The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-NineGiphy"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & GraceGiphy"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
Redditor rockytheboxer asked:
"What common misconception infuriates you?"
I try to be calm. But anything can infuriate me.
So let's chat.
Lies
Cat Zoom In GIF by Paul TrilloGiphy"That you can zoom in on a digital picture and it gets more clear."
skotgil
Not Simple
"The Dunning-Krueger Effect."
"It's not as simple as dumb people overestimating their intelligence while smart people underestimate it. Once you feel 100% certain in your knowledge, all new information looks like misinformation. Once you believe yourself an 'expert,' you're far less receptive to facts that contradict your position. Self-doubt is what keeps your mind open; the nagging sense that what you 'know' might not be true is what motivates intelligent people to keep pursuing knowledge."
"Studies even show the DK Effect actually horseshoes."
"People at the very bottom and the top tend to over-emphasize their own intelligence. When leading scientists are disproven by new discoveries, it's not uncommon them personally reject the new science. The 'Nobel Disease' describes when Nobel Prize-winners go on to become quacks, believing their 'genius' qualifies them as experts in things outside their expertise."
Rowan-Trees
37
"Life expectancy. People think hundreds of years ago you died at 40. Completely false. Infant mortality was extremely high so the average is skewed. If you made it out of infancy you had a pretty good chance of becoming old."
boludo1
"So much this. If half the people born die at age 2 and the other half die at 72, the average life expectancy is 37, but that doesn't mean 'everyone died at 37.'"
bulbaquil
Higher Levels
"'If they give me a raise at work, I'll bump up a tax bracket, and I'll actually make less!!'"
Mymoggievan
"Oh man, I just came here to say this. Had a high-level staff meeting last week to discuss how our company will be changing from weekly checks to bi-weekly."
"The uproar, because they were gonna get 'taxed more' was hilarious. I literally had to draw a crude graph for folks who’ve been on this Earth for decades longer than I have in order to explain how a progressive income tax works. My eyes are still rolling."
Bokuden101
Ruined
Angry Season 3 GIF by Paramount+Giphy"O.C.D. is not some cute obsession with cleanliness and order. It can ruin lives and comes in many forms."
Leeser
"I also hate when people play armchair psychologist."
Leeser
There is such a thing as too clean. Right?
Colors
season 1 friends GIFGiphy"As a colorblind person, I don't see in black and white. I have no problem driving. And I will never play the 'What color is this?' game. Not ever."
Midnight-Ran
'women’s work'
"The quote 'well-behaved women seldom make history' is frequently misquoted. Professor Laurel Ulrich stated this in a 1976 essay that details how women in early America have been lost to history as their stories weren’t considered important by those who wrote history."
"Her quote is not meant to minimize the lives of women who perform stereotypical 'women’s work' such as mothers and wives, but to stress the issue of women’s voices being lost in history."
"I think it’s important to support women who do not live within these archetypes, but not at the expense of women who enjoy being within these roles. Ultimately, having the voices of diverse women and gender-diverse people documented in history is incredibly important - which should include both 'well-behaved' and rebellious women."
littlepinch7
Communication
"Introversion and social anxiety are NOT the same things."
"Not every introvert has social anxiety or is a poor communicator. Stop lumping people together and just calling it introversion."
"I’m introverted. I know how to communicate well. I just don’t want to with you."
bumpty
Evil
"That the symbol of the upside-down cross is satanic, evil, witchcraft, etc. I see so many Catholics and Christians going off on people who have upside-down crosses on clothes and stuff because it’s 'evil.' No, it is not. The upside-down cross comes from Peter, who decided to be crucified upside down because he felt he was not worthy of dying in the same fashion that Christ did. It is a symbol of honor, love, and respect for Jesus."
Love Dies
In Love Hearts GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"People like to believe 'there's someone out there for everyone' but honestly this just isn't true. Or that we only have 'one true love.'"
awkward-fox-patrol
Everything makes me mad.
But life goes on.
Redditor These-Froyo2242 asked:
"What are some misconceptions about sex or relationships that many people believe?"
Love and sex are misconceptions in general.
Not a Fix
Dont Touch Me Go Away GIF by One ChicagoGiphy"That your relationship problems or lack of sex gets better when you get married. LOL."
"Or have a child! Yeah cause the incredibly hard task of keeping a tiny human alive will most def help a failing relationship!"
fookinmessss
It's Sad
"Getting a girlfriend will not automatically make your depression and self hatred magically disappear."
Road_Ok
"At the time I didn't know I had chronic depression so I was confused too. When puberty started my happiness was gone. I had no friends so I thought friends would fix me."
"I got amazing friends and even if I had wonderful adventures with them when I was home alone I cried every time. Then started to think I just needed a gf... And when I had one, the most amazing girl in the world I still felt empty and sad. She suffered a lot because she noticed my struggle and I was an idiot. She left me without knowing how much I loved her."
DrDeadwish
Not Typical
"That you won't ever have a fight or argument, that it's easy peasy lemon squeezy."
MadamePurples
"Yes, but how you disagree matters a lot. Arguments should not devolve into name calling, extended shouting matches, or berating, and it's GOOD to take breaks to calm down/regulate if you're upset. And if one partner is regularly berating the other it's a really really bad thing and not a 'typical argument.'"
femNms
Know Boundaries
"That you have to put up with bulls**t just because it's a relationship. People seem to think it's normal to put up with someone giving you grief just because you're going out with them. Don't put up with behavior in relationships that you wouldn't expect from a best friend."
judochop1
"To an extent. I think relationships are more complex than that. It can bring out a different side of you when it's a life partner that you feel you need to trust and count on and vice versa. What matters is that you both acknowledge faults, issues and work through them together to improve."
Willing_Archer
Unhealthy
new girl help GIFGiphy"Drama = passion. That's unhealthy. Be happy in contentment."
chewie8291
"I always hated that the TV show New Girl fell into this trap. They put the main character into the healthiest relationship she has in the whole show then... she dumps him because they never fight? Yeah that's a healthy message to the audience."
thatwasntababyruth
Don't use movie and TV love as a blueprint.
Be You
Treat Yourself GIF by blackbearGiphy"That how my partner sees or treats me is a reflection of how desirable or lovable I am. Nah. If someone doesn't appreciate you or isn't attracted to you, that's about them. Don't change yourself for other people. Be your own person. Love yourself."
picsystix
Closer
"Sex should be fun and natural, and it's ok and not a problem if your partner, says not tonight I'm knackered from work. They still want you they still want to be with you. They are just tired from work, but people get too hung about sex in a relationship. Yes it's definitely a huge part of the closeness in a relationship, but your relationship shouldn't be defined on sex alone."
nickmasonsdrumstick
Team Efforts
"If you are just in it for your own pleasure, it’s gonna be bad sex. Sex is a team sport."
Substantial-Stand744
"Say it louder for the people in the back please. Last person i was with wanted to do it all the time, but I didn't always have the same energy. he started complaining about me not putting in the effort and I'm like... we just screwed 4 hours ago idk what you expect."
sage_vex
Mutuals
"Also, as a woman, that being desirable is the ultimate goal for a healthy and pleasing sex life. My sexual experience is so much more than my body and it's appearance/desirability. Sex should be mutually pleasing. As women, I think we are fed a lot of crap about what being sexy means. It's good to unpack all of that and ask yourself what YOU want."
picsystix
Like A...
like a virgin madonna GIFGiphy"It's okay to be a virgin. It should not be stigmatized."
gik323
"Absolutely. For years I thought I was broken because I was a virgin in my mid 20s. When I finally lost it when I was 28, I wondered why everyone made such a big deal about it."
EchoedJolts
All Sizes Welcome
"It’s okay to be average sized in the pants. Many women have said they prefer average."
RathGodofWar
"Penis size and confirmation gets talked about all the time, but there’s also a lot of variation in labial and vaginal size and conformation. Physical sexual compatibility relies a lot on how those sizes relate and to be honest the rest of your anatomy and preferred sexual positions also tie in to it."
WyrdHarper
There's quite a lot to unpack here! It seems that open honest communication between partners is best.
Do you have any wisdom to share? Let us know in the comments below.