(postscript -- After thinking about this, for, oh, about two Diet Cokes or so, I remembered that my mother also used to tell me that drinking caffeine would "bind your growth plates, so your bones won't grow."
Also, I think that my dad once kicked me in the balls when I was a kid, just so I'd know what to expect when it would inevitably happen to me later on in life. But I'm not sure. I might be making that up.)
(post-postscript -- why the hell am I drinking Diet Coke anyway?)