Weird stuff our parents or grandparents said or believed (wedding, wives, father)

[shamrock4]

Another one - my mother was a fabulous, meticulous knitter but never worried about a small flaw as she said it "would let the devil out". I 'm pretty sure she was kidding but the idea was only God can create perfection.

Also, up until the 1960s I remember wakes in the home with the casket generally placed in front of the fireplace. Someone (or several) always sat up all night with the casket out of respect for the spirit of the body.

[reneeh63]

Originally Posted by jamary1

My grandfather would soak his foot in a bucket of kerosene if he stepped on a nail.


My grandmother was pretty convinced that tampons caused insanity or Tuberculosis, sometimes both. No whistling in the house, never walk around with only one shoe on, no hats on the bed ever.....all bad luck.


If you gave someone a gift of cutlery, you also had to give them money (it could be a nickel), otherwise they would promptly cut themselves accidentally. Likewise a purse....it had to have a few coins in it to bring prosperity.


Never light three cigarettes on a single match. Never say, "If it's the last thing I do, ......."

I was told that if you ever gave someone a wallet or a purse you had to put a little money in it so they'd always have money - you basically never wanted it to be empty even when giving it to them!

[Zeurich]

Seriously I read all the comments well I did not hear any of them when I was a kid. Thank you for the thread...

[stanley-88888888]

dont speak more than one language at home while raising kids because the kids will be confused and wont be able to talk... now we know that children who grow up to be multi-lingual are even more apt at sciences.

[Nov3]

My grandma who raised me for a few years, would burn the toast. When I would complain, she'd say...Burnt toast makes your hair curly! ( I wanted curly hair so bad). All my aunts and uncles (her kids) had curly hair, so I presumed they ate ALOT of burnt toast! My hair ,is to this day, as straight as an arrow. Guess it wasn't the burnt toast that makes hair curly!

Same grandma - Said- Never touch a birds nest or the little birds will die.

[phonelady61]

I always heard my grand say " don't can any food especially tomatoes while on your period or they will turn black LOL;
don't wash your hands in a thunderstorm because lightning can come through the pipes and electrocute you .
don't sweep over a young womans feet or they will never get married or have children .
Rob peter to pay Paul I actually thought my mom had robbed a man named peter to give money to Paul LOL ...
Never let an animal lick you in the face or you will die from the germs
I swear I truly wonder if they believed all this stuff they were told by their parents or grandparents . I'm sure I heard more but the above is what comes to mind .

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by jamary1

My grandfather would soak his foot in a bucket of kerosene if he stepped on a nail.


My grandmother was pretty convinced that tampons caused insanity or Tuberculosis, sometimes both. No whistling in the house, never walk around with only one shoe on, no hats on the bed ever.....all bad luck.


If you gave someone a gift of cutlery, you also had to give them money (it could be a nickel), otherwise they would promptly cut themselves accidentally. Likewise a purse....it had to have a few coins in it to bring prosperity.


Never light three cigarettes on a single match. Never say, "If it's the last thing I do, ......."

My family was the same with the things I put in bold. To this day if I give something sharp to someone I give them a penny.

[Scooby Snacks]

My dearly departed grandmother told me rubbing Vicks on my chest would cure colds faster. I have no idea if it's true, but I use it to this day. It reminds me of her, and her memory cures much of what ails me, no matter what it is

[TruckWife518]

Originally Posted by Lodestar

My farmer in-laws didn't get a telephone until the early fifties. I noticed that his mother never answered the phone, even if she was standing right next to it, until it had rung twice. I thought maybe she had some kind of superstition that it had to ring more than once to be sure that she was connected.


Later in life I noticed that my husband did the same thing. So I asked him one day why he waited for two rings. He hadn't been aware he was doing it. But after he'd had it called to his attention he figured the habit out.


Their old phone was a party line and every family had a different ring. Theirs was two rings.

This reminds me of the story of a girl who noticed every time her mom cooked meatloaf, she always cut the front & back piece off before putting it in the oven.

So the girl asked her mom why she always did that. Her mom said, "I don't know. My mother always did that so that's how I do it."

Confused, the girl then went to her grandma and asked HER why she always cut the front & back pieces off meatloaf before cooking it. And Grandma said, "I don't know but it's how my mother did it."

By this time, the girl was really frustrated & anxious to get to the bottom of this "mystery". So she went to her great-grandmother and asked HER why she always cut the front & back pieces off meatloaf before cooking it.

Great-grandma simple answer was " My oven was too small to fit a whole meatloaf. So I had to cut off part of the meat so the rest could fit in my oven."

(I hope I told that story right. *smile*)

[kevxu]

Originally Posted by imagineAA

....If I was to begin to bring up the pseudoscientific stuff...we'd be here all day. Just insert every wackadoodle herbology, iridology, reflexology, and cure-all vitamins sold via pyramid schemes here.

Actually, you could just refer them to several of the C-D forums where the same stuff blooms in even great profusion. Nothing in U.S. culture has grown as fast as out-and-out nutbaggery.