Who remembers the children’s book, If You Give A Moose A Muffin? It’s the story of a hungry moose who, once given a muffin, wants jam, and then more muffins, which requires a trip to the store for more muffin mix, but first the moose needs to borrow a sweater and socks, but not before he makes sock puppets, and then paints the scenery for the sock puppet play, which makes him so hungry he wants another, anyone?
Well, Bossy wants to write her own children’s book. It would be called, If You Pop A Whitehead Pimple. And Bossy is an expert in this arena, having been scared silly against this activity by Bossy’s dad very early in Bossy’s childhood.
You see, if you pop a whitehead pimple, it will pop:
But if you pop a whitehead pimple, the whitehead pimple will also pop below the skin:
And when the whitehead pimple pops below the skin, the pimple bacteria will release into the surrounding membranes:
And when the pimple bacteria releases into the surrounding membranes, it will clog adjacent pores:
And when the pimple bacteria clogs adjacent pores, it will result in more pimples:
And when the pimple bacteria releases into surrounding tissue within proximity to the brow, it can be carried directly to the brain through a capillary:
And when the dangerous pimple bacteria is carried directly to the brain through a capillary, it can cause a brain abscess:
And when dangerous bacteria causes a brain abscess, the brain swells:
And when the brain abscess causes the brain to swell, you’ll need to be hospitalized:
And when you’re hospitalized, you’ll probably need stuff like an oxygen mask:
And if you have to wear an oxygen mask, you’re going to get lots of pimples:
The End!
Bossy can sum up her fear of popping pimples in this way: Sister mercy just pass the hot washcloth and be done.
Which is what today’s Ten-Word Challenge is all about. In exactly ten words, can you tell Bossy about something you heard as a child that forever scared you away from the activity?
And be sure to check back later today for the best fears on the Internet.
If you missed last week’s Ten-Word Challenge, it was probably better than this one. In fact, it was all about best birthday memories, in ten words. Click here to check it out!
WebSavvyMom says
February 15, 2011 at 12:51 pm–>Not swimming til 30 minutes after eating. Didn’t die. Yet.
The Domestic Goddess says
February 15, 2011 at 12:59 pmEating sugar causes worms. Now I have sweets every day!
Kate says
February 15, 2011 at 12:59 pmScarred forever by Bossy’s pimple popping story. Confirmed by Google.
Tracy (Oklahoma) says
February 15, 2011 at 1:02 pmIf you bite nails a hand grows in your stomach.
Stacey says
February 15, 2011 at 1:04 pmNot walking on sewer grates on the sidewalk. Might fall in.
Philly says
February 15, 2011 at 1:12 pmSay “Bloody Mary ” three times in the mirror…..rut ro
Alissa says
February 15, 2011 at 1:12 pmBig sharks can come out of swimming pool drains, right?
Z. Mulls says
February 15, 2011 at 1:17 pmWill not chew gum — it will rot my stomach lining
Z. Mulls says
February 15, 2011 at 1:18 pmWill not drink soda either — it will dissolve my teeth
WebSavvyMom says
February 15, 2011 at 1:19 pm–>If you swallow gum, it will stay in your stomach ForEvEr.
ags345 says
February 15, 2011 at 1:20 pmSwallowed gum will stay in your intestines for seven years.
DemMom says
February 15, 2011 at 1:22 pmMy dad told me the exact same thing about popping pimples! Not as technically, but told me the bacteria would kill me. So, 10 words: Popping pimples is deadly, thanks Dad and Bossy’s Dad.
BOSSY says
February 15, 2011 at 1:30 pmBossy’s friend thought contact lenses could lodge behind the cheeks.
heidig says
February 15, 2011 at 1:30 pmIf you cross your eyes, they’ll stay that way!
BOSSY says
February 15, 2011 at 1:31 pmOnce you shave leg hair IT WILL COME BACK WORSE.
Gramps says
February 15, 2011 at 1:45 pmBUT—could you really resist popping the little buggers?
OH-Ang says
February 15, 2011 at 1:52 pmDon’t make rude face, your face could freeze that way.
OH-Ang says
February 15, 2011 at 1:54 pmDon’t roll your eyes when unhappy, they could get stuck.
