BlushwithAdeola

Nigerians are very good at creating myths. From why eating at the door way makes you hungry even after eating to why people who don’t eat beans remain short.
Every culture and tribe in the country hold one or two superstitions that we all believed while growing up. Food myths which are not true are very useful (even though they were lies told) for correcting bad habits. For instance eating while standing will make the food go to the leg,this myth is just a way of teaching children table manners because it’s not proper to stand while eating. Is it? Over the years this served as a very effective way to get children to do what is beneficial to do especially things they considered not necessary. There is not doubt, I’ll tell my kids this untrue stories too.
Here are the top 10 most common Nigeria myth that you must have heard as a child:

1. Eating fish eyes will make you a dullard: This myth even comes with a very popular song. ” olodo rabata oju eja lo Mon je…..” Commonly sang for kids who perform woefully in class. This is very false. 😂

2. Playing too much during the day will make you wet the bed : Even if this isn’t a food myth I had to sneak it in, because i believe we have the right to know the truth. I think myth was for us to reduce the way we play and maybe focus on something else because I don’t know how they relate.
3. If you’re eating something and it falls to the ground, don’t pick it up because the devil has kissed it. Wow who told us the devil lives beneath the earth lol. I feel this myth is just to prevent kids from eating from the dirt and taking in germs. So rather than give us the health talk they scared us with the devil factor.

4. If you eat a chicken’s butt you’d become a talkative
This particular myth, I don’t understand how they relate. But I guess it was made just to refrain kids from eating the butt, considering the fact that that’s where the chicken’s poop comes out from and it might be contaminated. Nice one parents! Nice one 🙌

5.

Swallowing the seed of a particular fruit will let it grow in your stomach or on your head:
This actually makes sense in the sense that seeds can choke a person and lead to serious internal injuries which can even result in death. But parents took it too extra to say we will have trees growing inside us or on our heads. Do we have stomach soil and sun light that can help the photosynthetic process?

6. Don’t eat while standing because the food will go to your feet: This was only meant to teach us good table manners and etiquette,because it really makes no sense to eat while standing.
7. Eating Mango, coke and drinking garri can cause sure death: No one knows where this comes from. We heard stories of deaths but we didn’t see them happen. But I really adhered to this I didn’t want to die from greed induced stomach ache. It’s really a good idea not to try this combination your stomach might hate you for this.
8. Not Eating beans will make you short: 😂😂😂 thank God for integrated/basic science and a little biology. I sure did believe this. I am tall and my friends laughed at me by saying I ate too much beans. It made me feel sad but beans or no beans I’m flexing my height.
9. Always eat your meat last, that way it shows you ain’t a glutton: really?really? that was the best myth they could make up so we could finish our food and grow healthy?
10. If you eat while standing by a door post you won’t get filled: 😂 I don’t want to believe that I actually believed this, but who eats at the door post?

If you know any other myth please share in the comment section. Share with friends. And give it a big thumbs up(like).

Genesis 1: 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.