El Brujo Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Two years ago, I actually wrote a funny book about the cockamamy things people's mothers told them (don't do this because that will happen, etc etc). My mother and gm told me a few of them, but my ggm was loaded with them! My friends and neighbors told me a lot of the ones they heard, including a guy from FL who said his mother told him he'd get worms from sitting on cold cement. The problem is, when our mothers were girls, they never took science class, or else they flunked it. As a result, when we were kids, our mothers' lack of scientific knowledge made us miserable... like all the times I had to wear, hot, stuffy clothes like the kids on South Park instead of being allowed to romp in the snow and rain. Folks, make sure your daughters take science classes, and make sure they PASS them. Link to post Share on other sites
Radu Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Mind sharing the book ? Link to post Share on other sites
Author El Brujo Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 Mind sharing the book ? Mothermyths. It has an orange cover with a cartoon of a mom and a small boy on it. You can look it up. Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I dunno ... I still use Vicks VapoRub religiously when I feel a cold or sinus situation cranking up, that stuff is pure magic! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
sb129 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Aren't you a couple of generations late? Science is compulsory in schools where I live up to age 16 and it has been for years. I did science based subjects at university over 10 years ago and there were lots of women doing science degrees... and its commonplace to see women in science related jobs here too... Link to post Share on other sites
sb129 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 That said, it still amazes me how many people believe all sorts of rubbish. Like vaccinations are bad for you etc. Link to post Share on other sites
Author El Brujo Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 I dunno ... I still use Vicks VapoRub religiously when I feel a cold or sinus situation cranking up, that stuff is pure magic! Comedian Chris Rock said the big cure for every ailment in the Deep South is Robitussin; everywhere else, it's chicken soup. But all that crap ever did to me was make me sicker (it gave me heartburn in addition to having a cold). Never could've said that when my ggm was still alive... Science is compulsory in schools where I live up to age 16 and it has been for years. My guess is you don't live in the US. The religious nutjobs would howl that they're being persecuted if we ever made science compulsory in all US schools. That said, it still amazes me how many people believe all sorts of rubbish. Like vaccinations are bad for you etc. Some of us love our stupidstitions, and cling to them as family heirlooms. Heaven forbid any moms born before 1980 would learn about genes! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I had a dorm roommate in college from the Rio Grande Valley. Her mom swore by aloe vera juice, while her granny would feed the grandkids a teaspoon of Vicks each winter to ward off colds. Said it worked ... but come on! Like it ever gets cold in extreme South Texas? :laugh: what's your take on folk-healing remedies, especially herbal cures offered by curanderos, El Brujo? not the dark side, but just commonly used stuff, like chamomile tea for digestion ... Link to post Share on other sites
Author El Brujo Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 what's your take on folk-healing remedies, especially herbal cures offered by curanderos, El Brujo? not the dark side, but just commonly used stuff, like chamomile tea for digestion ... Well, ayahuasca won't make you get better, but it'll sure make you feel better... for colds, I just tough it out and exercise, and for digestive ailments, don't play Human Garbage Disposal (DUH!!!). As a kid, I was always being threatened with stabbing by my mean old mother unless I ate her disgusting concoctions... usually, they made me puke, or gave me diarrhea, or made me fart like a human bagpipe (and yes she got on my case about that). My dietary suggestion for a happy kid: hamburgers and candy bars!!! Oh, sure, he'll grow up to be toothless and big as a house, but he'll always love you and never put you in a nursing home! But if the kid hates chocolate, you're in trouble. For fingernail and toenail fungus infections, I used to cook up a dark greenish blue tarry goop out of copper sulfate solution and hot soapy water... then I'd skim the tarry green stuff off the water and melt it into some Vaseline. I originally cooked it up for preventing dry rot on wood, but then my neighbor down the street painted his infected thumbnail with it and found it killed all the fungus. You could use Termin-8's Copper Green instead, but that stuff smells like hell. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sb129 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 My guess is you don't live in the US. The religious nutjobs would howl that they're being persecuted if we ever made science compulsory in all US schools. Heaven forbid any moms born before 1980 would learn about genes! No, I don't live in the US. I was born in the mid 70s and learned both genetics and evolution as part of a compulsory national science curriculum. Now, students at 98% of high schools must take science to a certain level and genetics is part of the compulsory curriculum. Evolution is also taught as a national standard although a few religious schools opt out of that I think. My husband is a science teacher, I'm a health professional. Our daughter doesn't stand a chance... Link to post Share on other sites
