Is that a fact?

Mama said there will be times like this. Times when, if you go outside with your hair wet or without a hat, you'll either freeze to death or at the very least catch a cold.

Old wives' tales such as the ones previously mentioned cover health, beauty and superstition, but do any of them hold truth? For some, the jury is still out, but the truth about others may or may not surprise you.

For example, in these frigid months going outside with wet hair or without a jacket means you're almost begging to get sick, many believe. That's not so, said Dr. Margaret Lewin, medical director of Cinergy Health and primary care physician in New York. It turns out staying indoors away from the cold may actually do more harm than good and be the prime environment for festering germs.

"When it's cold and wet, people tend to be indoors more and exposed to more people, but it's not the cold weather or dampness that makes you sick," Lewin said.

The same goes for losing most heat through your head in cold weather. That actually applies to the most bare skin.

"The larger the surface area exposed the more heat you lose," Lewin said.

America, of course, isn't the only country steeped with folkloric advice.

In December 2009, Reader's Digest Canadian edition researched old wives' tales, with the question of does staring at TV or computer screen hurt your eyes as the most requested.

For the record, no, but optometrists advise viewers to shift their eyes from the screen every few minutes to avoid strain.

Teens will rejoice in knowing that there has been no connection found between chocolate and pimples. Lewin notes that most old wives' tales often start with logic, but she scratches her head when thinking about the origins of that one.

"Teens love chocolate, and teens get pimples," she said, laughing. "That's the only thing I can come up with."

Old wives' tales may sound absurd, but when they come from parents, children tend to believe them, said Melanie G. Allen, regional extension agent in family and child development for Lauderdale County.

"These are like traditions because we heard them from our parents, then we'll find ourselves quoting those to our children unless we educate ourselves," she said. "Maybe we'll say it, and then we'll laugh about it."

Sometimes laughter comes from sons and daughters, especially when it comes to matters of spotless underwear.

"My son laughs at me about the one about clean underwear in case you have an accident," Allen said. "He's like 'who's going to care, if I had an accident?' "

If she tells her son that swallowed gum takes years to digest, though, he may be right to snicker. Part of the myth, though, is based on truth.

"There's one or two reports of kids who swallowed packets and packets of gum and it got stuck in their stomach," Lewin said. She added that some ingredients of gum aren't digestible, but they "go right through."

Allen jokes that the tales are a technique parents use to scare kids from taking on certain behaviors.

"It's sort of like mothers pass them on, and I think when you hear it often enough you believe it," Lewin said. "It's sort of fun kind of a bonding experience between mothers and kids laughs I'm not sure you hear something often enough, maybe you believe it."

Allen agrees.

"In any parenting kind of thing, the behaviors are learned so those things repeat themselves. We parent how we were parented."

Mama knows best, but when weighing old wives' tales, seek the facts. "If there's a question, look it up," Lewin said.

Jennifer Crossley can be reached at

740-5743 or jennifer.crossley@TmesDaily.com.