Starve a cold, feed a fever...or is it starve a fever, feed a cold? I never get that one right.....besides it doesn't work in my house....you tell a teenager he can't eat.
Do you ever wonder where some of them came from?
Here are a few you may or may not know...
Do not lean a broom against a bed. The evil spirits in the broom will cast a spell on the bed.
If you sweep trash out the door after dark, it will bring a stranger to visit. (that will never happen in my house!)
If someone is sweeping the floor and sweeps over your feet, you'll never get married.
Never take a broom along when you move. Throw it out and buy a new one.
To prevent an unwelcome guest from returning, sweep out the room they stayed in immediately after they leave. (this one I have to try)
Keep cats away from babies because they "suck the breath" of the child.
It's good luck to find a four-leaf clover.
Clover protects human beings and animals from the spell of magicians and the wiles of fairies, and brings good luck to those who keep it in the house.
You must hold your breath while going past a cemetery until you see a white house or you will breathe in the spirit of someone who has recently died.
FRIDAY THE 13TH - here are some interesting tidbits...
More than 80% of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
Many airports skip the 13th gate.
Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue
In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.
OK what about Turkey and tryptophan.....Does it really make you sleepy???
In this instance, lore almost intersects with science. Turkey does contain tryptophan, an amino acid which is a natural sedative. But...and there is always a but...tryptophan doesn't act on the brain unless it is taken on an empty stomach with no protein present, and the amount gobbled even during a holiday feast is generally too small to have an appreciable effect.
That lazy, lethargic feeling so many are overcome by at the conclusion of this meal is most likely due to the combination of drinking alcohol and overeating a carbohydrate-rich meal.
Milk, beef, and beans are also among the foods which have this amino acid, and experts say the average serving of chicken or ground beef contains as much tryptophan as a serving of turkey does. If tryptophan were truly the sandman's henchman, we'd be falling asleep at the wheel on our way home from KFC or McDonald's.
Now, my mom had her own superstitions...I always thought they were a little crazy but, I often wondered if they really worked...
When you lose a baby tooth, squeeze the gum and the new tooth will grow in straight...call me crazy she did this to all 3 of us and none of us had braces
Don't get rid of the palms from Palm Sunday, when a thunderstorm approaches take a palm and set it on fire on your front step, the thunderstorm will go away.
When visiting someone, always leave in the same door you came in.
Never kill a spider in the house...it's good luck...(not in my house I am petrified of spiders)
Always carry a corno portafortuna on you, wherever you go.
I know this In My Life I may not be that superstitious, but I may teach my children some of my mom's superstitions and old wives tales.
