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Original poster

To ask what weird/stupid stuff you did as a kid

381 replies

Bantameggs · 14/04/2019 19:47

I think I was a bit of a strange child although maybe I’m not the only one.

One of my favourite things to do aged about 5/6 was to steal a bar of soap and some scissors, find a corner to hide in and shave wafer thin slices of soap off until there was nothing but a big pile of soap flakes. I got into trouble every time but it didn’t stop me.

Our family car had two rear facing seats at the back and if I was sitting there I used sit dead still and make blank-faced unblinking eye contact with the people behind for as long as possible. I think I managed it for about an hour once.

Once aged about 10 I set out to drink as much water as possible just to see how much I could drink. I managed a few litres (I’m aware now that I could have killed myself)

I brought a large dehydrated dead fish I’d found on the beach to show and tell at school when I was 7. Unfortunately it was the last day before the summer holidays and I accidentally left it behind. I think they had to get someone to come in in the end to deal with the terrible smell.

When I was 12 I coloured my entire face in with bright pink lipstick. It took about two days to get rid of completely.

Was anyone else a little weirdo? I think I’m pretty normal now btw!

OP posts:
Smotheroffive · 15/04/2019 22:29

Also did the mental 'racing' of traffic to landmarks like bus stops or lamposts.

I now do a mental 'leaping' from one lampost to another along motorways Confused

ColdTattyWaitingForSummer · 15/04/2019 22:34

@Ohmydarling yes! And try to make sums out of the numbers, so like if it’s 314 then that’s fine because 3+1=4, or 824 is 8/2=4, and so on..

OhMyDarling · 15/04/2019 22:51

@ColdTatty am honestly so relieved that I’m not the only one. No one else has ever understood it!

WinterIsComing84 · 15/04/2019 22:53

I used to go swimming every week with my school and would regularly pretend to drown - floating face down - to get a panicked reaction from my swim teacher. Bit dangerous in a 'boy who cried wolf' sort of way.

I once pretended to have a stammer when meeting a new teacher for the first time, then realised that all of my other teachers knew I didn't have a stammer and I would look weird if/when this was raised.

I used to make 'potions' whenever I visited someone's house. I'd ask to use the loo, then spend the next 10 minutes emptying a bit of every shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, powders, lotions etc into the sink to see what colours and smells I could make.

'A bit of a weird attention seeker' summed me up as a child...

Blahdeblahbahhhhh · 15/04/2019 23:34

as the parent of a small child, this is an incredibly reassuring thread. I'm assuming you are all reasonably normal adults!

doubtingdaisy · 15/04/2019 23:44

I used to thread a needle and sew my fingers together through the fleshy part. Then I would spread open my fingers and squeal at the sensation of the thread moving through. Positively weird. I also lay in bed counting to 10 hundreds of times. These were the number of hours my beloved dog would live. I had to keep counting........actually he should still be alive today!

doubtingdaisy · 15/04/2019 23:45

I also stuck my fingers into molten wax on candles.

Smotheroffive · 16/04/2019 02:09

Also did the finger 'sewing' as did my.DC!

MarthasGinYard · 16/04/2019 02:16

I used to stick fuzzy felt little shapes up my nose.

I think my record was 6 in one nostril.

Bouncingbelle · 16/04/2019 03:06

I thought i was a complete weirdo child till i read this thread!
I did the finger sewing & soap shaving. I also used to like to hide behind my grans couch (whilst sneakily cutting the fringes off the bottom of the couch and stick them up my nose). I used to pretend to be mute a lot :/
Most disgusting thing was my secret snot-garden on the wall behind my bed where i would 'plant' all my bogies. Quite why i did this i have no idea & i have no idea why i've just admitted it!

Bouncingbelle · 16/04/2019 03:09

Oh, and i used to try to convince my mum to give me food on a saucer on the floor so i could eat it like a dog?!?

AvengersAssemble · 16/04/2019 03:13

I remember my DB bringing a bottle full of caterpillars in from the garden, hiding the jar in the kitchen cupboard, then hearing my mum shriek when she came across it! Grin

clockworklime · 16/04/2019 07:10

I would spend hours in the bathroom mixing together The Ultimate Cleaning Product in a cup - a bit of everything in the room, toothpaste, shampoo, talc, medicines, bleach, etc and use it to clean the taps.

Also did the “cutting hedges and lampposts” thing in the car by instead of a scythe, I had a very long Star Wars light sabre attached to the side of the car, and I could spare the fate of people or cars by choosing to briefly switch off the light sabre by clenching my jaw.

MrsElizabethShelby · 16/04/2019 07:38

You have made me feel so much better. My DD is also a wierdo

letsgomaths · 16/04/2019 08:34

When passing through a village on holiday, I was fascinated by a tiny building with a pointed roof and a small grated window, similar to this one. My parents told me that was the village lock-up, and explained what it was for, telling me light-heartedly that's where I'd end up if I didn't behave. From then on, I wanted nothing more than to be locked inside, just for a day! I asked my parents to lock me up at home, but they refused.

