Back in the old days (you know, the 1990s), science, medicine and technology were in their infancy and most people had no explanation for why bad things happened. Their ignorance made it easier for outrageous rumors and secondhand information to take hold of the community psyche, and caused them to seek solutions in bizarre everyday practices to try to prevent death, or to bring luck and good fortune.

To hear these old wives' tales, most women in olden days were probably witches. Luckily, many of these WTF-worthy old superstitions have passed into the history books — but there might be a few you (or your great-grandmothers) still believe.