You hear a lot of things as a kid, and as it turns out, a lot of these ‘believable’ things were far from the truth.
The midnight shortcut
The story goes that eating late at night means that your body immediately turns the food into fat. Except, it doesn’t work like that, and digestion doesn’t change because of the time on the clock. Any weight you gain usually comes from regularly eating more energy than you use.Â
Late eating does still matter, especially because it usually involves extra snacking or bigger meals. But having a sandwich before bed is no different from having a sandwich during the daytime.
The coat warning
We all heard this one. We forgot a jacket, and our parents would tell us that we’d get pneumonia as a result. There’s no denying that being cold can be miserable, of course it can be, but it doesn’t make you more at risk of getting pneumonia.
Pneumonia is an infection in the lungs, and it’s usually caused by bacteria or viruses. Fungi and some other organisms can cause it too, but not a lack of a jacket. Going outside without one won’t put you at a higher risk.
The candy threat
Many kids in the 1970s heard that eating too many sweets would give them worms. It doesn’t really make sense when you think about it, though. Worms like threadworms, for example, spread when someone swallows their microscopic eggs. Yes, it’s pretty disgusting.
Other parasites can spread through contaminated soil or water. Too much candy will leave you feeling kind of awful, yet it’s not going to create a parasite inside you. That’s completely impossible, and thank goodness for that.
The exploding-candy story
Speaking of candy, one rumor said that eating Pop Rocks and drinking soda turn your stomach into a kind of tiny pressure cooker, ending in it exploding. It’s true that the candy contains carbon dioxide trapped under pressure, yes, and that’s what gives it that crackle.
Soda contains carbon dioxide as well. But that kind of combination won’t create enough pressure to make your stomach burst, no matter what people might’ve told you. General Foods actually had to contact schools to put parents at ease.
The cleaner-mouth claim
Here’s a weird one. Dogs lick floors and chew random objects. They put their mouths practically everywhere, but some kids still grew up hearing that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human one. That just doesn’t make sense.
Both dogs and humans have hundreds of kinds of bacteria living in their mouths. They’re simply different mixes of bacteria, and a lot of dog-mouth microbes don’t cause problems for humans. The truth is, different bacteria don’t mean cleaner.
The Christmas plant panic
People do too much with poinsettias. There’s one story that says taking a bite of the flower will kill you, without any chance of a cure. Not true. The plant’s infamous reputation is way too exaggerated, as eating part of it will make you sick.Â
It can cause mouth irritation and nausea, as well as an upset stomach. The plant’s milky sap may irritate skin, too, but it won’t kill you. Feeling unpleasant is quite a long way from being deadly poisonous, although you don’t want a toddler munching the centerpiece.
The spoon-in-the-mouth rule
Healthcare has a few myths, too. Some kids heard that, when someone has a seizure, they’re supposed to put something in that person’s mouth. It’s meant to stop them from swallowing their tongue. But that’s actually a really bad idea because a person physically can’t swallow their tongue.
In fact, forcing an object between their teeth could injure their mouth or teeth. You can still do something, though. Move any dangerous objects away and protect their head. Turn them onto their side when possible, and time the seizure, so you know what to tell medical professionals.
The glass-at-dinner rule
Ask a kid about milk, and they’ll probably treat it like the building blocks for bones. You know, you have to drink enough of it to make sure your bones grow strong. Not having enough milk makes you fragile.
It’s true that milk contains things like calcium, protein, phosphorus, and usually vitamin D, so it sure is useful. It’s not directly linked to healthy bones, though. You can get calcium from things like tofu and leafy greens. Put it this way, drinking more milk won’t put you at a lower risk of bone problems.Â
The spreading itch
A lot of parents wanted their kids to stop scratching their mosquito bites. So, they told them that scratching it would spread the poison and cause more bites to pop up. Yet there’s no mosquito poison sitting under your skin.
Female mosquitoes inject their saliva while they’re feeding, and it’s the proteins in that saliva that make you itchy. Scratching the bite isn’t harmless, though. Do it enough, and it breaks the skin, so bacteria may get in. That can lead to infection.Â
The 24-hour countdown
Movies and TV told kids that there’s one rule to follow when a person disappears. Their loved ones have to wait 24 hours to report them missing, otherwise the police won’t do anything. It’s quite a dangerous lie.
There’s generally no mandatory waiting period before reporting someone missing, and police handle cases differently due to other factors. Things like age and circumstances play a much bigger role in the police’s response, and so do risk factors.Â
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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