Randomly odd things you believed as a child and possibly beyond...

[Elmo230885]

I live this type of thread...

(I'm not talking about believing in Santa or the tooth fairy)

I'll start. I had a cousin named Stephen and he had the middle name Dean. For some reason he used to switch and go by either name. So as a child I believed that Dean was short for Stephen in the same way Bill is used for William.

That during mass when people shared the peace they were saying 'pleased to meet you'.

It made total sense, what with the hand shaking.

That all underground places must be dark: after all, dungeons, prisons and bank vaults are often dark and gloomy when they appear in films. My parents' house had a cellar, with unpainted walls, so it was dark, even with the light on.

But this is not true for many of these places. Stations and trains on the London Underground are all brightly lit; likewise the Bank of England vault in the photos of the Queen visiting it; it's hard to believe that these places are underground. Prisons, while not underground, are often painted white inside, instead of being dark like they are in stories.

I used to think that the umbilical cord was connected from the mother's belly button to the baby's belly button. I knew that the baby grew inside so I was really confused about how the umbilical cord bit worked

@hilariousnamehere perhaps this is the reason for confusion about “moving house”.

In the late 40s/early 50s there was practically no sex education in school and my parents would no more discuss the subject with me than fly to the moon. I had no idea how women became pregnant but was firmly convinced that they gave birth by their belly button opening up wide enough for the baby to be lifted out, whereupon it would close up again until the next time.

Apparently I was born bottom first, my method would have saved a whole load of pain.

Why there was always a fuss about an actress being cast as Eliza Doolittle. Because I don't even remember Dr Doolittle having a daughter so it's hardly a very good role is it 🤣🤣🤣
Until about 21 when I watched my fair lady for the first time!

@Crankley

In the late 40s/early 50s there was practically no sex education in school and my parents would no more discuss the subject with me than fly to the moon. I had no idea how women became pregnant but was firmly convinced that they gave birth by their belly button opening up wide enough for the baby to be lifted out, whereupon it would close up again until the next time.

Apparently I was born bottom first, my method would have saved a whole load of pain.

My mum believed that and my dad had to put her straight.

She was pregnant with my sister at the time, bless her.

@thatonesmine

I used to think you're going uphill you're heading north.

I used to think that when you stepped out of the front door you would be facing south 😂

Also that my Nans cat went to love on a farm, thought that for far too long

@Thneedville

Oh is centre parcs NOT in a big dome...?

Only the swimming pool bit. The cycling etc happens outdoors. It was the advert that confused me "the holiday the weather can't spoil" or something with a photo of the giant dome.

Such a good thread.

I had lots of fears of illegal drugs compounded by a terrifying book my mum gave us in the late 80s/early 90s. Stuff like if I ever caught a whiff of a pritt stick I would end up with weeping sores round my mouth and inevitably soon be addicted to hard drugs. I held my breath when cutting and sticking for years just in case.

I'm another who firmly believed that the dome covered the entire place. Yep! it was that misleading advert that did it.

Bambi's mother was not shot. She injured her leg and someone came from London Zoo to capture her and take her to the vet to make her better.

Freckles are caused by not scratching an itch. I used to look at heavily freckled people and be in awe at their self control, to have ignored so many itches...

A relative from Scotland sent me a fountain pen and propelling pencil set for Christmas.

The nib on the pen was bent, it curled inwards; I presume it was damaged in transit but I didn't think of that at the time.

When we started doing 'proper' writing with fountain pens I took it to school and teacher remarked that the nib was broken. I said that it wasn't, it was a Scottish pen. I believed it too.

@RedLama It looks like Enid Blyton was also confused about points of the compass. "The kitchen faces due north, so east will be over there." She pointed to the right. The three went out of the kitchen, and turned to the right.

But when going out of the kitchen, they would then be facing south, not north! This drove me mad every time I read it. No wonder they didn't find the Secret Way that day. (Five Go Adventuring Again)

@LunaNorth @Onlymeandthedognow I was in the police for 15 years and was taught that if you're getting attacked by a dog to rip it's front legs apart as hard as possible. I only left recently and that was still being taught at training. So there must be truth in it, heart ripping maybe not, but it's got to injure/shock.

Ok so like a pp I also thought that when you were pregnant the umbilical cord connected from the mums belly button to the babies I suppose I didn’t give it to much thought but it only occurred to me while pregnant myself that this was incorrect !!!
Also thought the belly button was the knot from the cord - so Iv just googled it, so it’s scar tissue from the opening Left by the cord so I mean we all weren’t to far off ! ?!

Also thought the rain in Spain fell mainly on the ( aero ) plane !!! And that the piggy went to the market to buy things !! 😭

I thought Whitney Houston was actually my mums friend when I heard her singing apparently To me their voices sounded the same, so when my mum would play Whitney I’d be like aww it’s “sally” singing again

M’y mum never explained sex to me, she left it up to the school - which meant biology lessons at secondary school age 13. Plus I went to a tiny primary school - just 3 girls, no boys, in my class throughout, none of whom had older or better informed sibs. So for a shamefully long time I honestly believed that babies were made when a couple kissed at the altar when getting married :-)

Can’t believe I’m admitting this one but shortly after car roof boxes started to appear I asked my dad what they were, I was an early teen around the time. His response was that they housed special technology that enabled blind people to drive. Ashamed to say I fell hook, line and sinker for that one and believed it for many a year .
Another one was that a man and woman had to have sex for 9 hours if they wanted a baby. Any time shorter and it just wouldn’t happen. If that were true imagine what the worlds population would look like? I was disabused if that notion in my teens luckily.

@Lelophants

That farm animals in those trailers on the motorway were going on holiday.

And that when piggy went to market (in the nursery rhyme) he was off to do some shopping.

The piggy wasn't going shopping

@bellinique pretty sure he was going to be sold at market for food right?

That I had to wear my glasses to sleep to be able to see my dreams. I was 5 at the time!

You know how sometimes a sink has a company name on it - often above the overflow hole...? Well, from the point I could read up till sometime as a teenager when it finally sunk in that this made no sense, I genuinely believed that the overflow was called the 'Armitage Shanks'. It finally clicked as a teenager, why would they label one bit of the sink like that...

Im loving this thread so much.

I remember watching old westerns with my grandad as a child and wondering where they found all the people willing to be shot or thrown off cliffs on horses! Obviously at the time I would have been too young to have watched other things where characters were injured or killed.

That books were only published after the authors were dead. I must have been really young - five or six, maybe?