The History Channel has a show about the States, and Nebraska was one of the features the other night. A mentioned the phrase, “sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite”, and then discussed the meaning of “sleep tight”.

The stated that it came from the fact that beds in those old sod houses were made of rope strung across the frame (I have slept on a bed like that). The said that the ropes would begin to sag and they had to tighten them up at times. The “sleep tight”, they said, referred to the ropes being tight.

That sounds far-fetched to me. Is it true?

You could always check it out on the Big List

In case anyone just wants a quick answer, it’s “no.” And let me add that I got awfully sick of hearing tour guides repeat this specious “information” at places like the Huguenot Houses in New Paltz, NY.

Wow! I didn’t think of the Big List.

It bothers me that folks will make statements like that on the History Channel, of all places. I imagine that the person speaking was told that and didn’t check to see if it was true or not.