they might stay that way. It is conceivable that the ocular muscles may become cramped or strained while crossing the eyes, but the probability is very low. If you make a face and the wind changes direction, your face will stay that way. False. This legend is prevalent among sufferers of Bell's Palsy and non-scientific health practitioners, but there is no causation. If you go swimming less than an hour after you've eaten, you'll get cramps. False, but some scientists do in fact advise not to swim - or engage in any physical activity - for some time after eating, as the parasympathetic nervous system will kick in and start digestion, overriding the orders of the sympathetic nervous system which brings the body into the mode for physical activities. This was parodied in the third Lemony Snicket book, The Wide Window, where the Lachrymose Leeches would eat you if you had not waited an hour after eating to swim. If you smell dandelions, you'll wet your bed. Coincidental, if true. This may refer to the dandelion's well-known diuretic properties, but one would have to consume them; smelling would have no effect. Nonetheless, the idea that dandelions cause bedwetting is seen in the English folkname for the plant ("pissabed") and the common French name for it (pissenlit). If you touch a toad, you'll get warts. False. Warts are caused by a virus, and it is not transferable between species. If you feel a burning in your ears, it means that somebody is talking about you. A variation on this is that if you hear a ringing in your ears, someone is thinking about you. In India, hiccups are a sign that you are being remembered by someone. In Japan, if you sneeze it means that somebody is talking about you behind your back. It is not possible to verify or disprove, so the adage is likely to persist indefinitely. If you have a stye, you must have read or watched pornographic materials. Coincidental, if true. If your eyelids keep on twitching or ticing (blepharospasm), something significantly bad is going to happen to you soon. If the twitch occurs on the left eye, it means you will lose money, while a twitch on the right eye means you will be in some life-at-risk disasters. Unless the twitch is a highly unusual foresign of stroke, causation would be impossible to verify. If you feed chocolate to a dog, it will get intestinal worms. False, but the result of testing this tale may well be worse; chocolate intended for human consumption could kill the dog; one component of chocolate, theobromine, is a mild stimulant in humans, but quite toxic in some other animals, including dogs. If you eat cold milk and cherries together, it is toxic. U.S. President Zachary Taylor was believed to have died because he consumed milk and cherries together. Alternatively, any fruit consumed with milk will make you ill, because the acid in the fruit will make the milk curdle in your stomach. False, but the combination will cause discomfort in sensitive individuals. If you consume Pop Rocks followed by a carbonated drink, your stomach will explode and you'll die. False, but a very popular legend among children. Eating apples with cherries increases 'men's organ' size. Coincidental, if true. Eating cheese before going to bed will make you have nightmares. Eating any food before bed may disrupt the somnatic cycle, increasing the likelihood that sleepers will awake during REM sleep and remember their dreams. Burying a chicken's foot in the garden cures common ailments. Coincidental, if true. A crow making noise on your rooftop foretells the arrival of a guest. (Especially in Punjab) (In Norse mythology, the principle god is accompanied by two ravens who can foresee the future) However, Galliformes (game birds of the chicken family) predict death if perched on rooftops (especially in Northern Europe). If you take milk after eating rice, it can kill you. False. If you whistle at night, burglars will break into your house. (In many parts of Africa and Asia, this is usually modified with the nuance that evil spirits, ominous animals (such as snakes) or the angel of death may be drawn to the whistler. In parts of West Africa in particular, this tale is modified to include high pitched singing by a female or child, or the playing of wind instruments.) Brazilian old wives´ tales: You will die if you eat mangoes and milk (created to avoid slave nightly plundering of farm areas during the slavery period) Mirrors attract lightning during a storm; cover them to be protected (some truth here: metal attracts electric discharges more easily than most other materials, including water. Mirrors were mostly made of iron back then). Pointing your finger to the stars will make warts grown on your fingers. No problems if you point to the moon or other planets, though. A recipe will not work if you mix ingredients partly clockwise, partly counter clockwise. (This is true only if one switches direction so quickly that the entire container is not fully stirred). Wild boars will trample you to death in your sleep if you eat bacon in your bed past midnight. You will grow worms on your stomach if you sleep when you're really hungry. If a pregnant woman does not eat whatever food she craves at the time she craves it, the baby's face will resemble said food's shape. Drinking soft drinks under sunlight may twist your mouth permanently. Saying "Thank You" after someone says "Bless You" after sneezing will cause you to have bad luck. People who can draw "Perfect" circles are insane. Ornamental elephants within your home is bad luck unless they face the door. If you are hit on the knee cap and your leg does not twitch, you are insane. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale"