The things old people believe

[mister_me]

My wife's grandfather was over at our house last night and noticed our cat when it came out of our childs room (our child is 16 months old). He said to make sure we don't leave the cat alone with our child when he's sleeping because the cat would "steal the breath" from our child.

First, off,...does anyone know where in the world this came from? Is there any truth to it?

Second,...Does anyone have any more of these sayings and know their origin?

And third,....me and my wife have been debating what the name of these 'sayings' is. Are they called 'old wives tales' or 'old wise tales'? I'm not going to say which one I think it is, in case I'm wrong.

[racekarl]

Wow, you have come to the right place. Cecil wrote an article about this, search the archives.

The short story may be that gramps isn't as nutty as you think. While cat's won't "steal the breath" of babies in some witchcraft sense, they are attracted to warm soft things, and I suppose it is possible for the cat to smother a baby. My friends with cats have all be awakened by their cat trying to sleep on their face, which I imagine would be very dangerous to an infant that couldn't throw the cat to the floor.

I vote for "old wives' tales." That's how I;ve always heard it

[ShadowWarrior]

Old Wive's Tales. Definitely

[Go alien]

The things that old people believe, sheesh. Just think, in fifty years time, our descendants will be laughing at us for believing in homeopathy and crystals...


I have a book of photos taken by Father Brown in Aran during the 1920s & 30s. One picture shows a man with his small son, who was dressed in girl's clothes. The caption states that the boy, about 2 or 3, was dressed as a girl to prevent him being stolen by fairies.

[LouisB]

I'm and old guy and I believe in crystals. I've seen them and held them in my hands. IIRC, there are thirty-two classes of crystals, encompassing thousands of individual specimens.

I'm not so sure about this "homeopathy" thing---------

[Eve]

"Just think, in fifty years time, our descendants will be laughing at us for believing in homeopathy and crystals..."

—Hell, I'm laughing at you now.

[dwc1970]

Snopes probably covers many old wive's tales, such as the one about a cat stealing a baby's breath, which I have linked.

While on the subject, is there any real distinction between an "old wive's tale" and an "urban legend?"

[cookeze]

I haven't heard this in a long time and don't know how many believed it---but in the 50s I knew people who wouldn't eat any raw fruits or vegetables with seeds in them cuz they said the seeds could sprout in your stomach and kill you. I always wondered if there was a death certificate somewhere that said, "Died after consuming a raw cucumber."

I know there were all kinds of nutty food fads like in "The Road to Wellville." Some would chew every bite of food 50 times before swallowing.

[SavageNarce]

Originally posted by cookeze
...I knew people who wouldn't eat any raw fruits or vegetables with seeds in them cuz they said the seeds could sprout in your stomach and kill you.

Possibly related to the classical "distrust of tomatoes" fear. People used to think that tomatoes were poisonous.

Mind you, some seeds can kill you. Peach, Plum and Apricot seeds (the seed is actually inside the pit in the centre of the fruit) contain cyanide, and consuming these seeds can be deadly.

[mister_me]

Here's another one - My wife's grandmother just rubbed a potato on a wart on her finger and then buried it in the woods. She said it would get rid of the wart. What's up with that?

Another thing I've heard about people doing is burying a statue of some saint in their front yard if they're selling their house - it's supposed to help it sell quick. I can't remember the saint but I've heard of several (catholic) people doing this.

[Random]

IIRC, St. Christopher. (Who ain't even a saint any more. )

[Ol'Gaffer]

A friend's grandfather once admonished us for watching his dog take a crap (it was raining and were checking to see if Casey was done so we could let him back in the house). He said that if we watched we would each get a sty in one of our eyes. This was in California and he was a dust-bowl Okie so I would assume that it originates in the midwest, pre-WW2.

[Guinastasia]

No, St. Joseph. A professor of mine said he tried this and he sold the house. (Mind you, he said he doesn't really BELIEVE it, but it was a funny story).

[Hari Seldon]

Old Wives' Tale, definitely. Someone asked the difference between that and urban myths. Here's my take on this. An OWT is a piece of advice. Get rid of a wart by rubbing it with a potato and burying the potato. Step on a crack and break your mother's back, always cover an honor with an honor, that sort of thing. An UM is just a story, usually pretty tall. Like the guy who was sitting on one toilet while another was being reamed with a Roto-Rooter (TM) and suddenly .... Of the story of Reggie Jackson, the dog and the old couple in the elevator. Note that some OWTs have a grain of truth, but UMs are just stories.

[Papermache Prince]

This Catholic forum says that the saint to bury is St. Joseph.

[smam]

What happened with the guy on the toilet? I hate hearing 1/2 a story.
Please tell.

[Ezstrete]

Once we were taught that it'd take several lifetimes to travel to the moon!

Once we were taught that mold would kill us and now we have penicillin.

Once it was said that the patent office should be shut down because there were no more things to invent.

I'm knockin around in my 80's----------

You guys stick around that long and you'll look back and wonder too-------at how wrong we were/are/will continue to be!

[David Simmons]

Originally posted by LouisB
I'm and old guy and I believe in crystals. I've seen them and held them in my hands.

The reminds me of the joke about the guy who was asked if he believed in infant baptism. "Oh God yes, I've seen it done!"

[Uncommon Sense]

Originally posted by racekarl
would be very dangerous to an infant that couldn't throw the cat to the floor.

or out the window.

[ptr2void]

<Sam Waterston>The robots will come and steal your medication for food!</SW>

[Kalhoun]

My grandfather used to tell my dad that if he ever got in a fight with a black guy, don't hit him in the head, because their skulls are harder and thicker than ours, so he wouldn't get hurt. He told him to go for the shins because that's their weak spot.

[Sunglasses]

An elderly neighbor once told me that, if I put butter on my cat's paws, she would "never stray from home".

[Max Carnage]

Originally posted by ptr2void
<Sam Waterston>The robots will come and steal your medication for food!</SW>

Cause robots are made out of metal...and they're strong.


Ahhh the best SNL commercial ever.

[Spiff]

Originally posted by Ezstrete
Once it was said that the patent office should be shut down because there were no more things to invent.

Hey, old dude , this is an urban legend, and a false one at that.

The gist of the story is that the patent official who supposedly made that remark around the turn of the century (1900) was misquoted by a journalist. But because it made such a good story, it has been repeated ever since, especially as a cautionary tale about predicting the future.

A columnisit in Scientific American researched this about five or so years ago. I'd provide a cite, but it wasn't on the SA website.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

The master covered the "cat breath stealing thing"

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_081.html