Old Wives tales
I always wondered about some things my mother tells me. Coming from a Creole background she always says random stuff like dropping silverware was a warning of someone coming over or sweeping the porch at night brings bad luck.
Of course most of that warrants me staring at her like she’s crazy, but it makes me wonder about other more well known superstitions.
Lighting a match in the bathroom after doing your business gets rid of booty funk.
When a match is struck, it produces sulfur dioxide, a “very pungent substance, to which the smell receptors are extremely sensitive.” MadSci explains, “You can smell a minute amount of sulfur dioxide, but when you have done so, you will not smell anything else for a while.” So, the match doesn’t really get rid of the odor — it just covers it up.
Don’t crack your knuckles — it causes arthritis.
“The ‘cracking’ is actually caused by the bursting of a bubble of nitrogen that forms inside the joint when the joint moves,” says John Klippel, M.D., medical director of the Arthritis Foundation. “Popping your knuckles may be annoying to others, but it doesn’t cause arthritis, enlarged joints or musculoskeletal problems.”
Don’t’ relax your hair while on your period.
True! (for some). Women are more susceptible to pain the week before, during, and after their periods. It may be okay for some, but others experience burns more easily during menstruation.
Everyone should drink eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and properly hydrated.
False! While it’s a good idea to drink plenty of water, there is no scientific or medical basis for the specific amount of eight glasses per day. Water intake needs vary from person to person, depending on age, size and amount of physical activity. We can also get water from food and other beverages, so we don’t necessarily need to get all of our fluids in the form of drinking water.
Drinking alcohol — brandy, for example — will warm you up when out in cold weather.
The correct answer is false. A swig of brandy might initially make you feel warmer, but drinking any alcoholic beverage actually lowers your core body temperature. It sends blood to your skin, which will make you feel warm and flushed, but causes you to lose body heat. You could suffer from hypothermia and not even feel it.
Goose bumps serve no biological function.
Piloerection, or “goose bumps,” is your body’s attempt to retain heat when you are cold. Small muscles raise the hair on your arms and legs in order to trap an insulating layer of warm air near your skin and prevent heat loss. Unfortunately, humans aren’t as hairy as they once were, so this biological strategy is not as effective as it was for our distant ancestors.
