Common knowledge in El Salvador...

I've encountered some pretty interesting common knowledge here. Now, before I begin I don't mean to make fun of people's belief's here... Though, some of the things are kind of funny.

This common knowledge covers all subjects, health and well being, and everyday life.

So, I went to eat valiadas at this place that had a ton of water bags hanging from the roof. When I asked the cook why  she had these up she said it was to scare the flies away.   ???? Yeah, so I asked her how?  She said she had no idea...and that frankly she didn't think it worked, but that they looked nice anyway.
After spending half my lunch time waving the flies off my place, I ended up agreeing with her--the bags did look nice...

Here is the fly fighting bag..

There also seems to be a lot of common knowledge and advice concerning babies. The other day I heard a lady say that hiccups could be cured if you put a red string on the baby's forehead. It was the same lady that told me that one should not eat and breast feed at the same time, because the baby could choke on a crumb.

There is also a bracelet that prevent people from giving babies "the stink eye". If they are not wearing this bracelet someone could give them the "eye" and one of their eyes could turn smaller than the other, they could even die.

What's really interesting to me is that this is not one person's beliefs. Most people I have talked to have had plenty of these to give me advice with. 

I had a dog hair fly in my mouth, so I spit it out. I was told that if I ate five of those I would become infertile..

No one really knows how these things happen, but they do.