Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?: The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales

241 Pages·2006·2.75 MB·English

by  Thomas Craughwell

DO BLUE
EDSHEETS
BRin
BABIES?
THE TRUTH BEHIflD
OLD UUIVES' TALES
&
OLD WIVES SkW LIVES
(AT LEAST WHEN THEY'RE RIGHT)
Ï ust how unlucky is Friday the 13th? Will a steaming bowl of chicken
soup cure a cold or flu? And does hanky-panky in a hot tub really
reduce the chance of pregnancy?
Since time immemorial, old wives the world over have told us how to
improve our looks, our health, and our fortunes while avoiding the unlucky,
the unpleasant, or the downright dangerous. Do Blue Bedsheets Bring
Babies? The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales identifies which sayings,
superstitions, and assertions to follow and which to avoid to better and
protect our lives. While some of these oft-repeated superstitions are
folkloric foolishness, a surprising number are actually worth heeding.
Writer Thomas Craughwell, a pop-culture authority, has drawn upon
the latest research from a range of fields to reveal the facts and fallacies
behind old wives' tales. In addition, he relates the fascinating socio
logical and historical origins of these long-standing sayings passing as
common knowledge.
From medical advice about eating and then swimming, to the truth
about the mass suicides of lemmings, Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?
uncovers the merits—or myths—of countless
remedies and warnings in this entertaining
and informative guide to being healthy,
wealthy, and wise.
(homos Gauqrmjell is the author of three
US $12.95/$17.95 CAN
best-selling volumes about urban legends,
including Alligators in the Sewer. A cele ISBN 0-7679-2188-7
51295
brated scholar-skeptic, he has discussed
and debunked urban folklore on the BBC,
The Learning Channel, Inside Edition, and
over seventy-five radio programs.
9 780767"921886
Cover design by Tamaye Perry
www. broadwaybooks.com
DO BIDE
BEDSflEETS
BRinG
BABIES?
THE TRUTH BEHinD
OLD WIVES' TALES
THOIÏIAÏ CRAUGWUUELL
Illustrated by iïlarie Coons
Broadway Books • New York
BROADWAY
Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies? Copyright © 2005 by Eye Quarto, Inc. All rights reserved. No part
of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
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tem, without written permission from the publisher. For information, address Broadway Books,
a division of Random House, Inc.
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Editor: Charles Clough
Cover design: Tamaye Perry
Interior design: Sheila Hart Design, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress
ISBN 0-7679-2188-7
Printed in China by Midas Printing International Limited.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 ^1
For the young Carlsons-
Hilary, Matt, Melanie, Mark, and Eric—
who are too smart to believe that a dog's mouth
is cleaner than a human's.
CONTENTS
Introduction n
Section One: A Dog's Mouth Is Cleaner Than
a Human's, and Other Old Wives' Tales to Keep
You Healthy
A Dog's Mouth Is Gleaner Than a Human's 16
It's Unhealthy to Hold Back a Sneeze 19
Listening to Loud Music Causes Deafness 31
Babies Who Suck Their Thumbs Will Have Buck Teeth ?3
Reading in Dim Light Will Ruin Your Eyes 25
More People Commit Suicide Between Christmas
and New Year's Than at Any Other Time of the Year 27
Toads Give You Warts 39
If You Gross Your Eyes, They Will Stay That Way 3i
If You Go Outside With Wet Hair or Wet Feet,
You'll Catch a Cold 3s>
Crack Your Knuckles and You'll Develop Arthritis 34
Section Two: If You're Carrying the Baby High,
It's a Girl, and Other Old Wives'Tales About
Pregnancy
If You're Carrying the Baby High, It's a Girl 38
If a Pregnant Woman's Face Is Puffy,
She's Going to Have a Girl 41
If the Labor Is Difficult, the Mother Is About to
Give Birth to a Boy 4?
If the Baby Is Late, the Mother Should Take Long Walks .... 43
If You Crave Spicy Food, You're Having a Boy;
If You Crave Sweet Food, It's a Girl 45
Voluptuous Women Were Built for Child-bearing 47
Section Three: Lightning Never Strikes the Same
Place Twice, and Other Old Wives' Tales About
the Weather
Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice 50
No Two Snowflakes Are Exactly Alike 52
If a Groundhog Sees Its Shadow on February 2,
We'll Have Six More Weeks of Winter 53
People and Animals Behave Strangely during a Full Moon . . 55
A Red Sky in the Morning Means a Storm Is Coming 57
Arthritis Flares Up in Wet Weather 59
It Can Be Too Cold to Snow 61
