Childhood myths; finale

I started this article yesterday and I didn't complete it because I noticed it will be too long (there are just a lot of these myths 😆). You should read the first part here in case you missed it. I will be continuing from where I stopped yesterday, which is the 4th myth.

4. When your right hand itches you, money is coming.

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This one was quite popular and one of the favorites of many people (especially me). According to the myth, if your right hand suddenly starts itching you then it means you're about to get some money. Some people said it actually works for them, but it has never worked for me 😆

Back then when I heard about it for the first time as a child, I started looking forward to my hand itching so that I will receive money miraculously, my hand will even start itching on its own with that hope of getting money 😂 but it never worked. My hands itched, but money wasn't forthcoming. It's probably itching for me to go steal or something (sometimes that's the only excuse some people need).

5. Don't pass under a clothesline

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The only reason I heard about this one was that passing under a clothesline brings bad luck to the person and as of then, I believed so much in it that whenever I see a clothesline in my path, I never passed under it and will instead follow around it.

Another one similar to this is that you shouldn't pass between two people when working on the road. I still do this sometimes but not because it brings bad luck, but sometimes when I see two people coming from the opposite direction and there's a space between them for me to pass, I don't follow that space and will rather go around them.

It's just that I don't feel safe passing in between two strangers, it's just being cautious 😉. And also, I feel it's kinda disrespectful to pass in-between two people that are walking together (I don't like it when someone does it to me). But sometimes, there are some situations when you just have to pass between two people.

6. Don't let anybody walk over you when you're lying down

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I heard this one from my mom and her reason was that you will stop growing if you allow a person to walk over you 🤣 I don't like the idea of remaining small and being seen as a dwarf, so I always made sure to watch out for my siblings walking over me whenever I am lying down.

There was a day I jumped over someone lying on the ground and she ordered me to jump back to where I was coming from (maybe jumping back will nullify the curse 😂). I didn't know when I stopped caring about that myth, it's probably when I got taller and I realized my siblings have mistakenly walked over me in the past but that didn't stop my growth sprout 😆

7. The devil has eaten food on the floor

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Who hasn't heard of this before? They even have a version of it in the United States called "the 5 seconds rule" (it means food is safe to eat if you pick it up within 5 seconds of it falling to the ground) but in Nigeria, we don't even get 5 seconds 🤣

As soon as your food falls on the floor, it immediately becomes Satan's own 😂 I believed it coz why not? The devil lives in the ground (also one of the crazy things I believed in my childhood). The reason behind this one is understandable; it isn't safe to pick food from the ground and eat it. They should have just told us the truth instead of featuring the devil, but I know some of us wouldn't listen.

8. If you swallow seeds, they will grow in your stomach

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I was already laughing while typing this one, coz wtf?! 🤣 The belief was that if you end up swallowing the seeds of a fruit, it will germinate in your stomach and grow. As usual, I believed this one as well and was always careful when eating fruits with lots of seeds (an example is a watermelon).

My mom even told me that swallowing seeds can lead to appendicitis because the seeds won't digest and go straight to the appendix. I believed as well, but I found out it was bullshi*t when I got to high school and discovered biology. But this is not an avenue for you to start swallowing seeds (yes I am talking to you 😉).

Honorable mentions

• Don't beat a male child with a broom or his private part will shrink.

• Don't whistle at night because you will be inviting evil spirits

• To stop a baby from hiccuping, put a thread on their head

• Don't leave clothes outside overnight because evil spirits will live in it

• When the sun is shining while it's raining, a lion is giving birth

• Rubber bands will suck your blood if you wear them on your wrist

And so on!

There are still a couple of them I haven't talked about and I have forgotten about a lot more, but maybe those in Nigeria have some and will like to share with us. I will also love to hear about the myths in the Philippines and other countries as well, if possible you can even write an article about them 😉

Thanks for reading 💖💖💖

Tuesday April 5th, 2022