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Old wives' tale

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An old wives' tale is a proverb, much like an urban legend, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation ^[1] It is so named for the alleged lack of sophistication of old wives. Today old wives' tales are still common among children in school playgrounds. ^[2] Old wives' tales often concern pregnancy, puberty and nutrition.^[3] It should be noted that this use of the word wife simply means woman rather than married woman. This usage stems from Old English wif (woman) and is akin to the German weib, also meaning woman. This sense of the word is still used in Modern English in constructions such as midwife and fishwife. Most old wives' tales are false and are used to discourage unwanted behavior, usually in children. ^[4] Among the few tales with grains of truth, the veracity is likely coincidental. ^[5]

1 Common old wives' tales
2 Other old wives' tales
3 References
4 External links

Common old wives' tales

Eating carrots improves your night vision

Half-truth Carrots do contain Beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the small intestine. Vitamin A is a precursor to the protein Rhodopsin, a component of the rods (a photoreceptor cell) in the Retina that is very sensitive to light. Vitamin A helps to maintain healthy bones, but the carrots do not contain enough calcium to make any significant difference. This tale started in the Second World War when the British spread a rumour that their plane spotters were eating carrots to give them improved vision, concealing the truth about the invention of radar. Also the night fighter ace John Cunningham (21 kills) who was an early proponent of airborne radar in his Bristol Beaufighter, was nicknamed "Cat's Eyes" and alluded to have exceptional night vision because of his carrot eating. ^[6]^[7]

Having sex standing up is a contraceptive

False This is an example of an old wives' tale in peer sex education. Sperm cells are capable of swimming up the vaginal canal, through the uterus to the fallopian tubes, where they may fertilize an egg, (which also actively pulls the sperm towards it), regardless of the body's position during or after sexual intercourse. It is also believed that certain muscular actions during intercourse draw the spermatozoa upward, as well. The tale is believed to have originated as a misunderstanding of advice by fertility specialists not to be standing up during coitus, if one is attempting to become pregnant. While it is true that some positions encourage pregnancy, the converse idea that some positions prevent it is false.

Chocolate causes acne

False Chocolate does not cause acne in healthy individuals^[8]^[9]^[10], but can have an extreme effect if one is sensitive to a specific ingredient in certain confections, such as pasteurized milk or hydrogenated oil. Caffeine contained in many chocolate products can, however, cause increased stress which may temporarily increase the manifestations to individuals already affected with acne.

Masturbation causes blindness

False This is an attempt to discourage masturbation (usually among young males) by associating it with blindness. In men, it is also associated with hairy palms and mental illness. Masturbation in females is sometimes said to cause infertility; this is equally false. Masturbation by a man may reduce fertility in the immediate future by using up some stored sperm, however this is not a long-term effect and not a reliable birth control: the sperm will be replaced naturally in a matter of hours and healthy young males are able to ejaculate again within half an hour. The only correlation between the two is that semen contains a large amount of zinc (as much as 0.25 milligrams of zinc to 1 mL of seminal fluid), and a deficiency in zinc (although nearly impossible to achieve solely by masturbating) will cause a decline in a person's vision.

Staying out in the cold without a coat causes pneumonia

False Pneumonia is caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. Variations on this tale include that someone who stays out in the cold will catch a cold or the flu (which are both known to be caused by viruses).^[11] This tale was not debunked until fairly recently. As public awareness of the cause of disease increased, the tale evolved to include a number of different pseudoscientific explanations. One popular explanation is that a low core body temperature negatively impacts the effectiveness of the human immune system. This intuitively makes sense, as we know fever, an elevated core body temperature, is one of the immune system's defenses against infection. However, studies have shown that there is no statistical correlation between lowered core body temperature and decreased immune response. ^[12] Still, this old wives' tale, in its modern, pseudoscientific version, is still prevalent. Another version of this old wives' tale common in much of the world is that sitting by an open window or by air-conditioning will cause colds and pneumonia. The standing water in some air conditioning systems may allow bacteria such as those that cause Legionnaires' disease to multiply. However, the chance of catching such a disease from air-conditioned air does not change depending on the distance one sits from an affected air conditioner.

Stepping on a rusty nail causes tetanus

Half-truth Tetanus is an anaerobic bacterium and can be transmitted via puncture wounds such as those received by stepping on a rusty nail. It is not the rust on the nail that causes the tetanus, however, but the dirt on the nail, which may contain the tetanus pathogen; even a visibly clean nail (or other item) previously exposed to soil containing the bacterium can be the source of a tetanus infection. The apparent correlation between rusty nails and tetanus stems from the anaerobic bacteria requiring moist areas, making an environment good for rusty nails also a good environment for tetanus. It is believed that Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveller, died in this way, less than a year after Lee's death. Any wound that closes over at the surface before healing underneath can harbor a tetanus infection. Under such conditions the tetanus bacterium can flourish in a person not appropriately immunized. The tetanus bacterium is commonly present both on skin and in soil. Before the availability of a vaccine for tetanus it was necessary to keep potentially dangerous wounds open so that they would heal from the bottom up, thus preventing the anaerobic conditions that tetanus thrives in. See also: Correlation implies causation (logical fallacy)

Other old wives' tales

Habitual knuckle-cracking causes arthritis. False. ^[13]
Eating faster will make you fat. False.
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.
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.^[14]
If you touch a toad, you'll get warts. False. Warts are caused by a virus, which are usually species specific. Almost all viruses that infect frogs do not have the correct receptors to infect humans as well.^[15]
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 Pakistan, India, and former USSR countries, 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. False.
If you feed chocolate to a dog, it will get intestinal worms. False, but chocolate intended for human consumption can kill dogs. One component of chocolate, theobromine, is a mild stimulant in humans, but quite toxic in some other animals, including dogs. However, dogs are able to eat a small amount depending on their weight (though it is not advised to feed them any at all as too much will indeed kill them).
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. This was even disproved on an episode of the Discovery Channel show MythBusters.