So, I learned a shocking truth the other day: Fresca is a diet soda. Okay, this might not be news to you (or anyone who actually, y’know read the label) but it was a revelation to me. I’ve been drinking Fresca for years and feeling guilty because of all that sugar only, as it turns out, there is no sugar. D’oh. Now I have to learn to not feel guilty about drinking Fresca. Something I just took for granted as true isn’t. Which got me to thinking: what if there are other facts out there that really aren’t facts?

Like, if you go out in the cold and wet you will catch a cold. Or, if you eat before swimming you’ll get a cramp and drown. Or, if you shave your arm hair, it will grow back in thicker. I learned this last “fact” from my bestest friend, Heather, at the age of eleven. Actually, looking back on my childhood, Heather was the source of much apocryphal information.

Other cultures have wrong “facts” too. I’ve heard that in Russia it’s thought that you can catch a cold by drinking chilled drinks. And that if a young woman sits on cold concrete she’ll become infertile. These “facts” seem obviously wrong–even silly–to us, but have you ever tried arguing against a cultural “fact”? Usually the believer will look at you with pity for your ignorance.

After all, everyone knows that if you cross your eyes.

Cheers!
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhoyt.com
www.juliaharper.com