Warnings we grew up with
Grandma said…
Don’t sit on cold stones. Wait an hour after eating before you swim. Which warnings did you grow up with? Hang yours on the wall – the editors check what was actually true.
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.
Verdict: Spinach does contain iron, but the body absorbs it poorly. And the story that its iron content was a misplaced decimal point is itself a myth. It is still good for you.
Verdict: A lack of vitamin A does cause night blindness, and carrots contain what the body turns into vitamin A. But extra carrots give no super-vision. The myth was spread by British wartime propaganda to explain how pilots found enemy p…
Verdict: Sitting close to the TV does not damage your eyes. But research links lots of time indoors and little daylight to short-sightedness, which has risen sharply among children. Not square eyes – but slightly more short-sighted ones.