Old wives’ tales have been the secret weapon of every mother to provoke fear and obedience in their children. Now, while being educated in every other area, college students have a right to know the truth behind five tales in particular that mothers have forced upon their young.

1. “Don’t go outside with wet hair! You’ll catch a cold!”

In the minds of most mothers, wet hair in cold weather can only mean one thing: impending sickness. Melonie Norris, a registered nurse, however, said that though she is a parent herself, this is most definitely an old wives’ tale.

“That’s totally untrue,” she said. “You must come in contact with the virus to get a cold. Always.”

2. “Don’t stand too close to the TV! You are hurting your eyes!”

As far as sitting too close to the television goes, Sharon Meikle, an optometrist at Pearle Vision, says, “It will cause some eye strain, but it won’t make vision worse.”

She says that eye strain merely means discomfort and is no threat to how well one can see. “For somebody who has perfect vision, [sitting close to the television] won’t cause them to be nearsighted or farsighted,” Meikle said.

3. “If you swallow that gum it will stay in your stomach for seven years!”

Mothers often scold their children for swallowing chewing gum, but Norris said she can’t imagine that it would take seven years to digest gum, as mothers often claim. In fact, Kidshealth.org says that the human body cannot digest gum at all. According to the Web site, “Swallowed gum does not stay in the stomach or cause intestinal problems. That’s because our bodies move most materials that can’t be digested (like gum) through the digestive system and out of our bodies in a bowel movement.”

No doubt this information brings a sigh of relief from notorious gum-swallowers, like University of Tennessee sophomore Allie Smith, who believed she had years of gum in her stomach harming her digestion. “Good to know,” Smith rejoices. “I shall continue with my gum swallowing.”

4. “Carrots will make your eyesight better! Have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses?”

Meikle apparently has never seen such a rabbit and that this claim is partly true. Because the eyesight in young children is still developing, carrots can make a difference for them. She explains that “the vitamin A is good for the retina.” Meikle, however, states that if a 20 year old wanted to improve eyesight, chomping on a few carrots wouldn’t help one bit.

5. “If you keep crossing your eyes, some day they will get stuck like that!”

Another old wives’ tale is a slightly ridiculous claim that most people seem a little hesitant to actually put to the test: If you cross your eyes frequently, they’ll get stuck that way. The question only brings laughter from Meikle. “That is absolutely not true,” she explained. There is no reason to fear permanently crossed eyes, Meikle assured.