Self-help advice for singles has existed for centuries. Before Dr. Phil and Oprah, singles relied on old wives tales, folklore and homemade aphrodisiacs to reach out to the opposite sex. While I wouldn’t advise you to use any of the following, they are fun to know in the category of small talk and other conversational gambits.
From American Folklore:
- If you want to get married, stand on your head and chew a piece of gristle out of a beef neck and swallow it and you will get anyone you want.
- If you can walk around the block with your mouth full of water, you will be married within a year
From English Folklore:
- To win your beloved’s affection: take a piece of clothing into which you have freely perspired and burn and powder it with some of your hair. Mix it with your spit and your blood and introduce it to the food and drink which your loved one will consume
Let me take a moment to say YUCK!
From Dutch Folklore:
- Shed your clothes completely and at the stroke of midnight beneath a cloudless moon, walk three times around a house. For step you take, throw a handful of salt behind you. If no one has seen you by the time you have finished, the person you love will be mad for you
The other bits and bobs that I have found involve plucking hair from parts of the body and putting it in food to feed to the one you love. Beyond the gross factor, there’s a health concern. So I’ll save those for another time. What other old wives tales or folklore have you read about catching a lover?
Related Articles: