I’m in my late thirties now and it has suddenly occurred to me just how strange my, and I presume your, parents were when I was younger.
I keep remembering all those weird lies they told me when I was a kid. So here’s a few of the best:
“If you swallow melon seeds, a melon will grow in your stomach” - Um, why did they tell me this. Did they have a deal with a local therapist? Who knows.
“If you swallow chewing gum, it will stick your insides together.” - This one used to terrify me.
[Said when I was pulling a strange expression] “If the wind changes, you’ll stay like that” - This didn’t even make sense at the time.
“If you sit too close to the television, you’ll go blind” - There were lots of other lies they told about things that would make me go blind, but this was the first.
“If you eat lots of carrots, you can see in the dark” - Um, not after sitting so close to the television, I can’t.
“If you’re bad, Santa Claus won’t bring you any presents” - This is actually true, right ?
“If you go out dressed like that, you’ll catch a cold” - The common cold is a virus. It has nothing to do with the weather.
There’s probably plenty more but those are the ones that have stayed with me all this time.
16 responses so far ↓
Scottie // April 10, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Your mother and mine must have been related…… Isnt it funny what our parents told us kids. Isn’t it even funnier that we believed them?
kevin landwaster // April 11, 2008 at 5:54 pm
the carrot thing is somewhat true. there is a good eats ep you can watch with a good explanation of what goes on.
Hawkeye18 // April 11, 2008 at 7:52 pm
The “carrot” thing is absolutely NOT true. The reasoning behind it is this: In WWII, the English had RADAR. The Germans did not. The Germans could not figure out why their bombers kept getting jumped at night 50 miles out from britain! Obviously the Germans were very curious as to the technology that allowed the british to see in the dark.
The British did NOT want the germans knowing about their RADAR, because then the krauts would steal it and negate their advantage. So, the Brits, crafty peeps that they are, came up with a PR campaign stating that they could see at night because they ate… (drumroll please) carrots!
Were you to do some actual, real (as in, not wikipedia) research, you would find this out pretty easily. I’m not trying to diss anybody, I’m just trying to say that a lot of common sources taken as truth are often not truthful.
Oh, and there is recent research suggesting (NOT proving) that the cold virus has a coating that melts in warm temperatures, killing the virus. When it’s cold, the virus doesn’t “melt” (not a technical term here) as fast, and thus stays alive longer, and in greater numbers, increasing the chance for a cold.
Am I suggesting that I am the sayer of all truths? Nope. Don’t take my word for granted… look it up yourself! It’s such a better feeling when you go out and learn something yourself…
healthy // April 11, 2008 at 11:00 pm
“If you eat lots of carrots, you can see in the dark” - Um, not after sitting so close to the television, I can’t.
Good one!
But maybe carrots can overcome the other thing that will make you go blind?
beagle79 // April 12, 2008 at 12:49 am
My parents say the cold one A LOT!
Scout // April 12, 2008 at 2:50 am
The one about sitting too close to the TV would have been prudent for the old style sets as the radiation given off would have damaged your eyes at a close distance. Where do you think microwave technolgy comes from?
barrymore // April 12, 2008 at 2:59 am
“Oh, and there is recent research suggesting (NOT proving) that the cold virus has a coating that melts in warm temperatures, killing the virus. When it’s cold, the virus doesn’t “melt” (not a technical term here) as fast, and thus stays alive longer, and in greater numbers, increasing the chance for a cold.”
The lie was that wearing warm clothes during cold weather reduced your chances of getting a cold. Whether the virus is ‘melted’ or not (and i think *you* should double check that one), wearing warm clothes isn’t going to change the chance of you contracting a cold.
Joel (Ottawa) // April 12, 2008 at 3:09 am
Carrots have high in Vitamin A, which is medically known to aid in vision. So when you’re doing your Non-Wikipedia search, be sure to catch that one. As for the weather affecting a cold, and wether it has to do with what your wearing - matters. The virus is potentially the same in any given weather, I do not know about any “melting,”
But cold weather lowers a person’s immune system if not dressed properly for the weather - fact.
dfgdfger // April 12, 2008 at 8:44 am
“If you don’t believe in god you’ll go to hell”
Kuranes // April 12, 2008 at 10:01 am
I was always of the opinion that while cooler weather itself may not affect whether or not you catch a cold, the lower auto-immune response that your body will have during colder weather due to trying to keep itself warm will increase the severity of a cold were you to catch one, as your body struggles to fight it. Sound advice?
gtracer // April 12, 2008 at 12:56 pm
aha yes that reminds me of alot of things…and they still say I’ll catch cold dressed in three coats and layers of pants……
bboysmaster // April 12, 2008 at 12:57 pm
isn’t carrot got some kind of vitamin (i don’t remember which) that can help against poor night vision?
lex // April 12, 2008 at 12:57 pm
good one.. in my country (singapore).. the theory was eating carrots improve your eyesight.. =)
Utkarsh Seth // April 12, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Hey
it also made me smile as most of them were true with me too 
(though i am from a totally different cultural background) I also came up with a similar post( Love…..as I see it ) in my blog regarding parents. Give it a look, if you wish, and let me know what do you think of it.
I just read your entry and it was good.
Keep it up
Thanks
Brad Beaman // April 12, 2008 at 1:01 pm
“If you go out dressed like that, you’ll catch a cold” Ok, they say it is a virus. I go out in the cold without a coat and I catch a cold. It may be a virus for other people.
Banana // April 12, 2008 at 1:59 pm
hehe.. yeah these are absolutely tru that our parents have told us as well here in another part of the world (Asia).
just blog hopping!
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