Will Birds Explode After Eating Thrown Wedding Rice?

We all know the custom of throwing rice or grains at the newlyweds. This tradition is thought to come from the Romans some 2000 years ago. It is supposed to bring luck but there is no proof that it does. However, you will find it represents prosperity and fertility to the newly married couple (T. Craughwell, Old Wives' Tales, Fact or Folklore).

So I'm getting married September 2013 and wondered if I could throw rice etc. at the venue I chose to go with. My sister then asked, "Won't the birds explode?"

So, will you throw rice at your wedding? If your answer is no because you're afraid the bird's bellies will explode then let me educate you. The birds will not expand and explode from the rice enlarging in their stomach. That too is an old wives' tale! A more current one at that, as in the 1990s.