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Original poster

To ask what you thought was weird as a child (lighthearted)

136 replies

scalt · 01/01/2026 08:22

What things do you remember from childhood that you thought were weird, even though they're perfectly normal to adults?

Bicycles staying upright, even though they only have two wheels.
How you stop noticing certain sensations (such as the clothes on your body) after a while: I remember pondering this aged four.
Puddles not being there the next day.

OP posts:
NimbleHiker · 01/01/2026 19:07

I thought that periods started on the first day of each month. I remember getting my first period in the middle of August. I was convinced that there was something wrong with me because it wasn't the first day of the month. I was confused about thunder. When it thundered i thought that my neighbours were moving their furniture about.

BohoGarden · 01/01/2026 18:39

I can remember my mum telling me that gravy was made using the boiling water strained from the peas. For some reason this struck me as absolutely and completely unbelievable. For years I thought she was joking.

Pricelessadvice · 01/01/2026 18:14

That when “the clock goes forward and we lose an hours sleep”, I thought this meant that we lose an hours sleep every night until the clocks went back again.
I couldn’t really get my head around it and just sort of nodded along 😂

I thought catarrh was “guitar” (in fairness to me, I was partially deaf). But for an embarrassingly long tim. I thought it weird it had the same name as an instrument but just thought it was one of those strange English language things.

Katemax82 · 01/01/2026 18:06

I'd get annoyed when my teacher said "several" when talking about a number of things that wasn't 7

randomchap · 01/01/2026 17:57

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/01/2026 16:39

Evidently you were more intelligent than I was! I didn’t realise ‘taste’ could mean personal preference.

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Erm

Until now I had no idea that's what it meant

Rather embarrassing

Thepeopleversuswork · 01/01/2026 17:35

Sminty2 · 01/01/2026 17:12

How the music I wanted to hear, knew to go into my radio. It really baffled me as a child.

Yes! I remember years ago some neighbours were having a party and playing the extended version of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”. The one with the sax solo.

I’d never heard a longer version of a pop song before and I told my mum David Bowie was in next door’s garden.

Thepeopleversuswork · 01/01/2026 17:32

Signs saying “To Let”.

I was convinced for years that they meant “toilet” but the I had dropped off. When my parents disabused me of this I thought they were being spoilsports.

SunSeaSkyandStars · 01/01/2026 17:29

When a person refers to themselves in third person, i know its how people often talk to young children..but i remember meeting my aunt i only ever saw like once a year and them going

"this is aunt bla bla room, this was aunt bla bla favourite toy"

i got so confused and was like "well wheres aunt bla bla then?".

"I'm Aunt bla bla"...

I was so spun out, i just didnt get it.

NormasArse · 01/01/2026 17:17

Car boot sales.

I wondered what had happened to all the people’s original car boots.

Sminty2 · 01/01/2026 17:12

How the music I wanted to hear, knew to go into my radio. It really baffled me as a child.

SparkyBlue · 01/01/2026 16:55

Strawberrryfields · 01/01/2026 10:10

How my grandma was older than me when her birthday came later in the year!

We had this recently with youngest DD. She couldn’t get her head around her birthday being the first of the year in the family but she is the youngest.

Dontlletmedownbruce · 01/01/2026 16:44

Same with 'add salt to taste'. I was much older than a kid when I thought this must indicate it is a bland and tasteless dish if it needs salt to taste it! I still think it should say 'add salt to your preference'.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/01/2026 16:39

whatthesigma · 01/01/2026 13:06

I always presumed this meant dilute with as much or as little water as to your own individual preference? To your own taste?

Show quote history

Evidently you were more intelligent than I was! I didn’t realise ‘taste’ could mean personal preference.

gezzab33 · 01/01/2026 13:43

I used to think that if my brain saw my brain it would make my head explode.

SkelatorIamNot · 01/01/2026 13:34

I used to get very stressed when my mum sent me to the shop to buy 5lb of spuds but didn’t give me £5.

Original poster
scalt · 01/01/2026 13:08

@WongKarWaiMe Oh yes. As a child you do indeed have lots of time to think about these things, in a way that adults don't: I was a deep thinker.
@Mrsclausemunchingonamincepie Related to war, I remember being astonished to learn as a child that people did archery or even shooting guns as a sport. For me, archery was something Robin Hood and William Tell did to kill their enemies. And then in modern times, I saw people using these dangerous weapons in a field! I couldn't understand how it was allowed.

Although I liked party games, everything about the game of Pin the Tail was plain weird. What was the point of trying to get the tail in place when I couldn't see to do it? Why did the party mum spin me round? Why was it called "pin the tail" if we used Blu-Tack? And most bafflingly of all, why couldn't I see the pattern on the scarf? I remember pondering the same thing when I was blindfolded at school, and I zoned out and forgot what I was supposed to be doing (guessing who was speaking in a funny voice).

OP posts:
whatthesigma · 01/01/2026 13:06

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/01/2026 08:46

Orange squash bottles saying ‘Dilute to taste’.

Bonkers! You didn’t have to dilute it in order to taste it!
😂

I always presumed this meant dilute with as much or as little water as to your own individual preference? To your own taste?

Soonenough · 01/01/2026 13:03

I wondered how people managed to save up hundreds of thousands of pounds to buy houses . No idea about mortgages .
I thought people as in They Say that where all in a sort of laboratory talking about stuff.

Sally2791 · 01/01/2026 12:40

These are brilliant! I spend a lot of my adulthood trying to regain that common sense fresh way of experiencing things ( I think there’s a description in Sophie’s World book) I couldn’t understand why adults would drink hot tea on a hot day. People being taken in by advertising. I thought doctors and nurses never died. I thought it was outrageous when I realised that food wasn’t free.

Illbefinejustbloodyfine · 01/01/2026 12:31

cobrakaieaglefang · 01/01/2026 09:32

Plant crossing- I imagined Triffid style plants running across the road. I was probably 9ish before I understood.

Me too!

Mrsclausemunchingonamincepie · 01/01/2026 12:30

That war was made up stories. I couldn't comprehend that people could kill others..

Original poster
scalt · 01/01/2026 12:29

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/01/2026 08:46

Orange squash bottles saying ‘Dilute to taste’.

Bonkers! You didn’t have to dilute it in order to taste it!
😂

I remember understanding it as “delight to taste”.

OP posts:
Seagullsandsausagerolls · 01/01/2026 10:15

Early 20s/late 20s etc.

I assumed that people were twenty, thirty etc twice (if only).

Strawberrryfields · 01/01/2026 10:10

How my grandma was older than me when her birthday came later in the year!

101Alsatians · 01/01/2026 10:02

Aged 5ish,genuinely had never seen a breastfeeding woman and was horrified. I was the youngest in the family and somehow had never heard of it. My parents were mortified at my lack of knowledge.

Not understanding why kids needed earlier bedtimes if an hour was 60 minutes for everyone.

Daylight Saving Time - didn't (still kind of don't 🫣) see the point.