19 Popular Old Wives’ Tales: True Or False?

6. Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning

True: The saying first appeared in the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew and was used to help shepherds prepare for the next day’s weather. There are variations such as ‘Red sky at night, sailors’ delight. Red sky in morning, sailors’ warning‘, although the meaning is the same. In case it has eluded you, a red sky at night means the fair weather is heading towards you. Red sky in the morning means the good weather has already passed, leaving a low-pressure system (bad weather) behind.

7. Putting a slice of bread in your mouth can stop you crying when peeling onions

True: The syn-Propanethial-S-oxide in onions is released as a gas during chopping and irritates the eye, stimulating tear ducts. Putting a slice of bread in your mouth with half sticking out is thought to catch the fumes before they reach the eye. Or you could just do like this lady and put on goggles!

8. Eating carrots can improve vision

True: Carrots are rich in vitamin A, which is essential for sight. But then so are other foods such as asparagus, apricots, nectarines, and milk. A well-balanced diet can provide the vitamin A needed for good vision.

9. Feed a cold, starve a fever

False: The original saying was: ‘Feed a cold, stave a fever’ with stave meaning to prevent. Fasting just makes you weak, so even if you don’t feel like eating, at least have some chicken soup as it could help. (See point 3, above!)

10. You’ll catch a cold if you go out in winter without a coat

False. Getting chilly doesn’t cause a cold. In a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, two groups of people were exposed to common cold viruses. One group was exposed to germs in a unheated room, the other group in a balmy room. Both groups caught colds at about the same rate.