Remember, if you swallow gum, it will sit in your stomach for seven years. Have a sore throat? Breath on a frog and you’ll feel better right away. Who came up with this stuff?

It’s easy to follow the logic of some folk beliefs. You can imagine a mother telling her veggie-hating child that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Eve brings good luck. But other folklore adages are kind of out there, such as the Russian folk remedy for curing a cold. Just stand in a tub of warm water while completely naked. Well, not completely; wear a woolen cap. Then sip tea and down three ounces of vodka. There, better?

Basil, the sweet fragrant herb of summer, has occasionally suffered from a bad reputation. How could anyone think such a wonderful herb from such a good family — the mints — was a troublemaker? The Ancient Romans thought it was poisonous because their lambs wouldn’t eat it. OK, that makes a little sense. For some reason, the ancient Greeks thought it brought misfortune. Hard to believe from the name they gave it, Basileus, which means king or royalty. Was this a passive-aggressive way to tell their ruler what they thought?

The Romans and Greeks, despite their antipathy toward the stuff, had growing advice. Want potent basil? Scream at the seeds as you plant. It went something like this: “*@)!*^%&(#…you basil!” They must have believed it worked since they did it year after year. Maybe we should give it a try after our neighbors leave for work.

Basil took its hardest hit in the medieval period. People then thought basil was dangerous. Put a leaf under a pot and, in a few days, voila, you had a scorpion. It gets worse. They believed that if you stuck your nose in a basil bouquet for a good whiff, scorpions made a frantic dash for your brain. It’s probably best that we don’t know what started that.

But reputations can be saved. Basil is a token of love in Italy. Carrying it in your wallet attracts wealth. Also, give a new homeowner a fresh basil plant to bring good luck. This is an important one: If you’re planning your wedding, try this before putting a down payment on the reception hall. Place two fresh basil leaves on hot coals. If they stay put and quickly burn, you are in a harmonious relationship. If the leaves fly apart, you are heading for disaster. Good to know.

We can eat and smell basil as much as we want without worrying about arthropods in our noses or keeling over from basil poisoning. That wealth thing is pretty cool, though. Let’s believe that one and stuff our pockets. But if you really want good luck from basil, I say, make pesto.

By Beth Snipes