Lies our elders told us

[Tisch]

"What's the magic word?" is something I say often.

A look not dissimilar to this is normally enough I find

 

[Christian]

"Going outside after a shower will get you sick." (is this actually true?)

100% true unfortunately.

You have to leave it 24 hours

 

[Marina Salty]

That it is the last bite that contains all the nutritional value and if i don't empty my plate I will get weak and die.

 

[Indie]

My mum once told me when i was younger that bank managers get paid 1p on their first day and it doubles every day

I believed that for far too long.

 

[Christian]

My mum told me that when you pay in a cheque for cash in Holland they give you the money for free. I was quite invested in making sure she did this every time we went into town for years.

I now realise that this only happened when we were in the UK on holiday (and it wasn't really free)

 

[Marina Salty]

The reason for shortness was people not eating all their food.

 

[Kratz]

They were! I was also terribly spoiled, so it probably all balances out

Why do I now picture @Christian in pig-tails pinching other children behind their backs?

 

[K.C.]

Did anyone's parents use a boogeyman (or a variation) to scare them?

 

[floppet]

Did anyone's parents use a boogeyman (or a variation) to scare them?

My dad told me there was a Grumbleweed behind one of the kitchen cupboards and it came out at night and ate children who weren't asleep.

When I was older I learned that The Grumbleweeds were some kind of comedy act.

When his dementia was really bad I was talking to him in the hospital, he didn't have a clue who I was but he remembered telling his eldest (me) about the grumbleweed in the kitchen.

 

[lolly]

I distinctly remember being told my my parents that all the ball boys and girls were orphans as well. I never had any desire to be one, so I'm wondering if that's something which was genuinely believed for whatever reason?

 

[HalamaK]

"Going outside after a shower will get you sick." (is this actually true?)

A bit of hyperbole but also true if it's cold outside. Keeping kids clothed and dry lessens their risks of hypothermia. "In total there were 1,047 excess winter deaths caused by living in cold damp homes in England in December 2022".

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007119300863/

Acute respiratory distress syndrome - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

simple.m.wikipedia.org

 

[AGinAg (37)]

Eating the crusts of bread will make your hair go curly.

 

[disneyteletubby]

Ah I've heard so many of these mentioned so far, especially from my mum.
One that I realised when I was about 11 was that the "boarding school man" apparently shouting "children!" is actually the rag-and-bone-man (shouting "rag-and-bone") collecting old furniture, fridges etc..