There's a familiar story about the new bride who is cooking a big family dinner. As the ladies are gathered in the kitchen, the bride puts the roast in the pan and asks her mother why we always cut the end of the roast and put it in another pan? They ask grandma who says, "well honey, I cut the end off of the roast and put it in another pan because my roasting pan was too small!"
There are several variations of that story.
In one variation a young bride puts a pan of water in the oven every time she bakes a cake. She figured that this somehow added moisture to the cake. On one occasion her mother is visiting and asks, "why do you put a pan of water in the oven to bake a cake?" The bride replied, "well mom, that's the way you always did it." "Yes," the mother replied, "but that's because my oven racks were uneven."
In one variation, a young bride is thawing the turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner. She puts the bird in the sink and covers it with a dishpan. "Mom, what is the purpose for putting a dishpan on top of the turkey to thaw?" "Sweetie, I put a dishpan on top of the turkey because we had cats."
Finally, from "humor in uniform" comes the story of the young Seabee electrician who was electrocuted from working on a live fixture. The Master Sergeant visited him in the infirmary and chewed him out. "What made you think you could work on a live fixture?" The apprentice replied, "Sir, I was trying to save time and I've seen you stand on one leg, grab the wires and splice them without turning off the power. " The Master Sergeant replied, "You dummy - didn't you notice that I've got a wooden leg?"
That story was from a collection called "Wooden You Know It" by Peg Mickleson.
Source of stories http://www.snopes.com/weddings/newlywed/secret.asp
SMALL MISUNDERSTANDINGS can become perpetual realities if left uncorrected. Such is the case in the study of the book of James.