Some are laughable (if you make a funny face, it'll stay that way); others are bizarre (burying a chicken's foot in your back yard will keep you healthy); still others are closer to truth than you might've thought (eating carrots can indeed improve your eyesight). They're a curious mix of folklore, biology, and superstition, and hundreds of years ago, they were a way for people to explain a world they didn't understand. The following are a handful of the most popular old wives' tales, along with some possible explanations.

If a woman is carrying low, it's a girl; if high, it's a boy
Each pregnancy is different, even if the mother is the same. There's no foolproof way of telling the sex of a baby from the way the mother is carrying.

Cats steal a baby's breath
Just like never letting a black cat cross your path, this one is a holdover from hundreds of years ago, when cats were associated with witchcraft.

Feed a fever, starve a cold
What you should be doing is getting plenty of fluids for either one.

Wait an hour after eating before swimming
You don't have to wait a whole hour—unless you've just had a couple cheeseburgers. And fries and a shake. Though it is best to wait about 20 minutes, just in case …

Touching a toad will give you warts
Someone who noticed the growths on a toad's back might've made that assumption. But warts come from the human papilloma virus, not toads.

Drinking coffee will stunt your growth
Coffee has no effect on growth.

Eating the crust from bread will give you curly hair
There have been cases of people with straight hair developing curly hair, but it has more to do with hormones (i.e., during pregnancy) and nothing to do with bread.

Fish is brain food
This is an old wives' tale with some truth to it. Fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps in brain development.

Drinking milk after eating rice can kill you
Not true, though it's similar to the popular urban legend that eating pop rocks and soda will have the same effect.

Chocolate causes acne
Some people do have breakouts after eating chocolate, though this could also happen with other foods as well.

Cross your eyes and they'll stay that way
The worst you'll get is a bad headache.