Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids

New York Times bestselling author and all-time Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings delivers a characteristically engaging and surprisingly useful new book, revealing the truth behind all the terrible things our parents used to warn us about.

Don’t cross your eyes or they’ll stay like that!

Feed a cold, starve a fever!

Don’t touch your Halloween candy until we get it checked out!

Never run with scissors

Don’t look in the microwave while it’s running!

This will go down on your permanent record

Is any of it true? If so, how true? Ken Jennings wants to find out if mother and father always know best. Yes, all those years you were told not to sit too close to the television (you’ll hurt your eyes!) or swallow your gum (it stays in your stomach for seven years!) or crack your knuckles (arthritis!) are called into question by our country’s leading trivia guru. Jennings separates myth from fact to debunk a wide variety of parental edicts: no swimming after meals, sit up straight, don’t talk to strangers, and so on.

Armed with medical case histories, scientific findings, and even the occasional experiment on himself (or his kids), Jennings exposes countless examples of parental wisdom run amok. Whether you’re a parent who wants to know what you can stop worrying about or a kid (of any age) looking to say, “I told you so,” this is the anti–helicopter parenting book you’ve been waiting for.