Most of us have heard the saying, “he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth,” and attribute it to the families’ wealth or the child’s disposition. Here’s the TRUE meaning…It dates back to medieval times, when silver was becoming a very highly regarded material because of its long list of desirable properties.

Naturally sterling silver is antimicrobial which means that it prohibits the growth of bacteria! This was important in the dark ages because of the onslaught of plagues dating back to the 14th century. Estimates suggest that death rates among wealthy families were as little as half those of their less fortunate counterparts in the poorer sections of town.

Why? Because babies born to wealthy families had the luxury of teething on sterling silver spoons, which their well-to-do mommies and daddies could afford to buy. The act of sucking upon a silver spoon was thought to be instrumental in preventing plague bacteria from taking hold, and thus the babies that lived on the right side of the tracks fared better than those who didn’t.