(as she says rolling her eyes all the time now…) 🙂
Cindy in Walla Walla says
February 15, 2011 at 1:55 pmSwallow watermelon seed? Grow plant in stomach. Ouch.
dgm says
February 15, 2011 at 2:01 pmBreak a thermometer in the house, we have to evacuate.
Little Miss Sunshine State says
February 15, 2011 at 2:11 pmDon’t hold in a sneeze.You will pop your eardrums.
Beth says
February 15, 2011 at 2:13 pmMy dad (MD) said EXACTLY that. Only not so interesting.
Lori in MN says
February 15, 2011 at 2:19 pm“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face…”
Burrdy says
February 15, 2011 at 2:27 pmTell your dreams before breakfast and bad luck will follow.
Meg at the Members Lounge says
February 15, 2011 at 2:36 pmIf you stare at the sun; you will go blind!
Lisa says
February 15, 2011 at 2:46 pm“If you have sex, you will go to hell. Forever.”
Deb says
February 15, 2011 at 2:56 pmIf you do drugs, your brain comes out your nose.
That doesn’t make any sense in 10 words, but my dad told me that he knew a guy who got hooked on drugs after coming home from Vietnam. The guy went to the doctor and the doctor had him blow his nose. Then he pointed at what emerged into the tissue and said, “see that? That’s your brain.”
Teeny Tina says
February 15, 2011 at 2:58 pmTrying to post this, for the third time… sigh…
Your toe pads are full of poison trying to escape.
Okay, so it’s not a cause and effect thing, but a kid told me this and I worried for an entire summer, constantly examining the pads of my toes, wondering how much body poison was trying to get out and would it kill me before I managed to turn seven! Nasty, nasty children.
pkzcass says
February 15, 2011 at 3:15 pmDon’t take Communion without having gone to confession; you’ll die.
Deb in Winfield, Ks says
February 15, 2011 at 3:30 pmDr. Oz says don’t pop pimple in ‘Triangle of Death’!!!!
corrie says
February 15, 2011 at 3:34 pmif you don’t clean b/w your toes, they’ll fuse to one another..
Thank you to my girlfriend’s father… I think of him everyday when I do the above activity !
Scottsdale Girl says
February 15, 2011 at 3:42 pmstep on a crack, break your mother’s back
dexter says
February 15, 2011 at 3:57 pmDont hold in poop or your eyes will turn brown
Pam says
February 15, 2011 at 4:14 pmIf you eat that chocolate, it’ll get on your insides.
Dobes says
February 15, 2011 at 4:31 pmMy great-great uncle died of popping a pimple on his nose!
kathy says
February 15, 2011 at 6:20 pmcry and your face stays that way for all time
kathy says
February 15, 2011 at 6:22 pmbitten finger nails collect in your appendix then it explodes
kathy says
February 15, 2011 at 6:26 pmwearing sneakers during lightening will keep you from being struck
kathy says
February 15, 2011 at 6:30 pmwe lived next to a cemetery:
sister said dead Indian babies in my underwear drawer
Erika says
February 15, 2011 at 6:49 pmIf you eat snow, you will get worms in your stomach.
Stefanie says
February 15, 2011 at 6:54 pmSwimming after eating? Cramp up and DIE! Wait four hours.
Brush one hundred strokes twice each day for healthy hair.
Bad guys love cramped spaces. Check nightly under bed, closet.
Bloody Mary Bloody Mary Bloody Mary and now I’m dead!
Safest to hover so sewer alligators can’t bite my ass…
Never camp in fall – you’ll be mauled by mating moose!
CS says
February 15, 2011 at 7:00 pmEvil squirrels carry rabies: still actively afraid of being bitten!
Aimee says
February 15, 2011 at 7:14 pmTerrified of all rabid small furry animals including asshole squirrels.
(Had to add ahole to make 10)
Deidre says
February 15, 2011 at 7:18 pmDon’t ask what’s under the bed, dad says: condoms.
Deidre says
February 15, 2011 at 7:31 pmOh no that was only nine!
Don’t ask what’s under the bed, dad says: condoms. EW!
There we go.
bobbie says
February 15, 2011 at 7:41 pmHanging out in a wet bathing suit will cause polio!
