Don’t eat the cake mixture, you’ll get worms!
The verdict
Not worms – but raw dough is not risk-free. Raw flour can carry E. coli and raw eggs salmonella, and food safety authorities advise against eating raw cake mixture.
On the wall
More warnings
Don’t keep your mobile in your pocket, the radiation will give you a brain tumour!
Verdict: A large review commissioned by the WHO in 2024 found no link between mobile phones and brain tumours, even though almost everyone has had a mobile for decades.
Don’t swim straight after eating, you’ll get cramp and drown!
Verdict: No research has shown that people drown from swimming on a full stomach. A gentle swim after lunch is perfectly fine.
Don’t swallow the apple pips, a tree will grow in your tummy!
Verdict: The stomach is far too dark and acidic for anything to sprout. The pips come out again, usually quite unbothered.
Verdict: There is no evidence that coffee stunts growth. Children still shouldn’t have much caffeine – but for other reasons.