Old wives' tale

An old wives' tale is a wisdom much like an urban legend, supposedly passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Today old wives' tales are also common among children's peer sex education[?] in school playgrounds. Old wives' tales often concern pregnancy, puberty and nutrition.

Some old wives' tales are true, and those that aren't often have roots in truth or are used to trick people into doing something.

Table of contents 1 Common Old Wives' Tales 1.1 Eating carrots improves your vision 1.2 Having sex standing up is a contraceptive 1.3 Chocolate causes acne

Common Old Wives' Tales

Eating carrots improves your vision

half-truth

Carrots do contain vitamin A, which helps to maintain healthy vision, but they don't contain enough to make any significant difference. This tale started in the second world war when the British spread a rumour that their pilots were eating carrots to give them improved vision, concealing the truth about the invention of radar.

Having sex standing up is a contraceptive

false

This is an example of of an old wives' tale in peer sex education. It may seem somewhat logical to a virgin but is not true as sperm and the vagina can defy gravity.

Chocolate causes acne

false

Chocolate does not cause acne, in fact there is little evidence that one's diet effects acne at all. This is an example of an old wives' tale used to discourage something (the large quantities for chocolate some children eat is unhealthy in other ways) by associating it with something that people are afraid of.