What is the weirdest Old Wives Tale/Lie you ever heard as a kid that you believed?

You can be president some day.

lol, just lol.

I'm alarmed when I think about how many fibs I was told as a kid, and errr I think I only just found out Gum doesn't stay in your tummy for 7 years.

We also had to tell all the kids in the street that came for a swim, there was a chemical in the pool that followed you like a dye ring when you peed, and stained you red for a year.

Every New Year's Eve my mother would say, "Today you'll see a man with as many noses as there are days in the year."

I think I gave up looking for the man with 365 noses when I was about 12.

I wasn't the sharpest knife in the box.

I had a habit of chewing on my hair when I was like 3 or 4 years old. I can remember my mom telling me I would get worms if I didn't stop it.

Lol, wtf is up with the "you'll get worms" fib??

My uncle told a story (this was when we were living in Louisiana), of this strange monster that lived at the North Pole, but enjoyed making occasional trips to Lake Charles to terrify children and take them away to his creepy castle to either eat them, or conscript them into slavery. I imagined a sort of albino Bigfoot with an infected, foaming mouth, razor sharp teeth and bright reptile eyes. He said the monster was very ancient and had psychic abilities, and that even thinking about him made him aware of YOU. To even speak his name was to initiate his on-foot trip to your door. And every time you spoke his name, he gained speed and began moving a little faster - pissed that you woke him up . . . and he was very hungry. Sometimes, he could make the trip in one night, usually arriving just before dawn broke. For the life of me, I can't remember the creature's name - I guess I blocked it out for good reason, but I remember my brother and I FREAKING OUT when we came to realize that my uncle had said the creature's name at least FIVE TIMES during the telliing of the story!

All the sudden, after the darkness had filled the atmosphere, and we were just staring at our uncle, paralyzed in fear, we heard a loud banging on the side of the house, accompanied by a garbled, evil howling - something was trying to get into the house - We screamed!! I headed for the gun cabinet! Haha, it turned out to be Boo, my older cousin (fitting name, now that I think of it) - he and his Pa had played the BEST prank on my brother and I. I have no idea how they timed it, maybe Boo was listening through the window - I don't know. Oh man, my uncle had a great memory of spooky Louisiana folklore and creepy-camp-fire tales. I think the monster's name was 'Grizzle-gwob,' or something, but I know that just isn't correct.

xox!

originally posted by: kissy princess
My uncle told a story (this was when we were living in Louisiana), of this strange monster that lived at the North Pole, but enjoyed making occasional trips to Lake Charles to terrify children and take them away to his creepy castle to either eat them, or conscript them into slavery. I imagined a sort of albino Bigfoot with an infected, foaming mouth, razor sharp teeth and bright reptile eyes. He said the monster was very ancient and had psychic abilities, and that even thinking about him made him aware of YOU. To even speak his name was to initiate his on-foot trip to your door. And every time you spoke his name, he gained speed and began moving a little faster - pissed that you woke him up . . . and he was very hungry. Sometimes, he could make the trip in one night, usually arriving just before dawn broke. For the life of me, I can't remember the creature's name - I guess I blocked it out for good reason, but I remember my brother and I FREAKING OUT when we came to realize that my uncle had said the creature's name at least FIVE TIMES during the telliing of the story!

All the sudden, after the darkness had filled the atmosphere, and we were just staring at our uncle, paralyzed in fear, we heard a loud banging on the side of the house, accompanied by a garbled, evil howling - something was trying to get into the house - We screamed!! I headed for the gun cabinet! Haha, it turned out to be Boo, my older cousin (fitting name, now that I think of it) - he and his Pa had played the BEST prank on my brother and I. I have no idea how they timed it, maybe Boo was listening through the window - I don't know. Oh man, my uncle had a great memory of spooky Louisiana folklore and creepy-camp-fire tales. I think the monster's name was 'Grizzle-gwob,' or something, but I know that just isn't correct.

xox!

Got to love the campfire tales that make kids want to wet their pants.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
I think I only just found out Gum doesn't stay in your tummy for 7 years.

I remember that one too, I cried after swallowing hubba bubba because I thought it was gonna stay in my tummy forever lol

I also thought if you ate an apple core, a little apple tree grew inside of you this terrified me!

a reply to: Guenter

My grampa sent me out with a salt shaker saying "if you put salt on a birds tail it cant fly and you can catch it." He was probably sick of me asking him questions and needed some peace and quiet. I was at it all day and didnt catch anything. Go figure.

a reply to: Versus

What, no hairy palms? That was the one that went around where I lived. Then there was the going blind thing too. Self abuse has many pitfalls I guess.

originally posted by: DuckforcoveR
If you pee in the shower you'll get giant warts on your feet

Really? That is how you get rid of athletes foot!

originally posted by: Mickierocksman
As a kid if I was ever caught pulling strange faces - I was told that if the wind changed direction suddenly I would stay like that

Our version was if someone slapped you on the back while you did it it would stay that way forever. A movie I cant think of now from the eighties featuring John Cusak used that bit. It made me laugh pretty hard.

a reply to: Anyafaj

i was raised by my great grandma so i got alot a stye in your eye means your pissing outside the pot and
sleep in front of a open window with a fan you get sick lol the good old pencil test ect..

My evil mom always told us that she would sell my sister and I to the Mexicans, if we were bad.

Oh and my crazy uncles convincing me to go snipe hunting. When we were out there with flashlights they would jump out and scare us.

originally posted by: DAVID64
Raw Head and Bloody Bones.

americanfolklore.net...

Not exactly the way I heard it, but it was enough to scare the Hell out of a small kid in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
It did not help that my Grandmother's name was Betty.

Where in eastern KY did you grow up? I'm from there and my mamaw and papaw would scare the daylights out of me with raw head and bloody bones. Small world...

a reply to: finitedualities

The whole shave a hair, three more grow back bit. Pretty sure this is quite true in some cases, however.

Won't grow more or change the hair at all. Doesn't get thicker/longer either.