# Don't sit so close to the color TV!! Did your mama warn you about that? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 6, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915 "2012-09-06T22:01:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/21 "2012-09-07T10:33:47Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > We got a bit of that sort of thing. > > Not sitting to close to a TV & reading in low light conditions were family favorites. > > Lightning zapping people using landline phones [does happen](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/phone.asp)(Snopes). > > I have read that it used to be a bigger problem in Australia (prior to the mid-1970’s) as home phone lines weren’t earthed in the same way domestic power lines were/are now. My cousin’s wall phone was blasted to smithereens in a storm within the last five years. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/22 "2012-09-07T12:15:48Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Dunno why you’re specifying “geezers” only, I was told that less than twenty years ago as a kid. Although it was my grandmother rather than mother. > > (Then again my mother is an optometrist so relatively unlikely to make stuff up regarding eyes lol) Yup, I was told that it would damage my eyesight in the early 80’s. Been wearing glasses/contacts fulltime since the mid 80s now 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/23 "2012-09-07T15:59:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mean Mr. Mustard;15464512What did your mom wig out about back in the day?/QUOTE] “Don’t put things back into the refrigerator one at a time!” Opening and closing the fridge door 5 or 6 times uses too much electricity! So we kids had to first gather the items off the dining room table and put them on the counter next to the fridge, in a small group. Then and only then did we dare open the door _once_ and put them all inside… quickly. Actually, it was my grandmother who wigged out on this more than my mother. Maybe because she still thought that the “Electric icebox” was a mysterious, somewhat foreign, high-tech device. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/24 "2012-09-07T16:33:40Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > “Don’t put things back into the refrigerator one at a time!” > Opening and closing the fridge door 5 or 6 times uses too much electricity! > > So we kids had to first gather the items off the dining room table and put them on the counter next to the fridge, in a small group. Then and only then did we dare open the door _once_ and put them all inside… quickly. > > Actually, it was my grandmother who wigged out on this more than my mother. Maybe because she still thought that the “Electric icebox” was a mysterious, somewhat foreign, high-tech device. it is still true today that the cold air will sink and fill the enclosure with warm and moist room air. drawer freezer design and side-by-side freezer are worse than top freezer. problem can be somewhat lessened with energy using frost free designs but in those days you needed to empty the freezer out to get rid of the ice. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/25 "2012-09-07T16:48:42Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I think you were also supposed to hang up the (landline) phone when there was lightning - again, the fear of getting zapped, though not sure if I ever heard of that happening. When I was a kid, lightning hit a telephone pole outside of our house. Two of our neighbors were on the phone at the time. One worried about the storm and set the phone down. The other one kept on talking. Afterwards, the one who set the phone down smelled smoke. She turned off all of the circuit breakers in the house, then left to run some errands. When her husband got home he turned the circuit breakers back on. Firemen were able to save the house, sort of. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/26 "2012-09-07T20:43:08Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > How many of you were not allowed to go swimming for one hour after eating? We were told this by camp counselors and park directors and the people at the Y, but Mom used to take us down to the lake right after dinner and throw us all in. I always wondered why she looked so dismayed when we got home :dubious:. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/27 "2012-09-07T20:45:32Z")
We had black and white for a while, and we got the ‘Don’t sit so close’ thing then, too. The fact that I was probably born with serious eye problems, that weren’t identified until I was six, only served to give my mom ‘I told you so!’ rights. 😛 But by then it was too late, so instead I got the ‘Don’t watch tv while lying down on the floor, you’ll go cross-eyed!’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/28 "2012-09-07T22:24:00Z")
My Mother would not let us take baths (or later showers) when it was thundering and lightning. I am still apprehensive about doing it (although I do when absolutely necessary) when it is thundering and lightning. You would think after 50 some years, that I would hear one urban legend about getting electrocuted in a bathtub by lightning. Nope never have. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/29 "2012-09-08T00:04:11Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Not sitting to close to a TV & reading in low light conditions were family favorites. Was it only _my_ mother that combined those two and insisted that watching television in a dark room would ruin your eyes? Baffling. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/30 "2012-09-08T00:04:31Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > … “unplug everything when you go on vacation”, “turn off your TV/radio/phone when there’s lightning”. > [@notfrommensa](#): > > My Mother would not let us take baths (or later showers) when it was thundering and lightning. > > I am still apprehensive about doing it (although I do when absolutely necessary) when it is thundering and lightning. > > You would think after 50 some years, that I would hear one urban legend about getting electrocuted in a bathtub by lightning. Nope never have. I still unplug everything when we go on vacation. But then, over here the electricity systems can be dodgy. My mother used to make us unplug TVs and radios when it was storming. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/31 "2012-09-08T04:49:22Z")