To ask what weird/stupid stuff you did as a kid
WhatAWomble · 16/04/2019 09:39

I used to bend my baby finger tip back on the car window as a passenger. I managed to get it completely horizontal after a while (although it was white) no idea why, but there was an element of challenge Confused.

UHU glue tastes amazing but you had to squeeze it a lot to get a decent amount past the pad...teachers soon put a stop to that.

Putting PVA (fish smelling) glue onto fingers and trying to peel it off in one chunk complete with fingerprint.

Making up songs and wandering about singing them to trees - tough childhood and was bought up not to tell anyone problems so suspect this was the result.

Put thumb tacks into school shoes to 'tap dance' - very slippery and I don't advise doing stairs with them Grin

Believed for a while that if I blinked hard it would cement the vision in my mind like a camera.

Used to climb to the top of trees and spy on people in the local park at about 9.

WhatAWomble · 16/04/2019 09:48

Did anyone else read books on holiday that became the setting for the book? Woolacombe was the unlikely stage for Stephen King's IT for me Confused

pushingdaisies · 16/04/2019 12:28

I used to do loads of weird stuff, most of them mentioned on this thread.

V outing but I went through a phase of collecting the wishbones from the chickens my mum used to buy for sunday dinner or whatever, my dad used to clean them and save them for me and I had them all lined up on my bedroom windowsill
Also used to collect dead bees and keep them in a little tin with the hopes of making jewelry out of them one day but never did Confused

Counting my steps etc., still do that now.
When Smash instant mash used to be in pellets rather than powder form I used to eat them dry. Definitely still would if the bastards hadn't made it into disgusting dust

Used to dress my brother up as a girl with tights on his head for long hair and call him a female version of his name.

As kids we once collected frogspawn and put it into the neighbour's pond. Then we watched in horror one day as the goldfish in the pond ate the baby frogs ffs.

Also once caught a massive toad and named it after the mum of someone we knew which is fucking awful Grin

Probably loads more, I was a weird child.

pushingdaisies · 16/04/2019 12:29

Also @WhatAWomble I have very fond memories of Woolacombe, am now imagining IT playing out there

greenpop21 · 16/04/2019 12:32

Did anyone else read books on holiday that became the setting for the book? Woolacombe was the unlikely stage for Stephen King's IT for me confused

I do this still though not necessarily where I am on holiday. I often picture a character that is different to the description too. Once I've pictured a place or person I can't change it back!

kiwiblue · 16/04/2019 12:58

@bouncingbelle
Most disgusting thing was my secret snot-garden on the wall behind my bed where i would 'plant' all my bogies. Quite why i did this i have no idea & i have no idea why i've just admitted it!

Oh my goodness I did this once as a child (on the wooden leg of my bed) and have always been ashamed at the memory! Of course they went all dried and I had to clean them off after a couple of days Blush

This is bad... When I was about 5 or 6 I went to school on Monday and told everyone my dad had died in the weekend. The teachers all knew my mum as she did relief teaching so they of course called her! When I got home she sat me down and asked if it was because I was upset my dad was away for work and I said yes. I think I really just wanted to tell a lie for some strange reason Blush

Ohhellothereladyface · 16/04/2019 13:00

I cringe remembering this but I when visiting people’s houses I used to insist on everyone watching me do an impression of Lloyd Grossman from Through The Keyhole. “Who lives in a house like this???? (hosts name) it’s over to youuuuu”
I must have been the most annoying child. Why didn’t my parents stop me.

Mammylamb · 16/04/2019 13:03

I “baptised” MH favourite doll. Gave her rosary beads and christening certificate.

I still have all 3!

PeoniesandPretties · 16/04/2019 14:23

I have loved reading all of these, amongst alot of these I did I also:

Use to attach the loop of a keyring to my lip, scream blue murder and my mum would remove it... Again.

Pick the putty stuff from behind the toilet, my dad was a plumber so I was fascinated!

I use to believe every car journey was a suicide pack waiting to happen and my dad was intent on killing us all!

Me and my sister dug up the whole garden looking for pipes, my mum went crazy being an understatement!

Smotheroffive · 16/04/2019 19:41

I also put drawing pins in my shoes to transform them into tap shoes!

Whos DD having I just seen dancing naked in their upstairs window!!! Not something I ever did I have to say,but she was wiggling and jiggling and laughing, completely starkers, probs only about 4 at the most!

We never know what they're up to Grin

How much do parents really know what goes on?

My dp didn't know a lot of my stuff, and clearly that little dds DPs don't know either!

It was a little country lane thankfully,not a thoroughfare. Blush