Tonight on Mythbusters....

One of our favorite TV shows is Mythbusters, a Discovery channel show in which a team of 7 or 8 people trained in "movie magic", special effects and stunts take popular myths, try them out and declare them "busted", "confirmed" or "plausible". Some of my favorites have included shooting fish in a barrel (harder than you think), seeing if someone will really wet themselves if you put their hand in warm water when they're sleeping (nope) and finding out if you can really make a lead balloon (confirmed!).

I don't know about you, but I think a great topic for the next Mythbusters show would be pregnancy myths and old wives tales. Early in my pregnancy, I loved reading all the wacky things people came up with to predict everything from gender to hair color...

• If the baby's heart rate is over 140, it's a girl. Totally busted. We've never seen a heart rate under 150, and we are definitely having a boy.
• Add the age of mom and the year she conceived. If it's an even number, it will be a girl. An odd number means a boy. My number turned out to predict a boy--correct! My mom's number is odd, also indicating she should have had a boy some twenty-odd years ago. Since I am her only child...incorrect. We'll call it plausible.
• Mix drano and the mother's urine together. If it turns green, it's a girl. If it's blue, it's a boy. Um, ew. I did not try this and I am begging you not to try it either. You'll find out the gender eventually, please don't pee in the drano.
• If a woman sleeps with a wooden spoon, scissors and a pink bow under her pillow, she'll have a girl. Or poke her eye out.
• If a woman is graceful during her pregnancy, she's having a girl. If she's clumsy, it will be a boy. It must have been written in the stars that I would have a boy. Long before I was pregnant, I could trip over nothing at all.
• If a woman has no morning sickness, it's a boy. If she experiences morning sickness, it's a girl. WHATever.
• If a father doesn't give his pregnant wife what she is craving, his eyes will swell shut. This is how rumors get started: somewhere, a cranky wife told her husband this, and when he didn't acquiesce, she put hot sauce in his contact solution.

And my favorite one of all--which I cannot declare busted or confirmed because it's so odd...

• If a pregnant woman wears a lei, she will choke her baby. Pregnant ladies beware, apparently getting off a plane in Hawaii can be risky business.