Six Myths We Grew Up With

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Do you remember the Old Wives' Tales we heard growing up? Were any of them true? Let's look back. The one where a baby's sex can be determined by how your belly sets. One says you'll have a girl if the belly sits high and a boy if it is low. Both are false. What about the one about swimming after eating causing cramps? The myth of getting cramps if you swim less than 30 minutes after eating. This is also false. Your body doesn't use that much blood to digest that it can't allow you to hold your arms to enable you to swim. And the one about swallowing gum stays in your system for seven years. It does make it through the body except in extreme circumstances. It is true that the body doesn't digest it so it will come out the same way it went it. The one that says coffee will stunt your growth. People who drink more coffee do not get the calcium needed for strong bones. This may lead to osteoporosis. So, you can see where this one might be true. Pulling out a gray hair will make two more grow in. Every strand of hair on your head grows from it's own hair follicle. So that one is false. Cracking knuckles causes arthritis. The noise(cracking) is caused by nitrogen bubbles popping in your synovial fluid. This is a substance that lubricates the joints. It does ten to loosen the joints but doesn't cause arthritis. Another false one. So, I think that this was a lot of wasted time and effort but wasn't it rather fun at the time?