Stick arm out car window – hit (tree/telephone pole) – arm gone.
Krystyn says
February 15, 2011 at 9:35 pmIf you just think about sex you will get pregnant.
That’s the short version, but no shit, my Sunday School teacher did this whole “thinking turns into obsessing turns into action” scare tactic in Church one day.
She also said if you question the Bible “maybe you’re just not one of the chosen” and that on Judgement Day, Jesus would review all of your sins in the presence of everyone else in the Universe and all I could think of was a giant movie screen playing out all my wrongdoings. Which sometimes crosses my mind during sex, so I suck in my stomach and try to be extra kinky. Really. Ok maybe I made up that last part.
Janell says
February 15, 2011 at 9:44 pmbreaking a mirror will give you seven years bad luck
Floyd says
February 15, 2011 at 9:51 pmif you don’t wear underwear, ants will crawl in you
BOSSY says
February 15, 2011 at 9:58 pmIf you stare at the moon, you’ll become hypnotized. Dag.
Stevie says
February 15, 2011 at 9:59 pmDo not eat mustard – it is baby poop. Thanks, brother.
Snow says
February 15, 2011 at 10:07 pmDon’t sit close to the TV, you will damage your eyes.
BossysMom says
February 15, 2011 at 10:23 pmHair from my horses tail turn into snake if put in puddle.
kathy says
February 15, 2011 at 10:36 pm#46 hanging out in wet bathing suit will give you impetigo ??
Suzanne says
February 15, 2011 at 10:50 pmI was pretty fearless (read dumbass) as a kid, but I sure wish your dad had talked to my mother about squeezing
black heads. The woman scared me. 🙂
kathy says
February 15, 2011 at 10:55 pmSister told me milk was cow pee crying at breakfast p s: being the youngest is hell totally f….ed up for life
Amy says
February 15, 2011 at 11:10 pmEating crust off bread will grow hair on your chest.
foolery says
February 15, 2011 at 11:17 pmNothing as frightening as this pimple is right now, thanks.
Julie M says
February 15, 2011 at 11:21 pmDon’t drink milk when eating rhubarb ~ your stomach will curdle.
BOSSY says
February 16, 2011 at 12:08 amOh, and how ’bout GUM IS CAT INTESTINES! (2nd Grade.)
Sam says
February 16, 2011 at 4:52 amThe glass factory sucks kids down through the sand dunes.
(My dad. He told me that the factory melted sand into glass, and so there are big hose-pipes just under the dunes and if a small child who didn’t listen to her father played on those dunes even after being told not to, then those hose-pipes would SUCK YOU RIGHT UP and then you would be MELTED and the glass made out of you would be REALLY UGLY. Thanks, Dad!)
Sams dad says
February 16, 2011 at 7:30 amThe sand factory sucks down little kids who DONT listen!
The sand was sent away to make the glass, silly girl. And.. I thought yours would be the cloud factory….
Sue says
February 16, 2011 at 9:46 amTo #26
How do you know you won’t go to hell, hmmm?
lora says
February 16, 2011 at 10:05 amholy crap, most of this! and the pimple thing too.
Local LIT says
February 16, 2011 at 10:15 amActually #20 is true.
km says
February 16, 2011 at 10:49 amevery sin hammers a nail in Jesus’ hands.
Terrified
birdie23 says
February 16, 2011 at 11:46 amDon’t run with sissors, not true cause I did this last week in my livingroom while wrapping a Birthday gift.
bossy's friend amy says
February 16, 2011 at 12:30 pmmy father would tell me if he pushed my belly button with his finger my legs will fall off – this was later confirmed by my grandfather. so it must be true!
Sam says
February 16, 2011 at 3:48 pmBut Dad, the “Moss Landing is where clouds come from” didn’t lead me to be pants-wettingly terrified of school field trips to the beach. I’m still too scared to walk on dunes, and even if I do I look at the ground to make sure there isn’t a pipe sticking out.
Theresa says
February 16, 2011 at 4:10 pmNever walk on freshly mopped, still wet floor. Mother’s wrath.
Gretchen says
February 16, 2011 at 4:46 pmEating pork gives you worms in the shoulder. Thanks, Brother.
