1720 Remedial Interpretation

Old wive's tales. They tell so much. Who were those old wives anyway? Was it like some club of women who spent their entire lives coming up with home remedies? As they had nothing better to do than beat laundry on rocks and such-like their minds were left free to concoct all manner of treatments?
Like that old wive's tale about butter and burns. It said that when you have a burn the first thing you should do is put some butter on it. On the face of it, it seems to make sense. Restore some moisture to the area, and do so in a way that sticks. Like an emollient on frayed and dry chapping skin, maybe it would help.
Unfortunately no. It can actually encourage infection and stops the skin cells from healing. Not to mention that many folks have no actual butter around the house anyhow and it's not at all certain the original old wife recipe was adaptable to the days of oleo. Slapping "I can't believe it's not butter" on a burn may be even worse.
Then again, actual butter may be especially bad for some folks, and I'm not just talking about those with high cholesterol. Would you put butter on a burn on someone that's lactose intolerant?
And what about the use of mineral oil for constipation? Like adding a gas cleaner to your pipes or something. What was the thinking here?
"Gee, I'm stove up, give me something really slick to drink."
"Here Honey, take this fluid that's toxic in large doses for a condition that's likely to pass in a day anyhow."
I'm beginning to suspect there's a reason why there were no "old husband tales."
They didn't make it.
America ya gotta love it.