sb129 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 There are some old wives tales that are true: -cleaning windows with vinegar does make them sparkle. -baking soda and salt makes a good mouthwash (actually there are lots of cool things you can do with baking soda) -adding potato to an oversalted dish makes it less salty etc etc - 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Radu Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I had a dorm roommate in college from the Rio Grande Valley. Her mom swore by aloe vera juice, while her granny would feed the grandkids a teaspoon of Vicks each winter to ward off colds. Said it worked ... but come on! Like it ever gets cold in extreme South Texas? :laugh: what's your take on folk-healing remedies, especially herbal cures offered by curanderos, El Brujo? not the dark side, but just commonly used stuff, like chamomile tea for digestion ... All of my grandparents cooked with a ton of onions. I mean, take any recipe that has them, and double/triple them. Now i do it too. They said it was healthy, i later found out onions can protect from cancer. Pine syrup. My grandma swore by it, me and my sis had to take a teaspoon every day. Tasted awesome. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Disillusioned Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Funny how a lot of things that are supposed to "cure" a kid's ills, actually make him sicker instead. Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 what did the pine syrup do, Radu? onions: There was an email going around for the longest time that talked about using onions (and garlic) to help recover from illnesses. One of the things listed was a story about how during periods of flu, someone's grandmother or great grandma would cut an onion in half and then put it on the nightstand near a sleeping person. Apparently, the juice of the onion would absorb the illness from the air, keeping that person healthy. I just know that hubby and i love the taste of both, so we cook with them a lot. And no vampires here :laugh: a "mama cure" I use to this day: Whenever I get sick and nausea or vomiting is involved, I drink Sprite or 7-Up to settle my stomach. My guess it's the carbonation that takes care of the problem, but it always works. I've also discovered that Coca-Cola is a good liquid to have around when I'm so dehydrated that even water isn't helping ~ the sodium and the caffeine perk me up, and best part is that it only takes about 1/2 a can to get me back on track, and then it's back to sucking down water to rehydrate. Just make sure it's plain old Coke, and not the diet or sugar-free stuff! (no, I am not promoting the drinking soda on a wide-scale basis, but I *do* use it medicinally from time to time. Otherwise I really can't stand the taste of the stuff, I'm a tea-junkie) Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 SB, we've got a spray bottle mixed up with water, vinegar and a dash of dish detergent to treat all dishes before placing in the dishwasher. The stuff is fantastic for cutting through food. Even if we spray and let stuff sit in the sink overnight, the acid from the vinegar will loosen up the food bits when they get wet. I think the ratio is one part vinegar to 4-5 parts water (depending on how strong you want it) and a healthy squirt of dishsoap. other thing we use vinegar for is laundry, we go through jugs of the stuff because it goes into every load to help rinse out the soap and other perfumes/scents that have accumulated. It's been great, as far as helping alleviate allergic reactions (itching, itchy eyes) from the perfumes in the soap. Link to post Share on other sites
Feelin Frisky Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I dunno ... I still use Vicks VapoRub religiously when I feel a cold or sinus situation cranking up, that stuff is pure magic! Ha, my mother has said that rubbing Vicks on the bottom of your feet cures something--hiccups if I recall. No freaking way am I buying that. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
freestyle Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I was told by BOTH parents that vines would start growing out of my ears, if I swallowed a watermelon seed. I was young enough to believe them (26) (JUST kidding) actually about 4 or 5--and I accidentally swallowed a seed, and was mortified......... Link to post Share on other sites
Author El Brujo Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Apparently some molecules have magical powers... maybe scientists are the ones who are full of BS? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Zolie Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 The old wives tale that amazes me that some people still believe is... "Don't go outside with your hair wet or you will catch a cold." Or worse, "catch your death of pneumonia". I once lived next door to a woman who totally believed that, because her mother, gm, and ggm always told her that. And she was telling her young daughter the same, who in turn told MY young daughter. I explained to my daughter that colds are viruses that are passed on via germs in sneezes, coughing, touching surfaces the affected person touched, etc. The really SAD thing is that this woman worked as a receptionist in a doctor's office! I asked her once to ask her doctor-boss about the wet hair in the cold story and she just looked at me like I was crazy. lol Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Ha, my mother has said that rubbing Vicks on the bottom of your feet cures something--hiccups if I recall. No freaking way am I buying that. :laugh: no, it doesn't cure hiccups, but the vapors from the location on your feet somehow travel to your respiratory system and help ease the onslaught of a cold. It's also supposed to be good for curing fugusy toenails ... Link to post Share on other sites
Author El Brujo Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 There must be something about having a kid that destroys the brain cells that run on common sense. Because childless people would never tell a kid some of the cockamamy things that some moms and a few dads tell their kids. Yeah, Zolie... I've met quite a few moms who don't know (or don't care) that viruses and other germs are real... if they can't see a virus, for example, then it apparently doesn't exist; they think ghosts make us ill. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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