A Brief History
On April 8, 1935, the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 went into effect, and as a byproduct created the Works Progress Administration (later renamed the Work Projects Administration). This ambitious Federal government effort to get unemployed Americans back to work and accomplish much needed improvements to the country’s infrastructure was responsible for an incredible array of public construction projects, including the building of many roads, public buildings, airports (Midway in Chicago), and even sports stadiums such as the Akron Rubber Bowl.
Digging Deeper
One project NOT built by the WPA was Cleveland Municipal Stadium, where the Indians and Browns played for many years, although I had been told by my parents (and others) many times that this “mistake on the lake” giant stadium had been built by the WPA. What else could my parents have been wrong about? This incorrect information was not passed on as a lie in bad faith, just as mistaken information, bum scoop if you will. (Donald Trump would call it “Fake News.”)
My father, of Polish descent, was always pointing out this famous person or that famous person as being a fellow “Polock.” Some of the people misidentified as Polish included actors Nick Adams (Ukrainian) and Kim Novak (Slovak). He also told me on numerous occasions that Lee Marvin and James Coburn were brothers, an error I found out when I repeated the bum scoop on this website! An otherwise intelligent and good hearted man, my Dad came up with some goofy ideas presented to us as fact while growing up. One repeat bit of bad advice freely handed out was “When everyone is betting one way, bet the other.” This is almost assuredly why he never won while betting on football games. He also claimed that peppermint was a cure all for stomach problems, a myth debunked by science. Nobody is right about everything, and neither was my Dad. He predicted Beatles music would never stand the test of time, but that 1940’s music would. The English language was another target for mistakes, as words were misused such as “malinger” presented as “linger” or “goofing off, wasting time, etc.” Irregardless was another non-word passed into our vocabularies.
Speaking of science, my Mother was good for perpetuating myths such as having to wait an hour, a half hour, or 15 minutes after eating before going into a pool, the time variable undoubtedly being scientifically related to whatever suited her at the time. Also, sitting on a cement front porch without some sort of pad under the butt (even a sheet of newspaper) would lead to “piles.” Another blunder of my parents, one repeated by me when I had kids, was to demand that we “clean our plates” and eat everything we were given whether we were full or not. This practice has been found by scientists to lead to obesity. (Well, duh!) One thing she was right about, was my face really did stay like the goofy face I was making…
Another eating related bit of misinformation was that “Truckers know where the good food is” and the follow-on myth that truck stops were good places to eat. During our frequent car rides and vacation travels my siblings and I were subjected to the toughest, chewiest, and worst roast beef with gravy over bread on the face of the Earth. My childhood was nearly ruined by eating at these lousy truck stops instead of at some decent eatery such as Howard Johnson or Big Boy. Many years later, my parents admitted the mistake, too late for my traumatized taste buds.
Misquotes, improper use of English, repeating urban myths, bad betting advice and a unique view of history were all part of my heritage passed down by my parents. I wonder how many things I have incorrectly passed down to my boys! Question for students (and subscribers): If you have some stories about bum scoop perpetuated by your parents, please share them with us in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Taylor, Nick. American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work. Bantam, 2009.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="15627 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=15627">13 Comments
I found this article to be very entertaining. I particularly liked the assertion that peppermint was a cure for all stomach problems. I have never heard that myth before. What I have heard from my mother is that you have to wait an hour after eating before going into the pool or you will get sick…. Parents!
I remember when I was younger going swimming and if we just ate we wasn’t allowed to go back in the pool either. I can’t remember what my mom said as to why we weren’t allowed I just remember getting annoyed and kept asking her “Is it time yet.”
This article made me giggle a lot! I look back at the things my parents would say to me as child and what I know as an adult. Also, the things I say as a parent to my own children! I am not going to lie, I still use the you have to wait “x” amount of time to swim after eating. Usually, I trick my kids into “resting” (a.k.a. napping) to pass the time until they can swim.
I find this article quite funny because growing up I was always told you could not go swimming after you ate, you had to wait at least 30-45 minutes and we did so even with a little complaining. Funny that that was all just a myth.
What a funny article. My parents also told my siblings and I these things. I still tell my boys to wait after they eat to swim. We weren’t made to eat everything on our plates, and I don’t do that to my children either.
Sounds like an interesting childhood. My brother and I were also told to clear our plates at meal times. We were also told to wait 30 minutes after eating to go swimming. We never traveled a whole lot. We never got any such advice that was in the article, but every childhood is different. Every parent is different.
I was told we would get pulled over for having the interior lights on in our vehicle while driving at night. I thought this was true until about two years ago, gave my friends a good laugh though!
This was one of my favorite articles to read, I also enjoyed reading others stories about what they were told as children!
This was really cool to read about. Definitely how rumors get started.
My mother use to tell me the same thing: Don’t eat before you go swimming. I still won’t do it until this day.
The way the mother were treating their kids is kind of similar to my mom. She was also giving me a lot of motivation to work hard as well.
Before I read this article, every time I go to a bath after dinner, my mother told me is not allowed. I am often asked to wait 30 minutes or an hour
I don’t recall any myths or untruths but I know my parents used racial slurs that were passed down to us kids. Sadly, I did not know they were racial slurs until I used them as an adult and quickly was educated by friends why I should not say that stuff. That gets a good conversation going.