Tornadoes Cannot Cross a River 62
Section Four: Swimmers Should Wait an Hour
After Eating Before Going into the Water, and
Other Old Wives'Tales About Sports
Swimmers Should Wait an Hour After Eating
Before Going Back into the Water 66
Golf Courses Have 18 Holes Because a Fifth of
Scotch Whiskey Contains 18 Shots 68
Spousal Abuse Reaches Epidemic Proportions on
Super Bowl Sunday 70
Magnets Heal Sports Injuries Faster Than
Conventional Medicine 73
It's Bad Luck to Change a Boat's Name 75
The Type of Baseball Bat a Player Swings Can Make
or Break His Career 76
Section Five: You Can Tell the Length of a Man's
Penis by Checking Out His Shoe Size, and Other
Old Wives'Tales of the Ways of Love
You Can Tell the Length of a Man's Penis by Checking Out
His Shoe Size 80
Opposites Attract 82
Cold Hands, Warm Heart 85
Eating Powdered Rhinoceros Horn
Improves a Man's Virility 87
After Sex, If a Man Washes His Penis with Aloe Vera,
He Won't Contract Sexually Transmitted Diseases 90
Men Think About Sex Every Fifteen Seconds 92
Dog Meat Boosts a Man's Virility 94
You Can't Get Pregnant in a Hot Tub 96
Section Six: Walking Under a Ladder Is Bad Luck,
and Other Old Wives'Tales to Keep You Safe
Walking Under a Ladder Is Bad Luck 100
If You Stick Your Tongue Out, You Will Absorb
Millions of Germs and Bacteria 102
If You Kill a Cobra, Its Mate Will Come after You 104
Baby Snakes Are More Poisonous Than Adults 106
Section Seven: To Get the Marriage Off on the
Right Foot, Carry the Bride Across the
Threshold, and Other Old Wives' Tales of Marriage
To Get the Marriage Off on the Right Foot, Carry the Bride
Across the Threshold 110
On February 29, a Woman Can Ask a Man to Marry Her .... 112
To See a Magpie Means You're About to Marry 114
Men Have One Less Rib Than Women 116
Throwing Rice at the Bride and Groom
Brings Them Good Luck 117
Sleeping in Blue Sheets Makes the Bridegroom Virile 130
Section Eight: Water Goes Down the Drain
in Different Directions Depending on Which
Hemisphere You're in, and Other Old Wives'
Tales About Running a Household
Water Goes Down the Drain in Different Directions
Depending on Which Hemisphere You're In 124
It's Bad Luck to Kill a Ladybug i?6
Club Soda Removes Red Wine Stains 128
Mistletoe Is an Antidote to Poison 129
It's Bad Luck to Kill a Bee i3i
A Cricket in the House Is Good Luck i33
It's Bad Luck to Kill a Spider 184
Section Nine: Chicken Soup Is a Great Cold and Flu
Remedy, and Other Old Wives' Tales About Food
Chicken Soup Is a Great Cold and Flu Remedy i38
Chinese Ginger and Spring Onion Soup Is a Great Cold
and Flu Remedy 141
Wine Is Good for You 143
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away 144
Fish Is Brain Food 146
Carrots Are Good for the Eyes 149
Children Shouldn't Drink Coffee
As It Will Stunt Their Growth 150
Boys Who Drink Coffee Will Be Beardless 152
Potatoes with a Greenish Tinge Are Poisonous 154
Cool Foods Are Good for a Fever 156
It's Dangerous to Eat Oysters in Months that
Do Not Have an "R" in Them 158
You Burn More Calories Eating a Stick of Celery
Than Are Contained in the Celery Stick 159
White Spots on Your Fingernails Mean You Need Calcium .. 160
Flat Ginger Ale Is Good for a Queasy Stomach 162
It's Safe to Eat Food Dropped on the Floor
If You Pick It Up Within Five Seconds i63
Section Ten: A Severed Head Stays Alive for
Several Minutes, and Other Old Wives' Tales
About the Life of Crime
A Severed Head Stays Alive for Several Minutes After
It's Been Separated from the Body 166
It's Bad Luck to Buy a House Where a Murder Took Place .. 169
A Dog Can Smell Blood on a Murderer's Hands, Even Years
after the Crime 173
Burglars Check the Newspaper Obituary Page to
See Who's Died, Then Rob the House While Everyone's
at the Funeral 174
If the Hangman's Rope Breaks During an Execution,
the Prisoner Is Innocent 176
Section Eleven: Chocolate Causes Acne, and Other
Old Wives'Tales About the Human Body
Chocolate Causes Acne 180
We Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brains 182
We Are Taller Than Our Ancestors Were 184
People with Red Hair Are Temperamental 186
We're Only Six Degrees Away from Every Other Person
on the Planet 188
Shave Your Body Hair and It Will Grow Back Thicker 191
Section Twelve: To Bring Good Luck, Knock on
Wood, and Other Old Wives'Tales on How to
Attract Good Luck and Avoid Bad Luck
To Bring Good Luck, Knock on Wood 196
Break a Mirror and You'll Have Seven Years of Bad Luck ... 197
Certain Lucky Numbers Come Up Again
and Again in the Lottery 199
Number i3 Is Lucky or Unlucky 2,02,
Number 8 Is Lucky in China 2o3