AARP Hearing Center
Key takeaways
- Walking outside with wet hair does not directly cause colds or pneumonia.
- Crossing your eyes will not make them stay permanently that way.
- Swallowed gum passes through your system in one digestion cycle, not seven years.
Summary
Adam Savage tackles familiar childhood myths with clear, science-based explanations that reveal why many common warnings simply are not true. From concerns about going outside with wet hair to fears of crossing your eyes, Savage breaks down the logic behind each claim and shows where it falls apart.
The discussion covers everyday habits like swimming after eating, swallowing gum and cracking knuckles, offering straightforward insights that replace old assumptions with practical understanding. These myth-busting explanations help clarify what actually matters when it comes to health and safety.
The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
Full transcript
[0:00:06] Bethany McMahon: So you’ve hosted MythBusters for 14 years now.
[0:00:10] Adam Savage: Yeah.
[0:00:10] Bethany McMahon: So I got a couple questions for you.
[0:00:11] Adam Savage: Excellent.
[0:00:12] Bethany McMahon: What happens if you go outside with wet hair in the cold?
[0:00:17] Adam Savage: You get frozen hair.
[0:00:20] Oh, right, yeah. Do you get a cold? Do you get pneumonia?
[0:00:22] Bethany McMahon: Yeah.
[0:00:22] Adam Savage: No, no, it does not contribute to that.
[0:00:24] Sure, it can weaken your immune system, but it’s not a direct causal effect.
[0:00:28] Bethany McMahon: Why shouldn’t you cross your eyes?
[0:00:31] Adam Savage: Oh, right, because they might stay that way? No, it’s not going to stay that way. Your eyes won’t remain permanently crossed.
[0:00:37] Bethany McMahon: Why do you have to wait 30 minutes before you go swimming after a meal?
[0:00:41] Adam Savage: I can’t even remember why you have to wait 30 minutes before you go swimming. It was so dumbly obvious that we didn’t even write an episode around it. Yeah, you don’t have to wait 30 minutes.
[0:00:49] Bethany McMahon: It’s because you were going to get a cramp and drown.
[0:00:53] How have you not remembered? How long will gum live in your stomach if you swallow it?
[0:00:56] Adam Savage: If you swallow it, gum will live in your stomach basically one digestion cycle. It does not sit in the bottom of your stomach for seven years.
[0:01:03] Bethany McMahon: Why shouldn’t you crack your knuckles?
[0:01:06] Adam Savage: Oh, the reason you shouldn’t crack your knuckles, the myth is that it creates arthritis. However, a scientist actually started cracking his knuckles with only one hand in his late teens and published a paper a few years ago in his 70s showing that he had no difference in his, uh, in his hands from 70 years of cracking only one hand’s knuckles, so he disproved it completely.
[0:01:29] Bethany McMahon: Well, that is it. Thank you so much.
