# What's a misconception you had when you were a kid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 5, 2018, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201 "2018-02-05T05:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Anita\_Dayoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Anita\_Dayoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anita_Dayoff)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/101 "2018-02-07T04:21:13Z")
Enough to fall and stick their heart with a tack and have a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/102 "2018-02-07T04:28:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > First, sometimes when we went on trips, I’d notice signs towards the start or end of the trip that said “Cleveland corporation limit”. Well, I knew that factories were the same thing as corporations, so I figured that that was like a zoning thing: You weren’t allowed to have factories past that line (past on which side, I wasn’t sure). I thought that the “End Construction” signs at the end of roadwork areas were put there to tell the construction crews where to stop repaving the road; without the sign, they would just keep going. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/103 "2018-02-07T06:09:12Z")
The “Bee Sting Myth”: As a kid, I thought that you can only allow yourself to be stung by a bee once. That 1st sting would not itself hurt you much, but it would cause you to develop a fatal allergy to any subsequent bee stings. If you got stung a 2nd time at some point in the future, it would be fatal. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/104 "2018-02-07T16:57:31Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Similarly, I thought there must be someone who had the job of listening to music and writing down the lyrics so they could be put inside the album cover. It didn’t occur to me that the _singer_ must know the lyrics…:smack: Strangely, on a couple of songs, you were right- at the recording session the singer just goes off on a riff and doesnt follow the printed lyrics. Aretha Franklin famously did that on _Respect._ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/105 "2018-02-07T17:41:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Strangely, on a couple of songs, you were right- at the recording session the singer just goes off on a riff and doesnt follow the printed lyrics. > > Aretha Franklin famously did that on _Respect._ It is called scat. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/106 "2018-02-07T18:26:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > It is called scat. "\*scat3 NOUN plural scats mass noun Droppings, especially those of carnivorous mammals. ‘fresh bear scat’ count noun ‘samples of scats from otters’ ‘wolf scats’" - :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/107 "2018-02-07T19:02:16Z")
Yeah, [Esperanza Spaulding](https://poppapa.com/2011/02/15/who-is-esperanza-spalding/) [sings scat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scat_singing), but won’t call it that for your reason. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/108 "2018-02-07T19:26:40Z")
As a young boy with an interest in science, I knew about sperm and ova but was a bit fuzzy on how exactly they meet up. I had some vague idea that sperm were airborne like cold germs. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/109 "2018-02-07T20:15:17Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I didn’t realize radio stations were playing records. I thought the performers, Beatles for example, went from station to station singing and playing their songs. I guess I was five or six when Dad straightened me out on this. This was me, too. Right down to imagining the Beatles rushing to pack up their equipment and hurrying to next station. I couldn’t imagine how they could do that so quick all day long. > [@pohjonen](#): > > I thought women could be walking along, minding their own business, and spontaneously become pregnant. Imagine not knowing that many girls have irregular periods for some time after their first one _and_ being one of those girls. My mom did forewarn me about periods but there were some details that were sorely lacking. So, when I was late, at the tender age of eleven, the only thing I could think of was that I must have gotten pregnant somehow. As my mother didn’t explain how babies were actually made while having the period talk and sex ed wasn’t taught for another year or two, I didn’t have much to go on. However, she did tell me that the reason childbearing was so painful was that it was God’s punishment to womankind for Eve having eaten the apple. Yeah, life with my mom was…interesting. I did know about the pain of childbearing because I had seen the episode of _Get Smart_ where Agent 99 is ready to deliver twins and Max is freaking out about her labor pains. I was shocked and I think a bit of my childhood innocence died that day. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/110 "2018-02-07T20:26:18Z")
How many of us can say they learned about sex from _Get Smart?_ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/111 "2018-02-07T20:35:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How many of us can say they learned about sex from _Get Smart?_ _Would you beleiv_e…? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/112 "2018-02-07T21:16:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _Would you beleiv_e…? > 😛 I missed it by _that much!_ ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/113 "2018-02-07T21:48:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > It is called scat. > [@DrDeth](#): > > "\*scat3 > NOUN plural scats > mass noun > Droppings, especially those of carnivorous mammals. > > ‘fresh bear scat’ > count noun ‘samples of scats from otters’ > ‘wolf scats’" > > - > > :D:D:D …not that there’s anything wrong with that ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/114 "2018-02-07T21:54:40Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I thought foreign languages were just letter-substitution ciphers and all you had to do was learn the French equivalent alphabet in order to be able to speak French. I was maybe 4 or 5 at the time. I thought that too, but I was sure I got the idea from Gulliver’s Travels. Possibly a TV show rather than the book. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/115 "2018-02-07T22:10:29Z")
I was 8 or 9 before I heard a girl fart. Shocked and appalled, I was! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/116 "2018-02-08T02:54:04Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > I was 8 or 9 before I heard a girl fart. Shocked and appalled, I was! My G-d, you were an innocent! In the fifth grade I looked up from the shelves under the desk I shared with a girl and realized that she was wearing panty hose. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/117 "2018-02-08T15:21:39Z")
In 1968 I came home from school (I was eight) and my mom was going through baby clothes that had been stored in suitcases in the attic. I asked her why she was doing that and she said my 18 year-old sister (who lived with us) had a baby. I said, “But she’s not married.” I thought only married women had babies. I knew she’d been getting fat but nobody ever said anything to me about why, or what was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/118 "2018-02-08T19:57:27Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > As a young boy with an interest in science, I knew about sperm and ova but was a bit fuzzy on how exactly they meet up. I had some vague idea that sperm were airborne like cold germs. I was unclear on this also and somewhere along the line after hearing about swabbing the inside of your cheek to get a dna sample I concluded that the sperm/dna must be transmitted through kissing. Not your basic peck but some passionate spit swapping kissing. Once in a while you’d hear about some young girl getting pregnant and I’d assume her and her boyfriend got a little too into making out one night. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/119 "2018-02-08T20:16:46Z")
Some people believed that sperm were swimming around in public swimming pools. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/120 "2018-02-08T20:43:02Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How many of us can say they learned about sex from _Get Smart?_ > [@DrDeth](#): > > _Would you beleiv_e…? > 😛 > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I missed it by _that much!_ 😛 Thanks, guys, for giving me my laugh of the day. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201.md?page=7)