What are some of the strangest beliefs you have had?

[AndyJoy]

Last week I was taking my friend's kids with mine on a day trip and during the drive was talking to her eldest about invasive species, specifically scotch broom. We talked about how it can take over and its almost impossible to kill or get rid of. I noticed her youngest was crying in the back and found out he was terrified of the yellow plant that will take over the whole city. He is still terrified of it. I'm afraid I instigated the first known phobia of scotch broom!

 

You meanie! :lol:

 

Years from now if this thread gets resurrected by someone saying that they believed that the spices on corned beef were dehydrated, ground up leprechauns you can blame my husband.  A four-year-old overheard him joking about this with his buddies over lunch one day, along with his comment that that is why corned beef is so "magically delicious."  She looked at him with a horrified expression and asked her parents about that.

 

[unfrumpable.]

Not really. I have similar memories. I realized they were actually memories of dreams though and I was always floating around at a certain height because that was my eye level at the time of the dreams and just how visual information came to me.

 

I also remember thinking I could walk on air. I knew how to put my foot out and compress the air with my mind to make it dense enough to walk on. I remembered doing it. Again, another vivid dream.

lol I meant it was X Files because Mulder saw his sister floating away. That's what all these floating posts brought to mind. :)

[poppy]

I used to think that you went to Heaven or Hell based on the opinion of your pets over your lifetime. They all sit in judgement together and decide your fate. I don't know why. But, in retrospect, it seems like a fair system.

 

I remember being in elementary school and trying to visualize sex. I thought I was being very daring. I imagined two characters from a series I liked (Trixie Belden!!) lying in bed next to each other. They lie side by side, looking at each other, bouncing a little and....right then at that exact moment, I realized I didn't know what sex is. I searched every corner of my book-filled house until I found something that explained it. I think it was "Our Bodies Ourselves" or something similar.

[Violet Crown]

Our babysitter, when I was a preschooler, used to talk with great hatred about a very evil man who needed to have peaches hurled at him, which seemed to me to be a fitting, if a little oddly specific, penalty for evildoing.

 

Much, much later in life I understood that she had wanted Pres. Nixon to be impeached.

[Chris in VA]

I thought I could warm up my baby doll with a blanket. I think I was about twelve when I learned blankets trap heat, not create it. So much for PS science!

 

My friend didn't realize he'd grown up pretty poor, because "we could always go into the kitchen and make ourselves a ham sandwich when we were hungry." He was in his teens when, while visiting a friend's kitchen and being offered a ham sandwich, he realized it actually had ham on it and wasn't just mayo and bread!

[AdventureMoms]

 

When I was little, I used to think (and hope) that if I sang pretty outside, wildlife would come around to listen to me, like in Snow White. I remember walking around the yard, singing my little heart out, wondering why bunnies and deer and sparrows weren't gathering around.

 

My DD does this! And she's a really awful singer (don't tell her I said so!). But OMG it is CUTE.

[Classic Mom]

My mom went through the Arby's drive thru for a Coke when I was about six, and I got upset that she was drinking it in the car. I was scared she was going to get pulled over and arrested for drinking and driving.

 

She still teases me about it.

 

My daughter told her kindergarten teacher (after a drug awareness talk) that her Mom had "Coke" everyday and she was worried.  Luckily, the teacher was a friend who knew me and called laughing about it.  I had to explain the difference between my "Diet Coke" addiction and cocaine to my daughter when she came home....

[Karmiel]

I was once convinced that velcro came from bushes in Ireland. It was discovered when the sheep kept sticking to them.

 

I wish it were true, because I loved the picture in my mind of sheep stuck to bushes.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

These are great.  Thank you so much for the laughs after 8 hours in the hot sun. :)

[Excelsior! Academy]

When my older sisters were babysitting me they let me watch polterguist and promptly sent me to bed. I was terrified for years that a scary clown was under my bed and would grab me and pull me under.

 

 

We lived near a cemetery. I had a babysitter that would watch MTV during the time Michael Jackson's Thriller was popular. she would threaten me if I told on her. I remember not being able to sleep at night scared that people would break out of the graves.

 

I was also scared of Freddie Krugar.

