Old Wives Tales? Let's Google It!

Brainstorming in my article writing class today led to my next assignment: busting myths of old wives tales, in particular, ones that college students might worry about (or be pestered by doting mothers).
Interviewing and actual research will come later, but for now I thought this would be a good time to see what google has to say.

(taken from a plethora of sources..none of this is my own words)

1.What you've heard: "If your child cracks his knuckles, he'll get arthritis later."

The truth: Sorry, but you'll need to look for another excuse to curb this annoying habit. There's no evidence that it leads to arthritis. In fact, people who crack their knuckles generally have healthier joints than those who don't. So should you encourage it? Nah. It's not the knuckle cracking itself that's protecting them against arthritis, but the fact that they tend to be more physically active than non-crackers, says Tyler Cymet, assistant professor of internal medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in Baltimore, and the author of a recent study on joint cracking.




2. What you've heard: "Turn on a light! Reading in the dark will hurt your eyes!"

The Truth:
For years mothers have told their children not to read in the dark because it will ruin their eyes. Were our mothers right when they told us this? Do people wear glasses because they read in the dark too much? Does this claim contain any truth?

The ability to see well is called resolution. Resolution is the ability of an optical system, such as our eye, to detect detail. The resolution of our eyes depends on the amount of light. The more light the better the ability of our eye to resolve fine detail. So it is true that we do not see as well in the dark.

Low light conditions make it more difficult to read in the dark because our ability to see fine detail is diminished. Difficulty reading will cause eye fatigue or eyestrain but this is only a temporary discomfort. However, while it is more difficult to read in the dark, reading in the dark will not damage the eye in anyway. You should still listen to your mother though.


3. What you've heard: "Coffee will stunt your growth!"
The Truth:
Recently, the New York Times printed an article about coffee and its effects on mental health. In an observational study that spanned many years, middle aged coffee drinkers were tracked and tested. It was discovered that people who drank three to five cups a coffee a day were at less of a risk for developing dementia than those that drank a lot less.
Coffee has many properties that might result in this benefit. For one, coffee lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes which has been linked to dementia. Also, caffeine reduces plaque in the brain, which is characteristic of Alzheimer’s.
In other research, caffeine has lost a lot of the fearsome myths surrounding it and has proven to be good in many ways. A cup of regular coffee may stop that headache in its tracks, boost your mood, and even prevent Parkinson’s disease.
In short, coffee lovers need not be too worried about cutting down on their intake because in the long run the addiction might do them some good. As for stunting your growth, there is no research that says drinking coffee will keep you from being as tall and strong as your morning cup.


4. What you've heard: "You're on the computer too much! It will give you carpal tunnel!"

The truth: There is a hidden human cost to high-volume data entry that we are just beginning to realize. Prolonged use of the keyboard, such as in high-volume data entry, or high-volume typing, can cause Repetitive Strain Injury. (RSI). Technically, RSI can be caused by any repetitive motion. However, since touch typing - keyboarding is one of the most dominant office activities, RSI is commonly associated with this activity.

RSI occurs because the muscles of the forearm do most of the work moving the fingers and wrists, in high volume repetitive activities. Over time repetitive motions can cause soft-tissue damage in which nerves, or tendons may become irritated or inflamed.


5. What You've Heard: "Wear a coat! You'll catch cold!"
The Truth: Illness is brought on by a virus taking hold in the body and circumventing—or overwhelming—the body’s immune system. The question, then, is whether or not getting cold has an effect on a person’s susceptibility to a virus. First of all if a virus is not present, getting very cold is not going to produce one out of nothingness, so the argument of no coat in the cold causing sickness is wrong to begin with. But why, then, do more people get sick in the winter months than other times of the year? Accepting for the moment that this is true, a popular believe is because people are more in contact with each other in closer quarters. As people stay indoors there is more exposure during the winter months to each other, which facilitates the spread of virus and resultant disease. Ironically it is those moments when people are vulnerable when they are NOT wearing their coats.



Well there you have it, friends. The truth about those statements your mother also nagged you about. Throw some science at her!