Things My Grandma Says Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stutter

As those of us with ticklish feet know only too well, having them tickled can actually be quite painful, but most babies seem to just laugh and laugh when being tickled anywhere. There is no proof at all that tickling their feet causes them to stutter in later life.

However, do bear in mind that the baby can't tell you to stop when the tickling stops being fun and starts to become uncomfortable.

Answer: Mirrors

This was in the belief that lightning would be attracted to anything shiny and to leave a mirror uncovered was to invite a lightning strike. My own Grandmother used to cover up all mirrors and also put away all the knives, but not, strangely enough, the other cutlery.

There is no proof that lightning is attracted to mirrors or other shiny objects. It is a good idea to turn the television off during a thunderstorm as lightning will strike aerials.

Answer: Rusty nail

There is a half truth in this one. Tetanus enters the body via an open wound, and can be carried in the soil. The rusty nail on its own won't give you tetanus, but it will cause a wound that bacteria carried in dirt on the nail could enter. Prior to the discovery of the vaccination for it tetanus was often fatal, so avoiding open wounds near dirt was a sensible precaution. If you do step on a rusty nail, you should make sure your tetanus immunization is up to date.

Answer: Head

Going outside with a wet head will not cause you have a cold. After all, you don't get a cold if you get rained on and your head gets wet in the winter.
However, being wet and cold may lower your resistance to any bugs that are around, and if you have the start of a cold then getting cold and wet certainly won't improve it.

Answer: Breasts

Regrettably there is no truth in this one. If it were true then a vast number of plastic surgeons would suddenly be looking for another job and the price of cabbage would soar. I suspect this one has been told by generations of Grandmas to unsuspecting children as a way of getting them to eat their greens.

Answer: Mother

There is a lot of truth in this one. If he drops his clothes all over the floor and waits for his mother to pick them up, never lifts a finger to help, and expects his mother to wait on him hand and foot, why should he be any different with you?

Answer: The weather

The idea behind this is that seaweed can absorb ambient moisture, so if a piece of limp dry seaweed suddenly goes damp it means there is moisture in the air, which could mean it is going to rain. If you hang up Bladder Wrack seaweed, which is the one covered in little blisters, and after it has hung there for a while you can pop one of the blisters then it should be dry. If you can't pop a blister then it is going to rain.

As a scientific method of predicting the weather this one is unproven.

Answer: Potatoes

Any plant that crops below ground, such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, should be planted at the dark of the moon. Those that crop above ground should be planted at the light of the moon. Many amateur gardeners have followed a lunar calendar for planting for many years, and swear it gives increased cropping and better results from bulbs and flowering plants.

It is also claimed that cutting your grass at the correct moon phase can retard growth and lead to needing to cut less often.

Answer: Butter

Putting butter on a burn to sooth it is an old wives' tale. It has no medically proven benefits, and can actually trap the heat in the burn making it hurt even more. If the burn has blistered and is open it could even cause an infection.

Answer: Steal the baby's breath

This goes back to cats often being regarded as witches' familiars. It was thought they would steal the baby's breath and take it back to the witch. In truth it is not a good idea to let a cat, or any other animal, lay on a baby's bed as there have been cases of babies being suffocated because of this.