“Which Old Wives’ Tale Is Actually True?” (30 Answers)

It really does. I’ve done it a few times when I’ve had sore gums

Advice passed down from grandmother to mother to me. When I was in high school, my biology teacher explained why this works. It doesn't completely kill the virus or bacteria throughout the body, but it draws water out of the viral or bacterial cells within the respiratory system causing them to die, thus reducing inflammation. Also helps with canker sores.

My grandfather taught me this one

Hydrogen peroxide works wonders on mouth sores. Almost immediate amelioration. Most containers say "Oral Rinse" on them.

Now this one makes me wonder how things get qualified as an old wives tale. My doctor taught me this.

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It has something to do with atmospheric pressure, doesn't it?

I can feel changes in barometric pressure.

I had thyroid cancer. Had thyroid and lymph nodes removed. My neck now signals (a quick shot of pain) that rain is coming, three days before it arrives. It's more accurate than the weather forecast. I think it's reacting to atmospheric shift.

I'm in my early 30s and have this problem. Apparently it's most likely to do with the changes in barometric pressure that accompany rainy weather.

Not to mention it works perfectly against vampires. I've been using garlic for years and never had any encounters

Oh, yeah, garlic is very good for you. Particularly fresh garlic. Don't they even have garlic pills?

You can never have enough Garlic

Garlic, tea, and honey

which are?

Or you might be letting more ghosts in

Now where is the pun about farts....

The voices in my head say it might be schizophrenia.

Let the right one in..................

Knew someone who was convinced supernatural voices were speaking and playing music. The more she described her experiences of this otherworldly phenomenon, it dawned on me - auditory pareidolia. If the fans are hitting just right, I can hear the muffled voices of BBC newscasters on the radio in another room.

Wolf's bane by a full moon is best, my dear.

Not an old wives tale.

My twin brother died of CF. He was diagnosed at 3 days old because they did a salt test, and they had to cut him open and remove part of his bowel because he had a blockage and wasn't able to use the bathroom on his own. This is also due to the mucus and malabsorbtion issues that are symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis. It's an absolutely horrible disease. However, yes. Typically, the first way they test someone  for Cystic Fibrosis is to do a salt test to check the salt levels on your skin.

Or it could be sweat.

Can't say I've ever heard this one.

TIL it's apparently not weird to go around tasting kids' foreheads.

An active kid on a sunny summer day also tastes like salt when kissed.

I never knew this was considered an "old wive's tale" I always thought it was a well known proven fact.

There's nothing wrong with being near kitty litter as toxoplasmosis is spread through ingestion and isn't airborne. The issue is the cat or person cleaning the litter touching infected poop, touching something else that either touches food, or touched food directly and then you eat or drink that. Basically, someone else should clean the litter daily because the parasite does not become infectious until 1 to 5 days after it is shed in a cat’s feces. Wash hands with soap and water after cleaning out a cat’s litter box, obviously, and just make sure anything that the pregnant person eats is washed and/or cooked well. Pretty much how you should handle things anyways. source: the CDC.