Growing up, like kids who knew very little or nothing, we were fed countless numbers of lies. Wait, we are not supposed to say our parents lied, so let’s just say we were fed with “myths”.
Some of these myths were put in place to correct us, some to scare us from doing inappropriate things, and others just to keep inquisitive children quiet.
If you grew up in Nigeria, then we are sure you’ve heard these myths and almost certainly believed them; some of you probably even still believe some today. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Let’s bring back those memories as we take a look at 5 MYTHS WE BELIEVED WHILE GROWING UP.
- NIGHT WHISTLING
Our mothers and grandmothers warned us never to whistle at night because it attracted snakes.
We held on to this scary myth for a while until we figured out it was a silly story meant to discourage kids from whistling at night. Some of us still believe in this myth to date though.
- SWALLOWING OF FRUIT SEED
We were told if we swallowed any fruit seed, the tree of that fruit would grow in our stomachs. So because of this, many kids were extra cautious when eating fruits.
Can you remember how much you cried or freaked out the first time you swallowed a fruit seed by mistake? We can’t blame you. Who would want a tree to grow in their stomach? But wait for o, our parents really scammed us sha.
- THROWING OF MILK TEETH ON THE ROOF
When a child loses a tooth in the western world, they are told to put the tooth under their pillow for a Tooth Fairy to pick it up.
But in Nigeria, we were told to throw it up to the roof of our houses with a wish attached to it.
Those who forgot to throw theirs on the roof would cry endlessly because they thought it wouldn’t grow again.
- EAT BEANS TO GROW TALL
Shall we all agree that this was the biggest of all the scams? Some of us made beans our best food while growing up not because we really liked it but because we desperately wanted to be tall.
To date, some people still believe that people who are short didn’t eat enough beans when they were younger, and people who are very tall ate too many beans.
- SINGING TO THE EGRET WOULD MAKE YOUR WHITE NAILS
The egret is the bird often seen when cattle herds drive their cows around. Most children believe singing a song to the egret would make your nails have white spots in them.
This myth was so believed; children would leave their playing ground to sing to the egrets so they could have whiter nails. “leke leke ba mi leke, eye adaba ba mi leke”
See the video below for more!
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