For my family it was “don’t sit too close to the TV”, years before they were in color. > [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Was it only _my_ mother that combined those two and insisted that watching television in a dark room would ruin your eyes? > > Baffling. Nope. When faced with “why is it OK in the movies but not here?” the response was “because I say so!” from Mom, but “because in the theater you kids don’t spend the movie going in and out” from Dad. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/32 "2012-09-08T05:38:47Z")
An uncle and aunt had [**one of these**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdqMKdGUn1o) eyesores. Literally. (YouTube — and loud.) The only thing that would be more gimmicky and more relaxing would be a 200,000-volt electric hula hoop. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/33 "2012-09-08T17:38:37Z")
Oh, one more quick memory. Not so much in the USA, but when I lived in Germany, everyone there had a phobia about the dreaded “draft” - you know, that movement of air that comes through windows in the summer that cools the room? It could be 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with 75% humidity, and Germans would LEAP to close the window if so much as puff of air came through. It seems they all believe that a draft is the major cause of death. Don’t even think about buying an electric fan…those were considered weapons of mass destruction. I do recall my grandmother complaining of a draft in the room, but that was usually when it was freezing outside and you could detect some frigid air coming through a crack in the window or door or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/34 "2012-09-08T17:43:14Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Oh, one more quick memory. > Not so much in the USA, but when I lived in Germany, everyone there had a phobia about the dreaded “draft” - you know, that movement of air that comes through windows in the summer that cools the room? > > It could be 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with 75% humidity, and Germans would LEAP to close the window if so much as puff of air came through. It seems they all believe that a draft is the major cause of death. Don’t even think about buying an electric fan…those were considered weapons of mass destruction. > > I do recall my grandmother complaining of a draft in the room, but that was usually when it was freezing outside and you could detect some frigid air coming through a crack in the window or door or whatever. One man’s draft is another man’s breeze. mmm ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/35 "2012-09-08T17:48:40Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > How many of you were not allowed to go swimming for one hour after eating? Many Italians still don’t do this. My mother used to (and may still) not re-heat spinach because it was bad for your health - something to do with nitrate. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/36 "2012-09-08T17:52:19Z")
My parents did indeed warn of the dangers of my eyes being too close to the TV. In fact, in my childhood home, there was a throw rug in front of the TV, the far edge of which marked the closest I was allowed to lie on the floor to the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/37 "2012-09-09T01:49:22Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Oh, one more quick memory. > Not so much in the USA, but when I lived in Germany, everyone there had a phobia about the dreaded “draft” - you know, that movement of air that comes through windows in the summer that cools the room? > > It could be 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with 75% humidity, and Germans would LEAP to close the window if so much as puff of air came through. It seems they all believe that a draft is the major cause of death. Don’t even think about buying an electric fan…those were considered weapons of mass destruction… They also dread cold beverages because of health risk. Many times in Munich they have told me using ice in my drink would make me sick. Between cigarettes they’re telling me this. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/38 "2012-09-15T02:12:31Z")
Thing is, my mom also told me not to sit too close to the TV, and this was long after the adjective “color” had become superfluous. It was bad for your eyes, she said. Meanwhile, I would sit 12 inches away from my computer screen. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/39 "2012-09-15T02:40:49Z")
We weren’t allowed to swim for an hour after eating because if you were digesting your food, your blood flow would be concentrated around your stomach, leaving your extremities without as much, which would make your muscles cramp up AND YOU’D DROWN. We weren’t supposed to read in low light, either, nor to watch TV in the dark. Going out (or, I dimly recall, to bed) with wet hair would make you sick (although not _blind_, jeez). Too much salt would make you go bald (when I challenged that one, my mom said, “Look at your father” and I had no argument), and if you ate raw potatoes, you’d get worms. It all has to be true. My mom told me so. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915/40 "2012-09-15T02:53:00Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Going out (or, I dimly recall, to bed) with wet hair would make you sick (although not _blind_, jeez). They had to save _something_ for the teen years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-sit-so-close-to-the-color-tv-did-your-mama-warn-you-about-that/633915.md?page=3)