What do you remember from your childhood that you now realise you really misunderstood?

[Carryonrunning]

Was just chatting to a friend about this:

1. Hearing all the boys in class talking about how a girl’s tampon fell out in the classroom. Lived in fear of this for many years before I realised they meant it fell out of her bag, not her body!

2. Opening the door of a sauna with my cousin (which was right in the middle of the spa area, so not private) on holiday in a nice hotel and my uncle inside shouting at us to close the door. I cried for weeks thinking I’d inadvertently seen him naked (although I didn’t actually see anything). Couldn’t look at him for years without feeling sick before I was old enough to realise we were just letting the heat out and annoying the other people in there! No one was naked in mixed sauna in the very public pool area of a nice spa hotel full of people!

When I was about 14 a girl in my year, let's call her Julie, was off school for a while with glandular fever. I wasn't close friends with her but I quite liked her so I gave one of her good friends a card to give to her. About a year later I was having a conversation with another friend about who was or wasn't a virgin (I was, I was a very late developer in that respect) and she mentioned Julie on the list of people she knew weren't. I said I was surprised about Julie, she seemed quite quiet and conventional to me, and she said "oh didn't you know? Julie has had an abortion!" I only realised years later that that was probably the time she was supposed to have had glandular fever and that I had put my foot in it by innocently sending the card.

My sister had a boyfriend who thought women could hold in their period blood and go to the loo to release it. Like a wee!

There was a news article about a teenage girl not allowed to leave class to change her san pro by a male teacher for the same reason, he thought you could just hold it in and pee it out at will and told her to hold it. This was in the last few years and the teacher was young, I remember because I remember thinking what a sad indictment of the education system it was that a young teacher would be so ignorant of biology.

ha me too. I was always being told off for doing things which were 'common' just assumed they were too.

I used to think five-a-side football was fibre-side football and described the material of the pitch they played on. I thought it was another word for astroturf or something.

Our local library was in Teddington, among whose famous past residents was RD Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone. There is a memorial tablet to him in the library which says 'he is buried in our [ie the town] cemetery'. I used to think that meant the library had its own private cemetery.

Also I used to think albeit was al-bite, awry was ori and Ingatestone (near Chelmsford) was inga-test'n.

I hope he wasn't teaching biology!

I used to think that there was an actual word of bomsitit as I was so untidy as a child my mum used to say my room was so messy it was like a bomsitit. It was only after helping a teacher tidy up after art class that I said it and she looked at me smiling and said “yes, I suppose it does look like a bomb has hit it..” that I realised..

I used to think for a long time that Turf Accountants sold grass for new lawns. I didn't realise it was a posh name for a betting shop.

This is so cute!

I thought Milk of Magnesia was snakes milk

yes we do they are actually free in our workplace. in every single women's toilet including the manufacturer ingredients plant. women on the floor are not allowed to carry anything with them so this is good for them

I would hope that young men are better informed these days about periods, but it still lingers on.....
At the beginning of one school year, on an INSET day before the arrival of the pupils, the breaktime supervision rotas were being set, once teachers knew when they would actually be in the classroom from their teaching timetable.
I spotted that, I had been "pencilled in" for a morning when I was teaching right through, no chance to nip to the loo from before morning lineup to lunchtime. This was, of course, completely manageable except when it coincided with the beginning of my period, when I needed tampon and pads, and regular changes, for a couple of days.
When I pointed out that, while I could take a solid morning's teaching in my stride, it was a long stretch without a comfort break, the initial response was a blustering "weaker sex" sort of riposte (it was a boys' school, a bit "gung-ho" with a largely male staff)
I had no intention of spelling out the practicalities of dealing with a heavy period during a working day; I simply said, "Lady teachers have other reasons for needing to visit the toilet".
Utter confusion and embarrassment from the timetabler, who was clearly dreading me elaborating.
This was a married man with children; he had gone through his education with very little awareness of "women's stuff".

That does sound handy tbh. I guess it depends a lot on where you work. If you’re not allowed carry anything with you (on a factory floor for example) it makes absolute sense.
I think pp mentioned offices though. I’ve worked in offices, labs and primary schools and have never seen them supplied there.

If only, eh? Yes men not knowing how this stuff works might explain why some of them think women are exaggerating or fussing over periods and childbirth. If they think it's something we have control over and can 'hold in', they must think it's a load of fuss about nothing!

I've noticed in my work place that a kind person or people always puts free sanitary products on a shelf behind the sinks. A Godsend for many I imagine! But like you, I've never seen a machine in a work place. Saying that, I've never ever been able to get one to work at a train station toilet (where you normally see them). The tray is always jammed and the product doesn't come out, in my experience!

Wow. How utterly ignorant of him! I hope you managed to get your very much needed toilet break!

Me too. That poor girl. I'd have been mortified at that age. I remember at my Catholic high school, if you had period pain, you could go to a specific teacher and ask for some Feminax. The only trouble was that the teacher was male. I remember having the most awful period pain at school one day and was desperate for some pain relief, but there was no way I was going to ask him! Why they did that was and still is beyond me!

No! I wish it was like that!!! Imagine how much easier our lives would be. I wonder how many men think this. 🤔

I thought this too and I've never heard of anyone else thinking the same!

Edit: sorry that was in relation to the bomsitit

I know that now, hence "used to". This is a thread about past misconceptions, after all. 🤷‍♀️

At junior school there was an irascible teacher who used to scream at us
You can go to Halifax. I don't care.
I assumed it was the full name for he'll.
A bit like lunch and luncheon
Years later someone said they were from Halifax and I couldn't help feeling shocked.

Hell. Of course.
My phone is so innocent. It's never heard of hell.

Hallucination isn't pronounced hally cuse ination.