• A high forehead is a sign of intelligence. Absolutely no evidence for this.
• A receeding chin is a sign of a weak character. No truth in that one either.
• Eating green apples causes stomachache. That isn't strictly true; it isn't the fact that apples are green that causes stomachache, it's possibly because they are so sour to eat they aren't chewed properly and causes the abdominal pains.
• Cobwebs can be used to treat wounds. Probably more likely to cause infection than help, although they might hasten blood clotting. Not to be recommended.
• You can get warts from touching frogs. Unfair on frogs, that one. The really odd thing is, I suppose, even modem medicine produces its own superstitions.
I've come across several patients who have insisted that their modem capsules only work efficiently if swallowed the right way round. Green end first seems most popular!Teacher: Michael Many articles taken from 'A word with the doctor', by Dr. John Windsor.
|