What Myths were we told when we were Children......

[tampatalon]

Yes, I have heard that one too. Supposedly it had something to do with that a cat would jump in the crib and suck all of the air out of the baby. The thing is I have no idea why a cat would want to do that.

My goodness! This type of cat tale did exist into the late 80's at my house.

TampaTalon^">

[Katie77]

Yes, I have heard that one too. Supposedly it had something to do with that a cat would jump in the crib and suck all of the air out of the baby. The thing is I have no idea why a cat would want to do that.

Apparently the cat would jump in the cot because it could smell milk on the baby..........

[David In Indy]

My Mother had all kinds of myths....

AN upside down broom left on the porch will ward away evil.

Acorns on the window sill will prevent lightening strikes.

A boiling pot of salted water will scare away house haints.

If you touch "it" you will stunt your growth. She didn't succeed with that one! I'm 6 foot 2!!

I remember Mom telling me Christmas is the most haunted time of the year; even more so than Halloween. Christmas is the time when our deceased loved ones come back to check up on us.

This is a good thread Sue!!

[tampatalon]

When I was around 5 or 6 and we would eat at the luncheon counter at the
Woolworth's downtown, my mother would tell me not to eat the chewing gum
people discarded by sticking the gum on the underside of the counter because it
had disease and I would die. After a few moments of thought I asked her if the
gum under the luncheon counter at Kresge's was any better.

TampaTalon^">

[Katie77]

When I was around 5 or 6 and we would eat at the luncheon counter at the
Woolworth's downtown, my mother would tell me not to eat the chewing gum
people discarded by sticking the gum on the underside of the counter because it
had disease and I would die. After a few moments of thought I asked her if the
gum under the luncheon counter at Kresge's was any better.

TampaTalon^">

Oh Steve.....you actually thought of  eating someone else's chewing gum???........UGH !!!!

[MaineWriter]

If you stepped on a crack in the sidewalk, you'd break your mother's back. I actually knew that wasn't true since I stepped on plenty of cracks, but I still tried to avoid them, just for fun.

If you break a mirror, it will bring you seven years bad luck. I actually did break a mirror when I was 7 and lived with dread for 7 long years. I was so happy when my 14th birthday came.

Public toilet seats were vectors of horrible diseases. My grandmother taught me to sort of hunch over the toilet seat and not sit down, so I wouldn't touch it. If I actually had to sit, then she taught me to put toilet paper all along the seat. Now, of course, they have paper covers you can use. I guess my grandmother was right! LOL

L

[Shasta542]

I lived with my grandmother and grandfather as I grew up. There were always things that she warned me not to do, but which I basically scoffed at because I didn't believe.

She did not want me to whistle: "A whistling woman and a crowing hen, always come to some bad end."  I whistled anyway, but when she caught me she recited the warning! 

I couldn't open an umbrella in the house, or walk through the house with a rake or a shovel. Some kind of bad luck. 

She told me not to kiss boys on the lips -- that one didn't take. I don't know if that was a myth or just to ward off unwanted pregnancy.

She hated for me to have black cats, but I had those many times.

OMG--walking under ladders was akin to death.

I never paid much attention -- she probably thought I was the spawn of the devil, but we actually loved each other very much. I was her wild child and I wasn't even wild as far as doing regular teenage -- getting in trouble -- kinda stuff. I just didn't always conform to her instruction. 

[CellarDweller]

well, let's see,

I've walked under ladders, and broke mirrors, and stepped on cracks, and opened umbrellas in houses, so those myths are all debunked.

I've heard about cats "stealing" babies breath before.........that goes back to olden days when people believed in vampires.  Vampires could transform themselves not only into bats, but cats as well.  Cats naturally like warmth, and baby cribs are filled with stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, and cats would snuggle in to get warm, and I suppose a few babies were accidentally smothered in the process.  Between that and the vampire lore, that's where that story came from.

[jstephens9]

We used to go to the beach every year. The hotels we would stay in had this piece of paper around them. I asked my father why they did that. He said that it meant the toilet had been cleaned and we would not have to worry about getting crabs. Well, I was very little and I had no idea what types of crabs he meant. I thought he meant those that crawled around on the beach. I mean we were at the beach after all. I was quite glad that I didn't have to worry about any of them jumping up from the toilet while I was on it or at any other time.

[louisev]

I'm not sure if this would fall under the title of "myth" or outright "lie".....



 


I remember being very young, and asking my mother about "the statue with no arms".






I asked why the statue had no arms, and my mother told me that the woman was a thief who had been caught stealing, and her arms were cut off as punishment.


My younger brother asked what her name was, and before mom could answer, I said "Greedy Greta".

my dad almost crashed the car, he was laughing so hard.

my mother wasn't quite so creative in explaining the Venus de Milo - she said that they ran out of marble.