47 Fun Facts About Old Wives' Tales

In the phrase 'old wives' tale', what did the word 'wife' originally mean?

'Wife' meant simply 'woman' in Old English (wīf); that older sense survives in 'midwife' and 'fishwife'.

The 1611 King James Bible warns against 'profane and old wives' fables' in which book?

The warning is 1 Timothy 4:7: 'But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.'

Cracking your knuckles is blamed for arthritis. What has research found?

The pop comes from nitrogen bubbles forming and collapsing in the joint fluid, which is why you have to wait about 20 minutes to do it again.

The 'sit too close to the TV' warning began with 1967 X-ray leaks from whose sets?

General Electric recalled colour televisions in 1967 after faulty shunt regulator tubes leaked X-rays; the sets were repaired, but the warning outlived the defect.

According to the myth science rejects, how long does swallowed gum sit in your stomach?

The tale says seven years, but gum base is merely indigestible: it passes through the gut in a few days like any other roughage.

The wartime carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark story was propaganda hiding which technology?

The Air Ministry spread the carrot story to hide the RAF's new airborne radar, crediting night-fighter pilots such as John 'Cat's Eyes' Cunningham with carrot-sharpened eyesight.

For a well-nourished person, does eating carrots improve night vision?

Only if you are short of vitamin A: the body turns carrot beta-carotene into vitamin A, so extra carrots sharpen night vision only in someone already deficient.

Going out with wet hair or getting chilled is said to give you a cold. What actually causes colds?

Colds do spread more in winter, but because of dry air, closed windows and more time indoors.

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' was first recorded in 1866 from where?

Notes and Queries printed it in 1866 as a Pembrokeshire proverb from Wales: 'Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread.'

You catch warts from toads, says the tale. What really causes them?

The bumps on a toad are glands, not warts, and the virus that causes human warts affects only humans.

Shaving is said to make hair grow back thicker and darker. Why does regrowth feel coarser?

Short hairs are also less flexible than long ones, adding to the stubbly feel.

Sugar makes children hyperactive, parents say. What have double-blind trials found?

A 2019 meta-analysis did find lower alertness and more fatigue within an hour of eating sugar, the 'sugar crash'.

How long does the unsupported classic tale say to wait after eating before swimming?

The classic tale says wait an hour, but there is no evidence that eating before swimming causes cramps or drowning; studies tie drownings far more to alcohol.

Turkey's tryptophan is blamed for Thanksgiving drowsiness. What is more likely to blame?

Turkey's tryptophan content is typical of poultry; chocolate, oats and cheese are all richer sources.

How does the tryptophan content of turkey compare with other meats?

Turkey's tryptophan is about the same as in other meats, roughly 0.3 g per 100 g, comparable to chicken, beef and pork and lower than in some cheeses.

Reading in dim light will ruin your eyes, the tale goes. What does it actually cause?

The strain is temporary and goes away with rest.

Roughly what share of the body's surface is the head?

The head is only about 7-9% of the body's surface (the burns 'rule of nines' gives it 9%), so a hat saves no more heat than covering any equal patch of skin.

Milk makes you produce more mucus when you have a cold, says the tale. What is the truth?

Milk mixed with saliva does briefly coat the mouth and throat, which is probably where the feeling comes from.

You must drink eight glasses of water a day, according to the rule. What does the evidence say?

Tea, juice, soup, fruit and vegetables all count toward what you need.

Caffeine's mild diuretic effect is seen in which coffee drinkers?

Only occasional drinkers: tolerance to caffeine's diuretic effect builds within days of regular use, and the water in a cup offsets any loss, so habitual coffee drinking does not dehydrate.

Despite the tale that brandy warms you, what does alcohol do to core body temperature in the cold?

Alcohol can lower core temperature: it dilates blood vessels near the skin, so you feel warm while the body sheds heat faster, and it blunts shivering.

'Beer before liquor, never sicker.' What effect does the order of drinks have on a hangover?

The total amount drunk is what counts.

Chocolate and grease get blamed for spots; which statement about acne is actually true?

Acne is not caused by poor hygiene or fatty foods: it arises from blocked follicles, androgen-driven oil and Cutibacterium acnes bacteria, though a high-glycaemic diet can worsen it.

Hair and fingernails keep growing after death, says the tale. What creates that impression?

Growth needs a living blood supply, which stops at death.

According to science, not the internet, how many spiders does the average sleeper swallow a year?

