# 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:** 7
**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, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/121 "2018-02-08T20:52:22Z")
We also do children’s parties. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/122 "2018-02-08T21:09:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We also do children’s parties. Nipples The Clown. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/123 "2018-02-08T21:38:05Z")
I thought liquid stayed in your throat and just solid food kept going down to your stomach. When I was about 5 we looked at a new apartment and the kid’s room had a crib in it. After my parents told me that we were going to move into that apartment I said “Will I have to sleep in a CRIB?” Then they explained that no, those people move their stuff out and we move our stuff in. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/124 "2018-02-09T02:28:02Z")
As a young’un, I was sure that the War of (American) Independence was because England was mad that we stole their language. I also believed that because a) cows gave milk; b) the opposite of a cow is a horse; c) the opposite of milk is water, therefore … wait for it … horses give water. Gimme a break. I was like, 3 at the time. Made perfect sense! ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/125 "2018-02-09T06:16:04Z")
I thought that when you changed lanes on the highway, you were supposed to drive through the spaces _between_ the white lines. Oh, and count me in on the “seeing individual leaves” thing. When I was at the optical store trying on my new glasses, I looked out the window and cried, “I can see every leaf on the tree!” My mom and the optician both burst out laughing like this was the dumbest fucking thing they had ever heard. Later my mom would retell the story at family gatherings and everyone would laugh like lunatics. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/126 "2018-02-09T10:24:22Z")
I was semi-devastated when I learned that all radio stations did was spin records. i had assumed they had the live band in the studio for each and every song. I imagined: “Beatles, you’re on! Kinks, you’re up next, then Norman Greenbaum!” I can’t be the only one. Can I? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/127 "2018-02-09T11:02:51Z")
This is my aunt’s misconception, but it’s too funny not to share. She can’t have been that that little either, because she’s 4 years older than my mother, and my mother remembers arguing it with her. There’s a brand of stock cube (bullion cube, in the US, apparently) which had the claim on their beef ones that they were ‘100% beef’. Now, I’m not quite sure what that means regarding a stock cube, as it’s clearly not made from just beef, and I’m pretty that claim wouldn’t be allowed today, but it definitely wasn’t what my aunt believed. Did she just think it was made of pure beef? Nope, she believed that each 1" cube was an _entire cow_, compressed down. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/128 "2018-02-09T11:26:22Z")
Bouillon. A bullion cube would be something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/129 "2018-02-09T13:22:32Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Did she just think it was made of pure beef? Nope, she believed that each 1" cube was an _entire cow_, compressed down. Can you imagine the noise level in that factory? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/130 "2018-02-09T15:03:11Z")
I thought that the digestive system had a spot where liquids and solids somehow were seperated and went into two different branches where they became pee and poo respectively. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/131 "2018-02-09T15:05:23Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > … > Did she just think it was made of pure beef? Nope, she believed that each 1" cube was an _entire cow_, compressed down. A box of cubes would be heavy! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/132 "2018-02-09T15:57:36Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > A box of cubes would be heavy! Cows are 99.99855% water. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/133 "2018-02-09T16:05:51Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I was semi-devastated when I learned that all radio stations did was spin records. i had assumed they had the live band in the studio for each and every song. > > I imagined: “Beatles, you’re on! Kinks, you’re up next, then Norman Greenbaum!” > > I can’t be the only one. > > Can I? > mmm See post 61: > [@](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/134 "2018-02-09T16:13:29Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I thought that the digestive system had a spot where liquids and solids somehow were seperated and went into two different branches where they became pee and poo respectively. Same here!! When I was very little my mom was involved with the church’s “Newcomers Club.” I guess when someone moves to a new city there was this club that helped them settle in. Well little-kid me heard “Cucumbers Club” and I thought there was a club dedicated to cucumbers - growing them, trading recipes, things like that. Imagine my disappointment when she took me to a meeting and there wasn’t a cucumber in sight. I spent all evening wondering when it would be time to break out the cucumber snacks. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/135 "2018-02-09T16:49:13Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > 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. Entirely accurate in concept if a little fuzzy on the details. We visited an open-pit copper mine and watched as a shot was fired on the other side of the pit. I wondered how the flying rock and earth-shattering kaboom got so far out of sync. I didn’t ask about it and it was some three days later that I remembered the same thing happens with lightning and thunder. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/136 "2018-02-09T18:05:25Z")
more of a misheard/misunderstood thing, but when I was little the “fat is eeeeevil” mindset was still rampant. So most TV ads for cooking oil (Wesson was relentless) always mentioned being “low cholesterol.” so one evening at my aunt’s house, she was preparing to make popcorn. I (doe-eyed and innocent) asked if she was going to use “cholesterol oil” to make it. she looked at me, blinked, and said “_cholesterol oil?_” ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/137 "2018-02-09T18:06:26Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > This is my aunt’s misconception, but it’s too funny not to share. She can’t have been that that little either, because she’s 4 years older than my mother, and my mother remembers arguing it with her. > > There’s a brand of stock cube (bullion cube, in the US, apparently) which had the claim on their beef ones that they were ‘100% beef’. Now, I’m not quite sure what that means regarding a stock cube, as it’s clearly not made from just beef, and I’m pretty that claim wouldn’t be allowed today, but it definitely wasn’t what my aunt believed. > > Did she just think it was made of pure beef? Nope, she believed that each 1" cube was an _entire cow_, compressed down. And Soylent Green is people! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/138 "2018-02-09T18:56:58Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > We visited an open-pit copper mine and watched as a shot was fired on the other side of the pit. I wondered how the flying rock and earth-shattering kaboom got so far out of sync. I didn’t ask about it and it was some three days later that I remembered the same thing happens with lightning and thunder. :smack: Yeah, that’s why I don’t like very large concert venues because the sound doesn’t sync with what the people on stage are doing! ETA: and it’s also pretty weird to see and hear a pile driver from far away, because far enough away and I hear them on the upswing. The rhythmicness of it makes it especially weird since in the same frequency but off a few beats. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/139 "2018-02-09T19:18:44Z")
When I was a kid, I heard my dad and granddad talking about engine problems in a car and they mentioned “rods knocking”. From the conversation I gathered that if rods were knocking, they had moved from their proper place and were coming into contact with other rods. But never having seen an engine, I conjured up a mental image [something like this](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ahunter3/10255544/11775/11775_original.jpg). Years later, in my 20s, I’d had my own engine out of the car and on an engine stand, and I could have drawn you a diagram like [this](https://media1.britannica.com/eb-media/73/24073-004-639E15FC.jpg) (or I could have if I could draw that well), and yet if someone spoke of an engine’s rods knocking, I’d still get that image from childhood as the first visual to come to mind. I think sometimes we form lasting mental images when we’re kids and don’t have enough information or experience to form very accurate ones. And sometimes those old inaccurate images stick in our head despite better info and more relevant experiences later on. ---
**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 9, 2018, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201/140 "2018-02-09T23:00:29Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I thought that the digestive system had a spot where liquids and solids somehow were separated and went into two different branches where they became pee and poo respectively. Well not exactly of course, but my understanding is that the large intestine takes up excessive water in the flow prior to expulsion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-misconception-you-had-when-you-were-a-kid/808201.md?page=8)