If you cross your eyes while you are outside and a gust of wind blows your face with get stuck that way.

Jessica learned this folk belief from her grandmother. The saying is said to prevent children from crossing their eyes. Many folk beliefs of the sort are developed and used to scare children from doing something undesirable to adults. The belief is not taken especially seriously but her grandmother still says it. Jessica does not believe the saying although whenever she crosses her eyes or sees someone else doing so, the phrase pops into her mind.

Jessica’s family is from El Salvador and her grandmother mostly speaks Spanish and does not speak English well. The exact origins of the folk belief are unknown but people across the world are familiar with it or have heard it, definitely in the United States and El Salvador.