Old Wives' Tales

[DottyG]

In another thread, we're talking about sneezing.  A couple of us have noted that we've heard you can prevent a sneeze by:
 
1)  pressing the space between your nose and upper lip
2)  immediately saying "bless you" before you sneeze
 
Old wives' tales are interesting things!  They're just those little bits of wisdom that are passed down through the ages that are not, necessarily, scientific (medical or otherwise) but just......work!
 
What are some of the OWT that you know of that actually seem like they really work?
 
Do you have a great trick for hiccups that always works for you?  What else?
 
What about other types of things - not related to the body?  Any for the weather?  Or something else?
 
(Editing to add - to avoid some confusion! - rather than mere superstitions, try to list some of the things you actually have found are true or that you find have worked despite the fact that they just seem kind of odd when you hear them!)
 
 

[*inviteseller]

A bar of soap at the foot of the bed under the blankets cures leg cramps...and it does!

[Outdoor Girl]

If it doesn't rain on Good Friday, it's going to be a dry summer.  I've kept an eye on this one the past few years.  It isn't 100% but it seems to be right more than 50%.

[KitKat]

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

It takes seven years to digest swallowed gum

Where a woman carries her weight during pregnancy determines the sex of the baby

Its bad luck to walk under a ladder

Its bad luck to cross paths with a black cat

Seven years bad luck if you break a mirror

[DottyG]

KitKat, are those things you know to actually work, though*?  Or just superstitions in a general sense?





*  Not saying you don't know that they do - maybe you do!

[Nikko-chan]

Mustard for leg cramps. My two aunts swear by it.... ick! Also, banana for the same thing, that's what my mom uses.

Boiling water and mint for congestion (used it.. works!)

Honey for coughing from illness-- like a scratchy throat. The honey coats the back of your throat and ta dah! No more coughing!

[Outdoor Girl]

Mustard for leg cramps. My two aunts swear by it.... ick! Also, banana for the same thing, that's what my mom uses.

I don't know if it is an old wives' tale but when I start getting leg cramps, I drink chocolate milk!

[Nikko-chan]

Mustard for leg cramps. My two aunts swear by it.... ick! Also, banana for the same thing, that's what my mom uses.

I don't know if it is an old wives' tale but when I start getting leg cramps, I drink chocolate milk!

That sounds better than mustard! lol

[Seven Ate Nine]

Boiling water and mint for congestion (used it.. works!)

I love mint tea for congestion.  I usually only drink it at home though because I have a habit of sniffing my mug

More of a fun one, but a friend of mine is currently swearing by the Chinese Baby Calendar.  Everyone she knows that got pregnant last year (including me) lined up with the calendar.  I played along because it was fun, but laughed when I found out that her prediction was right!

[BB-VA]

Mustard for leg cramps. My two aunts swear by it.... ick! Also, banana for the same thing, that's what my mom uses.

I don't know if it is an old wives' tale but when I start getting leg cramps, I drink chocolate milk!

I take a calcium/magnesium/zinc supplement.  It improves potassium absorption in the body, which cures the leg cramps.

I think your soluction is tastier!  But being diabetic, it's kinda hard to find sugar-free chocolate milk these days.

[ladyknight1]

I know that potassium deficiency leads to muscle cramps, and as DH found out the hard way, bananas are much more inexpensive and readily available than potassium supplements.

Drinking warm milk makes you sleepy.
A long labor means the baby is a boy.

Cures
Cranberry juice - urinary tract, bladder, or kidney infections
Chicken soup - cold

[MerryCat]

Ginger for nausea - it always makes me feel better right away anyway

Sucking on a clove will help with coughs. It numbs the throat or something so you don't feel the tickle anymore. On the downside, it wears off after a bit so you have to keep sucking them and end up smelling strongly of cloves.

[ladyknight1]

I am starting a thread for old wive's tales that are false.

[oceanus]

Crisco is a great treatment for dry skin – hands, neck, feet, heels, even on the face.  My grandmother used it for rough hands and feet especially in the winter.

(I heard Minnie in The Help talk about it; since then I’ve seen several people on talk shows praise the wonders of Crisco.)

[doodlemor]

My grandmother was a great one for keeping sick kids warm to "sweat out" a fever, much different than nowadays.  She also used hot onion poultices on the chest for congestion.