Взрослые вспоминают детские пословицы, которые оказались не только бесполезными, но и опасными

Things we were told as a kid that turned out to be questionable Published 1:56 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026 Growing up during the 1970’s meant we were raised by people who had a fascinating approach to child development: “Go outside. Don’t talk to strangers. And if you get hurt, walk it off” was pretty much it. We also inherited a treasure trove of sayings that were apparently supposed to prepare us for adulthood. Some were useful. Some were wildly inaccurate. And some were clearly invented by adults who just wanted us to stop asking questions. So, as adults who survived latchkey childhoods, questionable playground equipment, and the entire decade of hair metal, let’s take a second look. How many times have I heard the saying, “Lightning never strikes the same place twice” It’s comforting to think that if something horrible happens, it’s unlikely to ever happen again. However, if you’re outside standing by the TV antenna during a lightning storm trying to clear out the static on an episode of Bonanza, I hate to be the one to tell you, but you are likely to get zapped again. I have to question then, every adult who told us this while simultaneously sending us outside to play during a thunderstorm. Then we have the old saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” Ah, yes. This one was certainly delivered by someone who had money. And while money can’t buy love, friendship, or genuine happiness, it can buy groceries, fishing lures, and fix the transmission and prevent your bank from sending you hate mail. Financial stability doesn’t guarantee happiness, but constant worrying about money isn’t exactly a spa day for the soul either. So perhaps the more accurate version is: Money can’t buy happiness, but being broke can certainly make happiness harder to find. I had a preacher tell me once that “Time heals all wounds.” Then somebody told me when I got a wound as a child, why we always put alcohol on it. Where was time then? In addition, we often used bleach for a bee sting, a leaf of tobacco on a spider bite, and didn’t Mercurochrome claim to fix everything? Once when I wrecked my bicycle in 1978, I was crying my eyes out and the nurse that stitched me up said, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Really? So, if I punch you in the nose right now, it’s ok because you’ll just be stronger. Then there’s the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Isn’t that usually something we tell ugly people to make them feel better? That one can go down in the ” What I learned on blind dates folder. This is true with fashion choices as well. However, I can’t say much. My generation survived fashion trends involving acid-washed jeans, giant shoulder pads, and enough hairspray to destroy the ozone layer. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was also a favorite back in the day. Whoever thought this one up clearly never had my 6th-grade teacher. The woman could slice onions with that sharp tongue. I’ve seen her paddle kids that came out laughing, but a five-minute chewing left more than one kid in tears. “Curiosity killed the cat” is one I heard a hundred times and yet, I never could understand why a nosy cat warranted being killed. If that’s the case, then my Aunt Betty would have been killed years ago. My doctor told me once, “You are what you eat.” If this were true, most of us would have transformed into pizza sometime around 1987. Also, if we really are what we eat, I would like to formally identify as coffee and leftover Halloween candy. My lazy neighbor got an eviction notice, and he said, “I guess everything happens for a reason.” Yep, it sure does. And the reason is that you’re too lazy to go to work. Pretty simple really. And if there’s one thing that I have learned after decades of watching the world change, it’s this: Life is short, the rules are often made up, the VCR clock is still blinking at 12:00, and being a decent human being is never going out of style.