Author Archives: nhartwel@usc.edu

Cold Remedy

Main piece:

“I always go and get this… I call it spicy lemonade, but it’s like lemon, agave, and cayenne pepper, and it’s from Whole Foods and I always go and get it when I’m sick.”

Background:

Informant is a third year pre-med student at George Washington University who grew up in Mill Valley, California. While she knows that this may not be highly effective, using this combination of ingredients as a cold remedy is something that she learned from her mother, and she says it does make her feel better.

Context:

I was just getting over a cold, so the informant shared with me some of her favorite ways to feel better.

Commentary:

This cold remedy is not based in science, yet it is one that I have learned from many different sources, be it my peers, my family, or the internet. Because it is so well known, it is easier to believe its effectiveness. The informant’s mother made this concoction for her growing up, so naturally she is going to trust its validity and continue the practice. This is a prime example of how a remedy gains more “scientific” credibility when it is corroborated by a larger community.

A published example of this recipe can be found here.

 

Burn Remedy

Main piece:

“I burned myself with oil when I was cooking, and I put white toothpaste, like it can’t have any stripes or any green or anything it has to be white. And I got it from my friend… she used to work in a restaurant and that’s what she said the chefs were always doing.”

Background:

Informant is a third year pre-med student at George Washington University who grew up in Mill Valley, California. A few years ago, her arm was badly burned while she was cooking, and her friend told her about this remedy. She has used it ever since, and has passed it along to some of her friends and family as well. 

Context:

I asked the informant if she had any home remedies, and this was her response.

Commentary:

This practice, like all folk medicine, has no real basis is science but is still commonly accepted to have healing properties. The informant was desperate to relieve the pain of her burns, and as this was corroborated by both her friends and professional chefs, she believed it to work.

 

Remedy for Hiccups

Main piece:

“When I was younger, in like elementary school, I was at my friend’s house and I got the hiccups and they wouldn’t go away and my friend’s dad told me to get rid of hiccups you have to drink water out of a cup with a paper towel on top of it upside down. It was really confusing, but I mean the thought of it actually made it work.”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Pleasanton, California. She learned this method from a childhood friend’s father, and has used it ever since.

Context:

I asked the informant if she had any home remedies that she likes, and she shared this cure for hiccups.

Commentary:

The folk belief that hiccups can be cured by drinking water upside down is quite common, but it is interesting to see the variation in this belief with the addition of placing a paper towel on top of the cup. It was most likely added as an attempt at keeping the water from spilling while the children struggled to drink the water upside down, but the informant still follows this to this day.

As a piece of folk medicine, it is evident that this practice is not based in science. It is interesting to see that not only do so many people follow this belief, but also the informant herself even seemed to recognize that this practice does not actually make scientific sense, admitting that just “the thought of it actually made it work.”

 

British Drinking Song

Main piece:

“We like to drink with (person’s name), cause (person’s name) is our mate! And when we drink with (person’s name), she gets it down in 8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1!”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Henley on Thames, England. As the drinking age is 18 in England, she has experienced the British bar scene with her friends.

Context:

The informant shared this song one night that she sang back home with her friends.

Commentary:

This song is well-known in England, and while it might not be as common in American culture, its simple nature makes it quite easy to join in even without knowing it. Since “mate” is more of a British term, it allows the song to rhyme in a way that wouldn’t be possible using “friend” or any other variation, but it is still understandable across cultures.

 

Drunk Christmas Carolling

Main piece:

“Christmas eve everyone comes to my house and we have a huge dinner, and then we fake kind of getting tired and kick our family out and then we go to our best friend’s house, and then we all.. Well when we were younger all the adults would get drunk and then as the kids got older the kids got drunk too, and we’d go around our neighborhood, and even after we moved we went back to our old neighborhood, and we drunk Christmas caroled. And we’d pick up family after family, and so even if the whole family didn’t want to come, if someone wanted to come like the kids then the kids would join on and then we just end up going to everyone’s house Christmas caroling.”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Context:

The informant and I were talking about our Christmas traditions one evening, and this is what she shared.

Commentary:

Holidays are often associated with spending time with extended family, but for this informant the most important part is the time she spends with her friends and neighbors. This is also in some ways a rite of passage, because as the children become adults they get to participate in the drinking as well. It is a bit of an unconventional take on the classic act of Christmas caroling, but it has become a beloved tradition in this informant’s family.