• This morning on Good Things Utah – Calling all ’90s kids, because we need to talk. Let me take you back to a time of Beanie Babies, the Spice Girls, and when the only being you had to worry about keeping alive was your Tamagotchi. There was another aspect of growing up in the ’90s that I simply cannot stop thinking about, though, and that’s the bizarre lies adults would tell us to get us to stop doing something. Perhaps it was because Google wasn’t readily available to debunk their strange myths, or maybe these were lies they themselves were told during childhood. Either way, we really need to talk about these completely strange “fibs” that ’90s kids grew up believing (and, according to data, still believe in some cases!).
    • Swallowing watermelon seeds will make a watermelon grow in your stomach.
      • The most terrifying myth of them all? Swallowing watermelon seeds will cause a watermelon to grow in your stomach. I distinctly remember the overwhelming fear of what would possibly happen the moment I ate watermelon. However, there is absolutely zero truth to this misconception. The strange myth likely comes from the fact that the body cannot digest watermelon seeds but instead passes them through the digestive system whole. Luckily, they do so without leaving an entire watermelon behind. Phew!
    • Cracking knuckles will cause arthritis.
      • Another prevalent (re: scary) myth was that cracking your knuckles would lead to arthritis in your joints. However, if you’re a chronic knuckle cracker like me, rest assured you likely have nothing to worry about. According to a Harvard Medical School study, “the “pop” of a cracked knuckle is caused by bubbles bursting in the synovial fluid — the fluid that helps lubricate joints.” The study concluded that there’s likely no correlation between cracking your knuckles and having arthritis later in life.
    • Your eyes will get stuck like that when you cross them.
      • At one point or another growing up, we were all sternly told by a parent to stop crossing our eyes because “they’ll get stuck like that.” The prospect was too terrifying to question and certainly stopped me from wanting to make the goofy facial expression too often. But consider this myth completely busted. Doctors confirm that your eye muscles are meant to go in any direction and won’t stick that way. However, no guarantee doing it for too long won’t cause a headache.
    • Gum will stay in your stomach for seven years.
      • Raise your hand if you ever swallowed gum only to be hit with the terrified feeling that that gum will be with you for the rest of your life. Elizabeth Rajan, M.D., writes for the Mayo Clinic that swallowing gum isn’t harmful. She writes, “If you swallow gum, it’s true that your body can’t digest it. But the gum doesn’t stay in your stomach. It moves relatively intact through your digestive system and is excreted in your stool.” So, obviously, don’t go swallowing loads of gum. But, if you did ever swallow any, rest assured you aren’t still carrying it with you years later.
    • Drinking coffee will stunt your growth.
      • Remember when you got to middle school and started downing Frappucinos at Starbucks? You likely heard from a parent that drinking caffeine would stunt your growth, leaving you terrified that you’d stay your current height forever. Well, we needn’t have feared. According to a Harvard Medical School study, there is no scientific data to suggest coffee stunts growth. The study clarifies that the idea came from the misconception that coffee causes osteoporosis, a condition that may be associated with a loss in height. We hope you tune in for this Hot Topic and so much more this morning on Good Things Utah.