An old wives' tale is by definition "a superstition or traditional belief that is regarded as unscientific or incorrect" according to the Oxford Dictionary.
But are they all simple superstitions?
After all, historians have found even the most fanciful of myths and legends had at least a toe in reality in their origins. Many relate to attempts to explain the natural world before the science existed to provide that knowledge.
To begin with, old wives—wif—means old women in Old English when the phrase first appears in written form, not old married women.
So the modern phrase would be old women's tales which connects better to the phrase's origin in the tradition of oral history and storytelling—a task often done by elderly widows or "old maids."
The stories taught lessons and made concepts like death or puberty easier for children to understand. The stories were also used to scare children from dangerous activities.
Many also passed on the primitive medicine and science of the time.
So, again, are all old wives' tales inaccurate?
Reddit user spiteful-hater666 asked:
"Which old wives' tale is actually true?"
Sweet Relief
"Honey as topical medicine."
"It’s actually used in hospitals now for certain kinds of wound dressings."
"It’s anti microbial and keeps other sh*t from getting in the wound."
~ thesleepymermaid
Don't Scratch That Itch
"Ammonia on a mosquito bite."
"Dab a bit of ammonia on it, and don't touch it. Count to 120 seconds, and the bite is 'gone' (inflammation, itchiness, etc...)."
"When I first heard of it, I didn't believe it."
"Now, just a touch of kitchen ammonia and don't scratch and it's beyond gone. Completely."
~ Mackheath1
Stink Or Sting?
"A cut onion rubbed on insect stings or bites, and it takes away the sting."
"I’ve tried it on wasp and ant bites, and it works instantly."
~ Vivid-Farm6291
Weather Wonders
"When rain is coming, your joints hurt."
"I used to roll my eyes and laugh when Granny said her arthritis was acting up because it was going to rain. I was ten years old."
"I'm now 53 and not laughing. Granny 1, me 0."
~ Money-Bear7166
"Everyone I know with arthritis, migraines, fibro, or any kind of chronic pain can tell when the barometric pressure is changing."
"I hate being a human weather station."
~ Itzpapalotl13
Diagnostic Tool
"'Doomed is the child who, when kissed on the forehead, tastes salty. He is cursed and will soon die'.”
"It’s a home test for cystic fibrosis. Nowadays, we know that cystic fibrosis is due to a nonfunctional protein that regulates salt transport; when that protein doesn’t work, you get thick, sticky mucus clogging up every membrane… and a whole bunch of salt being pumped onto the skin."
"Most diseases existed for a looooooong time before we had the framework to understand them, but our ancestors were paying attention and trying to understand these tragedies through the lenses that they had."
"And sometimes, that’s how you get an old wives’ tale that is right on the money!"
~ Adventurous-Onion589
Giphy
Which Herb(s)?
"Gathering herbs by the light of the moon."
"Some plants, pollinated by moths, have their most potent oils at night to attract night insects. So if you need it at its strongest, pick it at night."
~ ivylass
"It's also about picking them before sunrise as the sun will burn off some of those oils."
"I have a big herb garden and I always pick them first thing in the morning if I know I'll need them for making tinctures or for seasoning for dinner, etc..."
~ iron_annie
"For cannabis harvesting 'at night' is helpful."
"The plant contains the most essential oils right before the sun(light) comes up and vaporizes them."
~ Rydon
Red Sky At Night...
"Red sky at night, sailors’ delight."
"A red sky appears when dust and small particles are trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure. This scatters blue light leaving only red light to give the sky its notable appearance.
"A red sky at sunset means high pressure is moving in from the west, so therefore the next day will usually be dry and pleasant—per the meteorological office."
~ justhangingaroud
Red Sky In The Morning...
"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."
"If the morning skies are red, a high-pressure air mass is moving towards the east while a low-pressure system moves in from the west."
"High-pressure air mass signifies stable weather—low pressure signifies unstable weather."
Heartburn = Hair
"A while back, scientists set out to prove false the old wives tale that if a pregnant woman has lots of of heartburn, her baby will be born with a thick head of hair."
"Except…they ended up doing the opposite."
"Turns out heartburn really is associated with a baby having lots of hair."
~ yourlittlebirdie
Achoo!
"If you have bad back pain or a broken rib and have to sneeze; LOOK UP."
"Will hurt way less."
"My dad had a broken rib a few years ago, and this really helped him."
~ RanchDubois_
Redheads Are Hard To Put Down
"Redheads need more anesthetic."
"Turns out that there is a linked gene to red hair that increases resistance or metabolism or something to the drug.
"At any rate, waking up in the middle of a full colonoscopy sucks. Hearing the doctor say, 'Ah, shit, she's awake, give her another one...'."
"And the nurse, all melodramatic as she pushes another syringe worth into your IV, saying to him, 'Are you SURE, Doctor???' as your eyes slowly close again is especially awesome."
~ spentpatience
Sunlight, Sun Bright
"Nurses used to put jaundiced babies on window sills until their color returned."
"No idea how they figured it out, but it’s actually a legitimate cure!"
~ Pluckyplatypus26
"My baby was jaundiced, and he spent almost 2 days in a lightbox followed by weeks of being told to put him next to the window."
"It's the UV light that helps break down the bilirubin causing the jaundice so the baby's liver can remove it from the body."
~ fermango
Nana's Chicken Soup 🐔🍲
"Chicken soup when you're sick.
"I make my own chicken soup [chicken broth supports the immune system and helps prevent and reduce infections] that I call the cure for the common cold. It’s loaded with garlic [sulfur compounds from garlic help in recovery] and cayenne pepper [antibacterial and anti-inflammatory]."
"I throw in a bunch of kale [prebiotic carbohydrates and phytochemicals] at the end, too. Just enough to soften it slightly. Cold goes away in 2 days, tops."
~ weezulusmaximus
Cooler Heads
"Cold cabbage leaves relieves engorgement and mastitis pain while nursing!"
"It sounds SO old wives tale, but it’s been proved true."
~ C1nnamon_Apples
"This works with other edema, too!!!"
"My mom lost all the cartilage in her hips due to chemotherapy and radiation. Left femur split during hip replacement.",
"Friend suggested wrapping her leg in cabbage leaves; hour and a half later, the swelling was completely gone. I was beyond amazed as I used to work in the medical field."
~ SabrielLyra
Get Jiggle With It
"Drinking gelatin to up amniotic fluid during pregnancy."
"They wanted to schedule a c-section at 32 weeks for my kid due to low amniotic fluid. My friend's midwife told me to mix gelatin packets into apple juice and drink it before it started to thicken.. 3x a day."
"Brought my levels up from a 3 to an 8.. and managed to keep the kid baking for another four weeks.. she was born at 36 weeks, weighing 4lbs 3oz.. so the gods only know how tiny she would have been at 32 weeks."
"She was discharged with me three days later, at 4lbs 1oz.. perfectly healthy, besides being as tiny as a doll, and she didn't wear clothes for four months because I was terrified of breaking her."
"But, yeah, I never thought it would work."
~ sp0rkify
The wisdom of our matriarchs and elders shouldn't be discarded without further study.
Some of those folk cures really work.
What old wives' tale do you swear by?