 

 

 

 

 

On a lighter note, my 9 year old is convinced that dragonflies are fairies. She has even made them a house with a mailbox. :)

[AvasMom]

Shortly after my mom had a hysterectomy (and still had staples) I was curious how babies got out of the mother. My mom said there was a special way that didn't hurt the mom or the baby. Naturally I concluded that it was through a zipper since my mom clearly had one on her belly. Lol!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I remember being perplexed about the 'Form One Lane' road signs. How could it mean only people in year 7 could drive in them, when year sevens were too young to drive?

 

This must be an Australian reference because I have no clue what you are talking about.  Form one lane = year seven ???????

[Granny_Weatherwax]

 

 

I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't think fireflies were real. I thought they were akin to fairies and trolls. It wasn't until I moved to Kentucky in my early twenties (seriously) that I saw one from a balcony and thought someone was playing a trick with a flashlight that I discovered they were real. I was so excited!

 

---

Me too.  The first time I visited IL - when I was 22 -  I was in awe that fireflies really existed.  It made me wonder what other things were real.

[Rosie_0801]

This must be an Australian reference because I have no clue what you are talking about.  Form one lane = year seven ???????

When my mum was at school, year seven was called form one, year eight was form two etc. Obviously (though not to me as a kid) form one lane signs had nothing to do with year levels at school and simply meant the left lane was ending so one had to merge right. I was always glad I didn't ask because it would have been so humiliating to be laughed at, lol.

[musicianmom]

I was 4 when I memorized the names of the crayons in the Crayola 64 box. I believed that the colors in the 8 pack were baby colors, and I got very insulted when anyone called a crayon "brown" when it was actually burnt sienna, for example. I assumed that the person was patronizing me by being imprecise, like I was stupid and wouldn't know the difference.

 

My poor parents.

[Bang!Zoom!]

When I was tiny, I believed that whatever food you ate went back in whole form...together in your stomach and show up again just like that "later".

 

For the longest time they had to cut my food up in little teeny pieces and not tell me what it was, and I remember asking all the time, "What is this made out of?"

 

"It's made from little berries" When really it was pork, chicken or whatever...

 

If they'd of told me it was made of cow..I'd never of touched it, etc.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I was 4 when I memorized the names of the crayons in the Crayola 64 box. I believed that the colors in the 8 pack were baby colors, and I got very insulted when anyone called a crayon "brown" when it was actually burnt sienna, for example. I assumed that the person was patronizing me by being imprecise, like I was stupid and wouldn't know the difference.

 

My poor parents.

When I was in K I thought there were strict gender assigned colors and when I asked a boy what his favorite color was and he said "red" I was horrified and told him red couldn't be his favorite color because that was a GIRL color!

[QuirkyKidAcademy]

As a  child, I was convinced the widow's peak at my hairline meant I was the spawn of Dracula.

[hillfarm]

Yes, I remember the color/gender thing. I frequently sorted my crayons into "boy colors" (greens, blues, dark browns, black) and "girl colors" (reds, oranges, yellows, lighter purples, etc.) It is ironic that today, my favorites are all amongst the boy colors, not the girl ones.

[mom2jjka]

I was terrified every night that soldiers were coming to get me.  I could hear them marching every time I laid in bed and it was really quiet.  (It wasn't until years later that I figured out it was my own heartbeat.)

[Dahliarw]

I thought high school would be like Grease. What a disappointment.

I used to think high school would be like Saved By the Bell. The hanging out at random restaurants part like they have there (and in ever high school show/movie) never happened, and I definitely was not in the popular group! LOL!

 

I never understood why "youth in Asia" was bad (euthanasia)

Me to! I didn't understand why there was so much debate over whether it was ok. I think I was in 8th or 9th grade before I realized what on earth they were talking about!

[MollyAnn]

I was convinced my mother ran red lights. Everytime we went through an intersection I saw the red light and was convinced we were going to get hit. I was looking out the side window and seeing the red light for the cross street.

[WishboneDawn]

lol I meant it was X Files because Mulder saw his sister floating away. That's what all these floating posts brought to mind. :)

Ahh! :D

[skeeterbug]

I was terrified every night that soldiers were coming to get me.  I could hear them marching every time I laid in bed and it was really quiet.  (It wasn't until years later that I figured out it was my own heartbeat.)

 

Me too!  Me too!  :seeya: I didn't think they were coming to get me, but definitely miniature soldiers marching in my ears.  Now if I hear that I have to shift, can't sleep with that sound in my ear!

