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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Old Wives' Tales part 2

Here are the answers to yesterday's "tales":

Tale #1
: "Lightning never strikes the same place twice."
False. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, a Virginia man named Roy Sullivan holds the record for the person who has been hit by lightning the most times. Sullivan was hit seven times between 1942 and 1977.

Tale #2: "Thumb-sucking causes buck teeth"
True. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a person who sucks their thumb long term can actually push their upper front teeth outward and reposition the teeth.

Tale #3: "Wait an hour after eating before swimming."
False. Way back in 1956, B.W. Gabrielsen, a swimming coach at U of Georgia, published Facts on Drowning Accidents. In this book, he debunked the myth, showing how less than 1% of drowning deaths took place right after a meal. In 1961, physiologist A. Steinhaus concurred in a published article in the Journal of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, dismissing any link between the two activities.

Tale #4: "Craving spicy food means you're having a boy."
Maybe. There might be some truth to this one. There has been a study done that shows that women's cravings may be linked to the sex of the child. A professor at Harvard followed the pregnancies of 250 women and found that those who were carrying boys ate 8% more protein, 9% more carbohydrates, and 15% more vegetable fats than those who were carrying girls. The thought is that the testosterone secreted from the infant boys' testicles signal the mother to eat more.



In case you've no idea what I'm talking about, here's a snippet from yesterday's post...and the new "tales" for today.

"So, I thought it would be fun to play a little Tales game. I'll list a few here and then you come on and tell me which ones are true and which are false. (You can even elaborate on your answers with your own stories or thoughts...yes, I'm trying to get you people to write :) !!!) Tomorrow I'll post the answers and some more tales. Now, I know you've got Google right there handy and you can just look up the answers...but that would be CHEATING!!!...and you have more integrity than that, right? :) Have fun!"

Tale #4: Toads give you warts.
Tale #5: Reading in dim light ruins your eyes.
Tale #6: Curvy women were built for child-bearing.
Tale #7: A full moon causes strange behavior.



Monday, May 4, 2009

Old Wives' Tales



I just finished this great book by Thomas Craughwell, Old Wives' Tales: Fact or Folklore? I must say that I wasn't super surprised by most of the myths and truths he discusses. It's not that I already knew the answers to each of them...it's more that common sense usually has a way of trumping myths and legends.

However, I was surprised to find that behind every one of the "tales" Craughwell elaborates on, there is an interesting story of how this myth or truth came to be.

So, I thought it would be fun to play a little Tales game. I'll list a few here and then you come on and tell me which ones are true and which are false. (You can even elaborate on your answers with your own stories or thoughts...yes, I'm trying to get you people to write :) !!!) Tomorrow I'll post the answers and some more tales. Now, I know you've got Google right there handy and you can just look up the answers...but that would be CHEATING!!!...and you have more integrity than that, right? :) Have fun!

Tale #1: "Lightning never strikes the same place twice."
Tale #2: "Thumb-sucking causes buck teeth"
Tale #3: "Wait an hour after eating before swimming."
Tale #4: "Craving spicy food means you're having a boy."
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