None to speak of: spiders avoid the breath, heartbeat and movement of a sleeping person, and the 'eight spiders a year' figure has no scientific study behind it.

Which nutrient, taken as tablets, is widely believed to prevent colds despite the evidence?

Vitamin C, championed by Linus Pauling, does not prevent colds in the general population; regular doses shorten one by only about 8% in adults, and starting after symptoms begin does nothing.

Chicken soup for a cold is nicknamed what?

Chicken soup is nicknamed 'Jewish penicillin'; a 2000 University of Nebraska study found it slowed the migration of neutrophils in the lab, though no trial shows it cures a cold.

A fever from infection is widely feared for causing what, which it does not do by itself?

Brain damage: a fever from infection seldom passes 41°C and does not harm the brain by itself; only extreme hyperthermia above about 42°C, as in heatstroke, can.

Popeye's spinach was 'packed with iron'. What does Wikipedia say of spinach as an iron source?

The plant's non-heme iron is also absorbed less readily than the iron in meat and fish.

In the German Candlemas lore behind Groundhog Day, which animal did the Germans watch?

In Germany the Candlemas animal was the badger (Dachs): a badger seeing its shadow on 2 February meant four more weeks of winter, a lore Pennsylvania Germans transferred to the groundhog.

'Red sky at morning, sailor's warning' works at middle latitudes because prevailing winds blow which way?

Mid-latitude weather moves west to east on the prevailing westerlies, so a red dawn lights clear sky already passed to the east while the next system approaches from the west; Matthew 16 quotes the saying.

Which ancient writer probably popularised the tale of ostriches burying their heads in sand?

Pliny had them hiding in a bush, not the sand; either way, they don't.

A goldfish's memory lasts three seconds, they say. What is the truth?

Goldfish can be trained to respond to sounds and remember feeding routines for months.

About how many times a year does lightning hit the Empire State Building?

About 23 strikes a year, by the US National Weather Service's long-run average; tall conductive buildings are hit again and again, so lightning very much strikes the same place twice.

Mice love cheese, says every cartoon. What do mice actually prefer?

The link probably arose because, before refrigeration, cheese was stored where mice could reach it.

One dog year equals seven human years, says the rule of thumb. What does the science say?

Most dogs hit adolescence by one year old, then smaller breeds age more slowly in adulthood than giants.

Which Disney film staged the 'lemmings jump off cliffs' myth by shoving the animals over the edge?

White Wilderness (1958) staged the scene in Alberta, where the crew pushed imported lemmings off a cliff into a river; the film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

What is the correct response to someone having a seizure?

Lay them gently on their side so the airway stays clear, cushion the head and time the seizure; putting anything in the mouth risks broken teeth and choking.

Never wake a sleepwalker, says the tale. What is the real risk of doing so?

The dangers of sleepwalking come from falls and lack of sleep, not from being woken.

In which country was it traditionally believed that sleeping in a closed room with a fan running could kill you?

South Korea: 'fan death' was so widely believed that fans there were long sold with timers to switch off overnight, and in 2006 the Korea Consumer Protection Board listed fan asphyxiation among summer hazards.

You get tetanus from a rusty nail, says the tale. What actually introduces the tetanus spores?

The bacterium lives in soil and dust; rust is just a sign the nail has been lying around in it.

Toads aside, which of these animal beliefs is actually TRUE according to Wikipedia's misconceptions list?

A duck's quack does echo: acoustics researchers at Salford University recorded one in 2003 and found the echo is simply faint and blends into the quack's fading tail.

Absinthe makes you hallucinate, drinkers were warned. What does authentic absinthe actually do?

The reputation came from cheap knock-offs coloured with copper salts and sometimes laced with antimony.

Which philosopher was traditionally credited with naming the five senses?

Aristotle listed the five senses in De Anima; modern counts add balance, proprioception, temperature and pain, running anywhere from five to more than twenty.

A camel's hump is said to store water. What does it actually hold?

The fat is a calorie reserve; the water a camel carries is held in its bloodstream.

Why do veins look blue from the outside if the blood inside is actually red?

Light scatters beneath the surface: a vein absorbs red wavelengths more than the surrounding tissue does, so by contrast less red and relatively more blue returns to the eye, though the blood is dark red.

Who built a forerunner of the flush toilet in the 16th century, long before Thomas Crapper?

Sir John Harington installed his 'Ajax' flushing closet at Kelston in the 1590s and described it in print in 1596; Alexander Cumming patented the S-trap in 1775 and Thomas Crapper merely popularised the device.