[Liberty]

When I was about 6-7 a neighbor girl had me convinced that her father had been killed the night before and the man at her house was his twin. 

 

I also used to believe that dogs could have puppies merely by "kissing." 

 

My paternal grandmother was sort of mean and once while at her house I touched the leaf of her houseplant.  She immediately yelled and said that it would now die, but, instead, I thought she said I would die.  I cried the rest of the day thinking I was about to die because I'd touched her poisonous plant.

 

Apparently, I was a very gullible child....

[KungFuPanda]

I thought the signs in New Jersey that said "Slow Down Get Ticket" meant that it was illegal to drive too slow there. I thought this was legal support for the remarkably aggressive drivers there.

 

I never went to New Jersey until I was 19 :-/

[musicianmom]

I thought high school was going to be like Sweet Valley High.

[Night Elf]

When I was 4 or 5, I believed monsters walked up and down our hallway every night. My mom finally figured out that what I was hearing was my great Aunt's breathing. She had bad asthma.

[dm379]

I used to think that every time a plane went overhead that they would drop a bomb on us but going inside or under a blanket would save me.

 

And I used to think that the purple people eater would eat me if I rode my bike too far from the house without my brother. Apparently he lived on the other side of the hill in the neighbors backyard.

[lllll]

..

[Impish]

I was convinced Gene Simmons was the bogey man, and in my closet. My friend's older teen sister, (I was 4, barely) had a poster of KISS on her wall, and it terrified the snot outta me.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I believed Ponch--you know, the dude from CHiPs--had a crush on me. I was terrified my parents would find out and be mad.

[KungFuPanda]

I believed Ponch--you know, the dude from CHiPs--had a crush on me. I was terrified my parents would find out and be mad.

Did you ever even meet Ponch???

[Georgiana Daniels]

Did you ever even meet Ponch???

No. I was only 6 :D

[nd293]

My mother used to tell us that we could dig straight through the center of the earth and come out in China. I was fascinated by the idea, but never actually began the digging.

I also believed that! I would have been digging from South Africa, though. I was actually thinking about this the other day. I meant to get the globe and figure out exactly where the digging would have got me. I'll have a look today.

[Rosie_0801]

My mother used to tell us that we could dig straight through the center of the earth and come out in China.  I was fascinated by the idea, but never actually began the digging.  I mostly spent a lot of time trying to imagine Chinese people and what it would be like to live there.

Our parents told us that too. I'm not sure if we believed them or not, but dug anyway figuring it could be a rabbit trap if we didn't finish it. Only got about a foot then it became too much work, lol. Needless to say, rabbits can't be caught that way and we should have aimed for a heffalump or something. :p

[wingedradical]

This isn't a childhood thing, but about 15 years ago, I was very ill and almost died. I have Legionaire's disease, complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome and lupus. I was on life support and lots and lots of drugs. My fever was horribly high and they couldn't seem to get it down so they were using ice blankets on me. It so happened that this particular hospital had required its nurses to wear white long after other hospitals gave up on it but had finally relented, so that one day (I was in this state for about 3 weeks), they changed the rule and just about every nurse came in with brightly colored shirts. Well, somehow in my drug-crazed feverish mind, I got the idea that I'd been abducted by a Hawaiian cult and they were trying to kill me with ice. My poor oldest son came into the ICU and I started telling him and insisting that he rescue me. He went and got my husband who tried to reassure me that I was in the hospital and no one was trying to hurt me. I only had that delusion for a few hours one afternoon and I only remember a few minutes of it, I can still remember the horror of thinking I was being abused by those Hawaiians with their flowery shirts and cold ice! :

[wingedradical]

This isn't a childhood thing, but about 15 years ago, I was very ill and almost died. I have Legionaire's disease, complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome and lupus. I was on life support and lots and lots of drugs. My fever was horribly high and they couldn't seem to get it down so they were using ice blankets on me. It so happened that this particular hospital had required its nurses to wear white long after other hospitals gave up on it but had finally relented, so that one day (I was in this state for about 3 weeks), they changed the rule and just about every nurse came in with brightly colored shirts. Well, somehow in my drug-crazed feverish mind, I got the idea that I'd been abducted by a Hawaiian cult and they were trying to kill me with ice. My poor oldest son came into the ICU and I started telling him and insisting that he rescue me. He went and got my husband who tried to reassure me that I was in the hospital and no one was trying to hurt me. I only had that delusion for a few hours one afternoon and I only remember a few minutes of it, I can still remember the horror of thinking I was being abused by those Hawaiians with their flowery shirts and cold ice! :

