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10 BIZARRE LIES ‘90S KIDS WERE TOLD — & STILL LOW-KEY BELIEVE, IF WE’RE BEING
HONEST

Anyone else grow up terrified of eating a watermelon?

by Morgan Flaherty
November 2, 2023

Niedring/Drentwett/Getty Images


Calling all my fellow '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!).

1. 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!

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. CHOCOLATE MILK COMES FROM BROWN COWS.

OK, this one is admittedly cute. However, chocolate milk does not, in fact, come
from brown cows (as un-fun as that truth may be). But if you wholeheartedly
believed this lie when your mom or favorite uncle told it to you, you certainly
aren't alone. According to a 2017 survey from the Innovative Center for U.S.
Dairy, 7% of American adults still think chocolate milk comes from brown cows.
That's over 17 million people (!).

7. YOU CAN DROWN IF YOU SWIM AFTER EATING.

I don't know about you, but this is a lie I believed way past the '90s. Remember
being told that swimming immediately after eating would cause you to drown?
According to Dr. Michael Boniface, a Mayo Clinic emergency medicine physician,
this theory came from the myth that "some of the blood may be diverted to your
gut so that you can digest, diverting the bloodstream away from your arms and
legs." This fatigue would, in theory, make you more likely to drown.

Dr. Boniface confirms that there is no scientific evidence for this, though.
While you may end up with a stomach or muscle cramp, you can steadfastly ignore
this advice.

8. IT'S ILLEGAL TO DRIVE WITH ANY INTERIOR DOME LIGHTS ON IN THE CAR AFTER DARK.

How many car rides and road trips in your youth were punctuated by your parents
telling you to turn the back interior lights off so they wouldn't get pulled
over by a cop? It was dark, and you just wanted a little light to read the
latest Highlights or play with your new Happy Meals toy. But your Mom and Dad
were insistent they'd get ticketed if you kept the dome light on. According to
Policy Genius, though, it is not technically illegal. So, why the histrionics?
Driving with dome lights on can make it harder for the driver to see, thereby
creating a safety issue.



9. DOGS SEE IN BLACK AND WHITE.

Did you believe your dog could only see in black and white? This was less a lie
and more a common misconception among… well, everyone! However, science now
tells us that dogs do not only see in black and white. Instead, they can see
color, albeit they see it differently than humans. Dogs have fewer color
receptors than us, so their color spectrum is a bit more limited. But it's still
there and certainly gives them more than just black and white to see.

10. AND EATING CARROTS WILL HELP YOU SEE BETTER.

Man, '90s kids should be able to see in the dark by now, thanks to all the
carrots we hoovered. Alas, carrots don't *exactly* make you see better. Vitamin
A promotes healthy eyesight, and beta-carotene converts to Vitamin A in the body
— and, as you probably know, carrots do contain beta-carotene. But so do other
foods, such as sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and, yep, even pumpkin pie.

I hope we can all rest easily now knowing we can safely eat before swimming and
won't be growing a watermelon in our stomachs anytime soon. Luckily, we
millennials can all bond with each other on our shared experience of being told
the absolute most bizarre lies as children.

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