"You should always wear clean underwear in case you are knocked down by a bus"

I understand that in times of great psychological and mental trauma the bowels will release in any case. If that is so, then I see no reason for clean underwear. However, I was given this line on may occasions and I can remember in about 1966 seeing someone hit by a car in Reading and my friend said to me, words to the effect of "hope that she was wearing clean pants". Presumably concerned that we did not see the full gore of this event a kindly bobby quickly moved us on. Of course these days he would have taken us in for some serious trauma counseling and I would have much better understood the effect that the sight had upon me. Actually, I think that it was just a way to persuade small boys to change their underwear. I am not sure whether girls had the same need. Most of them seemed to be cleaner than us, and delight in it too.

This was one of my mums favourites. I used to wonder if the medics would check your undies before your injuries. Another thing she used to say was, 'if you don't stop crying, I'll give you something to cry for.'. I must admit to having used that myself, even though it doesn't make any sense. I do remember my mum, (who was about 5' 5" tall), looking up at my 6' 3" brother, wagging her finger and saying, " Your not too big to go over my knee you know ". I would have loved to see it happen There were many more but I can't think of them at the minute.

I must tell you that I spewed coffee on my monitor when I read your title!! It brought back so many memories. Yes, my mother ALWAYS said the same thing to me. The last words out of her mouth as I exited the front door were, "Do you have on clean underwear?" I will tell you that the minute I was accepted into nursing school, in the first nursing class I raised my hand and asked the instructor if indeed medics, ambulance employees and emergency room employs checked the status of victims underwear. The instructor got the best laugh out of that question and it endeared me to her instantly! Ha! I got my mother back recently. She is now in her 70's and lives next door to me. She and my father leave each morning to spend the day at a senior citizens facility where they play cards and whatnot. I saw them leaving and I raised my window and shouted, "Mom!" She turned and said, "What?" As loud as I could, so that each neighbor within a half mile radius could hear me, I shouted, "Do you have on clean underwear?" She and my father laughed hysterically!!!

I remember being told that but I never understood it. Why wear clean underwear when your going to probably crap on yourself anyways? I'd hope that the medical ppl would be more concerned about me then my undies. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

oh yes. My grandma always used to tell me "always wear clean underwear, because you never know if you will be in an accident. You don't want to scare the paramedics with ugly underwear." LOLOL That used to make me laugh so hard!

Yes my grandparents and then my parents always told me this, as a result I have occasionally found myself saying it to my own children! Its funny how things stick and carry on through the generations. I guess they did believe it when they said it, although there were a couple of times in my life when I would stick my shabby knickers and bra on and then really hope that I did not end up having to go in an ambulance!

If an accident were too traumatic, it probably wouldn't matter if you wore the cleanest-of-clean undies when you left home because you might be inclined to let loose in response to the situation. Here's what I used to be told as a kid when it came to eating spoonable things such as soup and cereal: "As little ships go out to sea, I push my spoon away from me." This was supposed to make you less likely to be sloppy while eating, but I didn't see it, because it felt awkward to me and would make me more instead of less likely to spill the contents of my spoon.

I was never fed that line as a child. Instead, I was told how wearing clean underwear is good for your hygiene. I think my mom liked me to wear clean underwear when I went to see the doctor just so she wouldn't be embarrassed. Besides, if you were in a car or bus accident, chances are you're going to mess your undies anyway.

Yeah I guess accidents can happen anytime and it would be embarassing to be found by the rescue squad to have torn, worn-out underwear. LOL. I prefer boxer shorts actually.

I do not think accident is funny but thinking about the situation that you have described in your post make me laugh

I've heard similar about wearing the clean underwear in case you're in an accident..uh, like duh? If one is in an accident one will most likely HAVE an accident in their underwear, so kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? The winner my mother told me was this...I was always the top in the class..uh, nerdy smart..hehee...so as I was getting older my mother said..in effect I had to "play" down my intelligence as boys don't like girls that are smarter than they are...Huh? My attitude was "TOUGH"...if they don't like me cause I'm smart, they're not worth it!

