Nettles and Old Wives' Tales

I've recently come back from this year's Institutional Web Management Workshop held at University of York.

As from previous years, the event was excellent. There were old and new faces, good topics for discussion and it was a great event all around.

But if there's something I took away with me, it's that the best way to avoid getting stung by nettles is to grab them with full force and gusto. WHAT?!? I said the same myself in between fits of giggles. I almost gagged on my pizza!

Sitting in La Vecchia Scuola, a lovely Italian restaurant near the York Minster with the Manchester contingent, Keith from Salford regaled us with a tale of a time when his brother told him that the best way not to get stung by nettles is to grab a great bunch of them at the same time. According to Keith's brother, it works. Ouch! Either that or he was seriously winding Keith up. And no, I won't be trying grabbing onto nettles anytime soon.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. What old wives' tales have your dearly beloved tried to convince you was real, or something you practice today? Things like 'not eating bread crusts will give you curly hair' or 'If your left ear itches, someone is speaking ill of you'. Duh! Do people still believe in these things? If so, why on earth?

Answers on a postcard, please.