Stop Nighttime Leg Cramps with a Bar of Soap?

A few months ago, I woke up almost every night to bad cramping in my legs.  It would keep me up for hours, and really throw off my focus and concentration at work.

My wife suggested something that she had heard from one of her co-workers.  An old wives' tale claims that placing a bar of soap in your bed would prevent cramping.  As silly as this sounded to me, I was desperate, so I gave it a try.

To my surprise, I slept through the night.  I couldn't believe it!  The next night, I didn't use the soap, and again woke up with my legs cramping.  So, even though I thought it was completely ridiculous, I've had a bar of soap in my bed ever since.

I woke up with a cramp earlier this week and thought to myself that this whole soap thing must be a bunch of malarkey after all.  That is until I got out of bed and stepped on the bar of soap.  I had kicked it off the bed while I was sleeping.  So apparently, it really does work!

I heard another old wives' tale involving animals and thunderstorms.  A friend of mine told me that dogs and cats get nervous just before a thunderstorm because of all the static in the air.  Supposedly, if you wipe down your dog or cat with a sheet of fabric softener (not liquid fabric softener), it will remove the static charge on their fur, and they will be fine through the storm.  I can't verify this one, though!

What other old wives' tales have you heard of or used in practice?