Old wives 'tales

 

Pick up your food within five second of dropping it and it'll be safe be eat

Microbiologists at clermson University,South Carolina,tested this.They found that bacteria , like salmonelia ,can survive for weeks on carpet , wood and tiles ,and contaminates food within second of contact.

Reading in the dark ruins your eyesight

Reading in the dark can make your eyes tired , but won't damage them as it causes no permenent changes to your eyes'structure.You might get eye strain , but this goes away when you turn up the lights.

You lose most of your body heat through you head

An idea based on the sloppiest of logic - 1950s the US military exposed volunteers in survival suits to bitter conditions.The men lost most heat through their heads,but only because this was only the exposed part of their bodies.The head is no more vulnerable than the rest body.That said , you still lose heat through it , so it makes sense to wear a hat on chill day.The truth is , you lose the same amount of heat through every part of your body.Anything that's exposed will cause a drop in your core body temperature.