# Weird Things You Believed As a Child **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2001, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649 "2001-09-10T11:57:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/1 "2001-09-10T11:57:45Z")
What odd things did you used to believe in as a child? For me it was: \*I used to believe people could live at Disney Land. \*You know those toy telephones in the 80s with the cartoon characters and you press a button and they “talked” to you? I used to think these were really real. I remember a house I went to with other kids, probably my mom’s friend with kids, and they had a Flintstone phone and a Disney phone. I was too embarassed to dial on the Flintstone phone. “What would I say to Barney? He’s a star!” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/2 "2001-09-10T12:13:17Z")
I used to believe that electricity travelled at the speed of light - it was a **big** shock the day I had to face that one. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/3 "2001-09-10T12:18:00Z")
You know how they play the National Anthem at baseball games? _Or the ramparts we watched, Were so gallantly streaming…_ I was in second grade before I figured out that the Ramparts _weren]t_ a baseball team! “When are the Cubs gonna play the Ramparts, grandpa??!?!?” “When are the Cubs gonna play the Ramparts, grandpa??!?!?” “When are the Cubs gonna play the Ramparts, grandpa??!?!?” ---
**Author:** ![longjohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@longjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longjohn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/4 "2001-09-10T12:34:51Z")
when i was very little i got totally the wrong end of the stick when it came to special effects. I used to think that when they needed the Bad Guy to plunge 50 stories to his death in the final reel, or whatever, they got a real person to do it. After all, i knew that there were such things as suicidal people, and reasoned that in that they were going to off themselves anyway, why not go out in style, recorded by a camera crew, and probably earning a nice little pay packet for those left behind. ---
**Author:** ![tevya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/5 "2001-09-10T12:44:45Z")
I used to believe that the Devil made fall and winter occur. I thought he pulled the flowers back into the ground by tugging on the roots. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/6 "2001-09-10T12:51:41Z")
The girl next door told me that when you fell asleep, your heart stopped beating. I used to go to bed with my hand over my heart to see if that was true. Stooopid neighbor girl… ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/7 "2001-09-10T12:55:10Z")
I used to think the capital of North Carolina was pronounced like “Ralph.” Also used to think that the image on the back of a U.S. penny was the Trolley from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/8 "2001-09-10T12:58:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by longjohn \* > > I used to think that when they needed the Bad Guy to plunge 50 stories to his death in the final reel, or whatever, they got a real person to do it. \*\* * * * Ditto. I figured they got some guy from death row to jump out of the window. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/9 "2001-09-10T13:09:33Z")
I used to think the Collins Bay prison, which is on a mains treet close to where I lived as a kid, was the Friendly Giant’s castle. (The Friendly Giant was a Canadian kids’ show.) ---
**Author:** ![tevya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/10 "2001-09-10T13:10:39Z")
I used to believe that **Arkansas** should be pronounced **R-Kansas**. Either that or **Kansas** should be pronounced **Kan-Saw**. I understood that adults told me that this wasn’t the case, I just thought they were being ridiculous. I thought they should use a little consistency in pronunciation. It irked me to no end. I remember arguing with my second or third grade teacher about it. I finally caved and have pronounced it their way ever since. I still secretly believe it is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/11 "2001-09-10T13:15:30Z")
I use to believe that the plants that spew smoke and pollution into the air were cloud factories. ---
**Author:** ![finnofranco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@finnofranco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/finnofranco)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/12 "2001-09-10T13:20:01Z")
I used to think that firemen started fires. My parents, being the fun folks they were, would do everything in their power to encourage my imagination…bastards. One night when I was four or five, I awoke to find myself in the arms of a fireman being carried out of my house. Needless to say, I went absolutely psycho on the poor guy. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/13 "2001-09-10T13:22:24Z")
I used to believe that if you turned an electric motor backwards, it would _generate_ electricy. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/14 "2001-09-10T13:46:36Z")
I thought that if you didn’t wear your clothes or shoes for a while, they’d shrink. That’s why when you got your winter clothes out from storage, they wouldn’t fit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/15 "2001-09-10T13:49:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*I used to believe that if you turned an electric motor backwards, it would _generate_ electricy. \*\* Um, that’s actually _true_ - a conventional DC motor will act like a dynamo (in fact it will if you turn it in either direction) ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/16 "2001-09-10T13:55:09Z")
I didn’t make the connection between the sun and daylight. After all, there’s light on a cloudy day, but no sun. I thought clouds were made by airplanes, from their contrails. ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/17 "2001-09-10T14:07:45Z")
I belived everything my father told me. 1. If I was bad he would sell me to the Egyptions.(sp?) 2. Whip snakes would wrap themselves around my legs and whip me to death with their tails. I’m pretty screwed up these days. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/18 "2001-09-10T14:11:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jet Jaguar \* > \*\*I thought clouds were made by airplanes, from their contrails. \*\* This has a grain of truth in it too, cloud formation has been observed to have been triggered by contrails (not rain clouds though, just those wispy cirrus or stratus ones or whatever) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/19 "2001-09-10T14:27:30Z")
My nephew looked sad on the airplane as his family flew with him to DisneyWorld. My sister asked him what the matter was and he looked out at the clouds and asked “Where are all the angels?” ---
**Author:** ![EVO95](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@EVO95](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EVO95)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649/20 "2001-09-10T14:32:08Z")
I believed guys stuck their peckers in girls and peed to make babies. Thank gawd I was wrong… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-believed-as-a-child/80649.md?page=2)