(Yes, I always slipped him my pork chops after that).
Lyn says
February 16, 2011 at 5:10 pmSwallow a watermelon seed and it will grow in stomach.
Sit on a toilet seat after a boy does – pregnant.
Tell on your sister/brother and your life is over.
Diane Shay says
February 16, 2011 at 5:27 pmWatching Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds”. Still hate those birds.
Catherine McP says
February 16, 2011 at 6:38 pmIn some form, I have heard lots of these answers.
Pushing in your belly button unscrews your butt, unscrews? Ha!
Sneeze holding: top of head opens and shoots straight off.
Every mortal sin pounds the nails in Jesus even further.
(yowza)
JCK of Motherscribe says
February 16, 2011 at 11:56 pmDo not share hairbrush. Will cause lice on head. Mine.
Lynn says
February 17, 2011 at 2:11 amDon’t swallow watermelon seeds because they will grow inside you. (And yes, I believed this.)
Lori says
February 17, 2011 at 10:11 amDon’t sing at the dinner table, makes the angels cry.
Angela@beggingtheanswer says
February 17, 2011 at 12:16 pmDitto number 6 – Don’t even think about uttering “Bloody Mary” in a mirror, lest you invoke a baby-stealing she-beast.
Jyll says
February 17, 2011 at 3:49 pmBlowing nose hard blows brains out. Makes one stupider.
From an older sister that delighted in torturing me!
Amanda in ATL says
February 17, 2011 at 7:37 pmWell, unfortunately for me your post came a few days too late! I just went from diagram B to diagram E with a zit on my chin. Then had half of a double chin in fashion of Dudley Do-Right….chin cleavage from the swelling…..as of today the swelling is more like I am harboring a plain M&M under the zit!
Brittany says
February 18, 2011 at 8:46 amDon’t drink last of milk, that’s where cow poop settles.
MomZombie says
February 18, 2011 at 7:27 pm“Leave the refrigerator open and it will start a fire.”
A big, fat lie based on a small truth: My father’s house burned down because of a faulty refrigerator. My mom used this one to keep us from browsing with the door open too long. I believed it and would slam that door shut after counting to 10.
JaneK says
February 19, 2011 at 12:57 amsomeone murdered during song “rollercoaster:” never listened again to again
JaneK says
February 19, 2011 at 12:59 amshit…I hate it when I do that; should have read:
someone murdered during song “rollercoaster:” never listened to it again
Beth says
February 20, 2011 at 11:16 amIf you wear black underwear you will never have babies.
Kids who sleep with pillows end up in neck braces.
Caffeine will stunt your growth so no Coke for you.
kay says
February 22, 2011 at 3:16 pmStanding in front of running microwave causes serious radiation issues.
I may or may not still believe this.
marie says
February 24, 2011 at 2:12 pmMayonnaise has an IQ of 7.
Thanks a lot, Dad.
Audrey at Barking Mad says
February 24, 2011 at 6:46 pmWell I guess one of my next posts is going to be from my husband visiting me in the ICU because of my brain swelling. I popped a whitehead pimple last week.
Great just freaking great!
runnergirl says
March 5, 2011 at 9:51 am“eat your green beans, they put hair on your chest”
………my dad, to his daughters.
And the watermelon thing too. My favorite needs more than 10 words. We were told that the classic painting “American Gothic” (stern man and woman in front of a barn w/ pitchfork) were named Cyrus and Abigail. They ran the farm for kids who didn’t behave themselves, and that’s where our summers would be spent if we didn’t get it together. That one worked until high school art history class. Talk about making a jackass out of yourself in a large group of people by arguing with the teacher. Also, at my house, Santa had sent one of his own personal elves to keep an eye on my sister and me. His name was Elmer, and he hung out behind the woodpile. I’m not certain, but I think my dad named him after Elmer’s glue.
Chvcky says
November 24, 2013 at 8:22 amKeeping your toes curled under your feet makes you insane
10
Chvcky says
November 24, 2013 at 8:29 am10 words people! C’mon man! If I took the liberties with the value/meaning of 10 that some of these people did, I could have written an epic novella describing all kinds of neurotic, irrational fears stemming from childhood social traumatization.
Sheesh