What were your assumptions about the world as a child?

[OneUmberJoker]

I thought being rested as in sport star rested meant arrested

I thought all squirrels were red.

When I was really little, I thought the only religions were Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Judaism. I grew up in the American Midwest. 🙂

You and me obviously watch Blue Peter in the same era 🐕 .

I am glad I am not the only one that had concerns about quick sand.

I had forgotten about the Bermuda triangle fear so I am now thinking about that and have the song going around my head too , thanks ! 😵‍💫

That there was a good chance I would die of spontaneous human combustion. I was obsessed with the weird little stories in the Readers Digest and loved Fortean Times (I was an odd little soul!)
I also wholeheartedly believed being an adult would be amazing.....all of the things I could choose to do or not do! Basically I have created so many rules for myself in my head I might as well be a child, I'm just parenting myself and as it turns out I am rather strict and not much fun. I parent my actual children very differently obviously but for me the rules are ever present and very hard to maintain.

I really wish this was true .

That the Bermuda Triangle would feature far heavier in my life than it actually has!

That’s adults had life figured out, no they were just winging it!

I thought older people had always been old, couldn't imagine my Grand Parents ever going to school or 'courting' during WW2.

Also, yes to death by quicksand, train tracks (I lived in the middle of no where, I did even see a train track until I was an adult! ) and overhead power lines....basically lots of unlikely ways to die would get me.
I also believed in Werewolves but if I slept with my head under the covers I should be okay.

Oh no, I am so invested in this thread now!
Why did we all worry about the Bermuda triangle? It would only ever be a problem if we went there, I can't remember many families going for a jolly around the Bermuda triangle 😆

I thought politicians and leaders were the most trustworthy and honest people and that's why they had those jobs.

I also used to think rules given to me were universal rules so I often got confused when I told an adult off for something I had been told off for and I got more punishments for doing that.

I love this - perfect example of how kid brains work.

I thought that the expression "it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, it's what's inside that matters", meant that having good-looking insides (guts and stuff) was more important because that's what makes you healthy.

Love this thread. I worried about human combustion after seeing it in a book, the photo of only the leg remaining... I was convinced there were little people in the back of the TV doing all of the acting, was very disappointed when the TV repair man came and took the back off and all I could see was wires…

I knew someone who thought that cartoons were performed by actors in dress-up. He thought that the people in costumes at Disney World were the actual actors in Mickey Mouse and Cinderella on the TV.

I thought everyone on TV must be a nice person otherwise they wouldn't be allowed on TV. It was the 80s the height of Jimmy Savilles fame 😞

I believed that the boogie man was real.
I also that if I ate fruit seeds I would grow an endless supply of fruit. I was disappointed many times ✖️

I thought that when the radio or TV were on that there were miniature people performing inside the sets.

I was rudely shocked out of this once aged about 9 when someone told me David Bowie was not playing a live gig inside my TV.

Me too @DeanStockwelll Adulthood has had a few nasty lessons for me

That your driving test consisted of driving one way with an instructor showing you what to do, you drove home then got to keep the car as you could now drive.

The quick sand thing completely! I’m sure most of us were convinced (in the 90s anyway) we would grow up with this being a dangerous hazard at any beach we went too!

Finally that teachers were the most clever, sensible grown ups and knew everything. One look at my teacher husband tells me that is very much not the case 🤣

I remember hearing on the news that gorillas (guerillas) were being armed in the jungle. Couldn't work out how big monkeys would have been taught to shoot gun. Or why they would want to.
Spontaneous combustion occupied more of my free time than it should
I had a book which featured SHC over 3 or four reports. Including photos. I spent a ludicrous amount of time surreptitiously tying to smell myself to see whether I had started to smoulder

That everybody's family was like mine.

That I would help the police solve a baffling murder ( I read lots of famous 5 and secret 7 books )

So did I! I still have a tendency to wonder if the police have thought of following a (usually fairly obvious) line of enquiry, if a case is in the news.

That it would end in nuclear apocalypse. I wanted so badly to live in Lewisham because as we drove to my Nana’s house there were signs saying it was a nuclear free zone. 70’s child.

Also that baited breath meant that person hadn’t cleaned their teeth.

That when cats stayed out all night it was because it was one of there cat friends party.
That if I got a whiff of prick stick I’d end up like zamo from Grange Hill. (Due to a terrifying glue sniffing advert)
That you got AIDS from eating dirt. (I remember being really worried about this)
That Pipes from Ghostwatch 1992 was very real, this scared the life out of me,

I was absolutely convinced that I would become a marine biologist working in Bermuda (as if that was a legit career option for anyone and everyone) and that the ship I was working from would just sort of go under as if a big bath plug was pulled!