[wingedradical]

This isn't a childhood thing, but about 15 years ago, I was very ill and almost died. I had Legionaire's disease, complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome and lupus. I was on life support and lots and lots of drugs. My fever was horribly high and they couldn't seem to get it down so they were using ice blankets on me. It so happened that this particular hospital had required its nurses to wear white long after other hospitals gave up on it but had finally relented, so that one day (I was in this state for about 3 weeks), they changed the rule and just about every nurse came in with brightly colored shirts. Well, somehow in my drug-crazed feverish mind, I got the idea that I'd been abducted by a Hawaiian cult and they were trying to kill me with ice. My poor oldest son came into the ICU and I wrote a note (couldn't talk with the ventilator in) telling him this and insisting that he rescue me. He went and got my husband who tried to reassure me that I was in the hospital and no one was trying to hurt me but he had a hard time convincing me. I only had that delusion for a few hours one afternoon and I only remember a few minutes of it, I can still remember the horror of thinking I was being abused by those Hawaiians cultists with their flowery shirts and cold ice! :

[Melissa in Australia]

My mother used to tell us that we could dig straight through the center of the earth and come out in China.  I was fascinated by the idea, but never actually began the digging.  I mostly spent a lot of time trying to imagine Chinese people and what it would be like to live there.

My brother and I got this idea from a bugs bunny cartoon. we spent many hours trying to dig a hole in the back yard that would go right through to china. We didn't have any concept of how large the world is. We were around 5 and 6 at the time.

[Melissa in Australia]

I also believed that! I would have been digging from South Africa, though. I was actually thinking about this the other day. I meant to get the globe and figure out exactly where the digging would have got me. I'll have a look today.

you might have eventually come across my brother and I digging from  far south east Victoria, Australia. we would probably hit South Africa if we just kept on digging. :lol:

[Mom in High Heels]

When I was little, I thought Naval oranges belonged to the Navy.

[RoughCollie]

When I was little, I thought pickles grew on trees.  I was really disappointed when I found out they started out as cucumbers.

[Belacqua]

I used to think that every time a plane went overhead that they would drop a bomb on us but going inside or under a blanket would save me.

 

And I used to think that the purple people eater would eat me if I rode my bike too far from the house without my brother. Apparently he lived on the other side of the hill in the neighbors backyard.

 

In your defense, our schools did teach us with air raid drills that huddling under our 3/4 inch plywood desks would save us when the Soviets came to bomb us. Is it any wonder we were convinced we were about to be nuked but any layer of protection was sufficient? In retrospect, I have to wonder how the teachers were able to keep straight faces when telling us to get under our desks.

 

My belief was more reverse gullibility. In high school, I worked weekends at a little snack bar. Every Saturday, Dave would come in and get an egg sandwich. Nice guy. He was usually dressed a bit grubbily, having been working in his horse barn. One of the girls I worked with tried to convince me that Dave was actually super rich, owned most of the restaurants in town, owned a professional sports team, etc. Uh huh. Not falling for that.

 

Naturally, I later saw Dave on television as he was making a multi-million dollar charitable donation, wearing a cap from the sports team he owned. Go figure.

[Meriwether]

On of the guys at church, Larry, worked at the Keebler factory. Of course, my sibs and I thought he turned into the elf while he was at work.

[Hoot]

My grandfather told us kids that if you threw a snake into the fire it would grow legs.  I believed him for longer than I would like to admit.  :rolleyes:

[Guest]

When I was little, I had strawberry vine wallpaper. I was convinced it was the home of field mice and they came out at night to make nests in my hair. This was why I always had such horrible knots in my long fine hair every morning.

 

I also had some Prairie Doll wall hangings that had large hoods which hid their faces. I was certain they would have no faces if they turned around.

 

One of my younger sisters believed the world was only black and white until color film was invented. Also that there was no sound in the world until "Talkies" came about.

 

 

[LadyR]

When I was little I thought everyone had a hand at the bottom of their stomach.  When it got too heavy with food it would just push it out and that's why you would throw up.

 

My sister believed that until your nail polish dried, if you tipped your fingers it would roll off.