My grandparents raised me in the UK. The last question my Grandmother always asked me as I was going out of the door was "Do you have clean underclothes on?" I always thought it was funny. When I was working in the emergency room in a hospital in the USA back i the early 70's I saw an accident victim and then I knew what my Grandmother had been getting at. A lady that worked in the office at the hospital and who always looked neatly dressed and presentable was involved in an auto accident one evening on her way home. When the ambulance brought her in I had to get her clothes off and get her into a hospital gown. Her bra - supposed to be white was dirty grey looking and the underarm area was really stained from sweat. Her underwear was filthy. All her undergarments were dirty and stunk to high heaven. Oh boy - bet my kids wished I had never seen that because I made sure they had clean underclothes on every single day - no matter where they were going or what they were doing.

my grandpa used to tell me this when i was small but i never understood what it really meant...

Funny enough my mom took it a step further. We use to have panties for home wear and panties for going out. Of course those for home wear would be the older ones which were a bit worn out. You know how those tend be well broken in comfortable. As little girls I remember some of them were well stretched and falling off but who cared? Just twist and tuck and run around and play. Well one day at church some one commmented that poeple should atire ourselves properly in the home so that if you fall ill and others have to rush to your assistance they would not find you in a certain state. Well there went the stretchies. So if we had to do start doing that at home there was no chance of getting caught 'unprepared' when we went out. It sticks with you. Practice makes perfect I guess.

My Mom used to tell us this. Looking back it didn't really make any sense now. Back then we took it to heart and always made sure we had clean underwear on. I am like you. Who cares what the state of your underwear are in if you have been in a accident. My Mom also used to tell the boys when they went out on a date to keep their pants zippered up. Mom said this to my one brother until one day he looked at her and said that he would but she wouldn't let him. Talk about a shocking thing to say to ones Mom. She also used to tell the girls not to bring home a bundle. My sister and I were talking about it and that would pop up in our minds if anything heavy started to happen on a date. Talk about throwing a wet blanket on a date. Mom wasn't there on the date but her words sure stuck with us.

my mom was so big on the clean underwear issue. when my little brother was really little...my mom stressed the importance of putting on a clean pair of undies each day so much. One day she went to give him a bath and found he had like 4 pairs of undies on...he just kept putting on clean undies....so cute. Me? I'm a girl and the clean undies and shaved legs was drilled in to me to such a degree that when I miscarried, I kept changing my undies...i was hemmoraging. It is by the grace of god that I lived through this one. had I waited any longer ....changed my undies one more time...I may not be here writing to you all. I do not even remember driving to my parents house in first gear and passing our on their kitchen floor.

Hi owlwings, I've always thought that this was so funny. Can you imagine a mother getting a call that her child had been struck by a bus and was being rushed to the hospital, and the first thing she says is "Was he wearing clean underwear"? That one has gotten a lot of laughs over the years. Blessings.

Oh yes! My grandmother would always tell me something similar. I would roll my eyes (like most kids do). Anyway, one day when I was about 8 mo pregnant, my nesting instincts kicked in and I was scrubbing the house from top to bottom. Needless to say, there wasn't an inch of me that was clean including my underwear. I was going to jump in the shower when I saw that I needed some milk to finish a recipe I was making, so I jumped in the car, (without shoes since my feet were dirty) and was going to the farm store drive thru which was just a few blocks away. Of course, out of nowhere I car sped out of a side street, and hit me on the driver's side very hard. The paramedics came, police, etc, etc and I was rushed to the hospital with some contractions. I could hear my grandmother's voice in my head saying "I told you so." To this day, I check everything including my underwear before I go out! Have a great day!

my mom use to tell me that all the time. I never really understood the idea behind it,though. Looking back there were so many things my mom and grandma told me that I never really understood.Because of this I always make sure my underwear is in fine shape before i leave home.