Lies We All Believed As A Child
By Lauren Mccluskey
2 years ago
1. Santa Claus brings presents for the good children at Christmas
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Sadly, you might've found out as an adult that the age-old and heartwarming story of a guy in a red suit, with rosy cheeks, a white beard, and big boots who flies in a magical sleigh, pulled by his reindeer to bring all of the world's good little children gifts on Christmas Eve, isn't actually how it goes...2. The Easter Bunny hides chocolate eggs for children to hunt
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If you've got kids, you've probably found out that you're the one who hides the chocolate eggs for them to hunt on Easter morning... If you don't there'll be a lot of disappointed faces because there's no Easter Bunny coming to do it for you, no matter what you believed when you were a child!3. All adults know what they are doing and have their lives together
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As we grow older, we quickly find out that no adult, no matter what they tell you, has their lives completely together. Being an adult is basically just a case of fake it 'till you make it! And you don't have to worry about having everything together, nobody knows what they're doing anyway.4. Swallowing gum will stay in your gut for seven years
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It's never a good idea to swallow your gum, it's just not made for that, and it's no doubt going to be pretty difficult to digest. But, contrary to what you've been told, the gum you swallowed seven years ago probably isn't still there in your gut today. And whilst we're on the subject, it's definitely not going to build up and stick your organs together...5. Eating carrots will help you to see in the dark
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There is an old wives tale that eating lots of carrots will help you to see in the dark. And there is some truth to it. This is because they're rich in carotene, which your body uses to make Vitamin A. And Vitamin A works to help your eyes to adjust better when the light changes...6. Eating your crusts will give you curly hair
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You won't be surprised to hear that eating your crusts will give you curly hair is a total myth. In fact, bread crusts have absolutely no influence on your genetic makeup of whether your hair is curly or straight. And although this tale's origin is completely unknown, it dates back at least 300 years!7. The Tooth Fairy leaves money under your pillow for a lost tooth
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The tooth fairy has never sat right with us. We mean, what is she using all of those baby teeth for? Does she wear them? Or does she live in a castle of teeth? Who knows... But whatever sinister image comes to mind when you think of the tooth fairy, you'll be relieved to know that it's not actually true.8. The moon follows you wherever you go
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The moon is high in the sky, and when it's out, it almost feels like it's following us on our evening stroll. It's not, though. It's just an illusion because it's so high above us. So you can certainly rest assured that you're not being monitored by it...9. If you pull a face and the wind changes, you're stuck like that forever
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This old cliche is enough to make your eyes roll so far back into your head you can see your brain! It's the idea that when you frown or pull a silly face, you're risking being stuck with that same expression for the rest of your life if the wind changes direction. And it's usually older distant relatives you only see once in a while trying to get you to smile...10. If you cross your eyes too much, they will stay like that
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And who'd have known that if you cross your eyes on purpose too often, you'll be stuck like that forever? This is just not true. Having crossed eyes is usually down to either nerve damage or when some of the muscles around your eyes are weaker than others.11. If you suck your thumb, it'll shrink
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Some kids (and adults) suck their thumbs for comfort, just like babies may suck a binky. But if you're one of those people that sucked their thumb for longer than was acceptable to certain family members, you were probably told your thumb would shrink, it would fall off, or be subjected to that awful bitter-tasting repellant substance to stop you from sucking it.12. Dogs are male, cats are female
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Now the idea that dogs are male and cats are female is complete fiction. Like, how would they breed and keep their species going? It just wouldn't work! For some reason, some people believe that dogs look and move in a more masculine way and the occasional gracefulness of cats is more feminine. And it makes absolutely no sense.13. If you swallow an apple seed, a tree will grow in your stomach
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You might've been afraid to eat fruit pips and seeds when you were a kid because someone told you that a tree would grow in your stomach and the branches would come out of your ears! Now, there are a few problems with THAT lie... It's basic biology: plants need sunlight to grow, and the acid in your stomach is enough to completely destroy the seed anyway!14. You need to wait 30 minutes after eating before you go swimming
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Although it might not be a great idea to go swimming immediately after a big meal because you'll probably end up feeding a bit queasy. But that's pretty much all that will happen. And you won't get cramps and drown just because you've eaten less than 30 minutes before you take a swim!15. Storks deliver babies
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Although it's a nice idea, it's definitely not how it works. For some reason, our parents must've been too embarrassed and perhaps too uncomfortable to tell us the truth about this one! So they made up this elaborate, and we'll admit quite charming lie... But it doesn't set you up for the future at all!16. If you swallow a fly, you'll die
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As the old, and come to think of it, quite sinister, nursery rhyme goes where the old woman swallowed a fly, and then about a gazillion other things to kill said fly, then she died herself... And this must've scared some people because they actually believed, as children, that they would die because they accidentally ate a fly... It's extra protein - don't worry about it!17. You can catch a cold from being out in the rain without a hat or jacket
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New research has actually found that being out in the cold CAN cause you to catch a cold. But it's not what you think. It's all about the drop in nasal temperatures and if your nasal temperature is lower than 5 degrees celsius, it could lower your immunity to different viruses. And NOT because you didn't wear your hat or jacket!18. Thunder is caused by clouds bumping into each other
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Thunder isn't caused by clouds colliding. The rumbling of thunder is actually created by lightning! Not clouds, and not wind! In fact, when lightening strikes, it causes thunder by heating up the air and can actually reach temperatures that are five times hotter than the sun!19. If you dig a hole, and keep digging, you'll make it to China
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That old lie: if you dig a hole deep enough, you'll pop up in China. But have you ever thought about what is beneath the Earth's surface? You'd have to get through the planet's molten core which isn't doable. And besides, you wouldn't pop up in China anyway as China and the US are both in the northern hemisphere! You'd pop up somewhere in the Indian Ocean!20. The sandman pours sand into your eyes to make you sleepy
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When you've been tired, have you ever been so tired that you probably missed a man made of sand pouring the sand into your eyes? Thought not. This lie just comes from that dry-eye feeling you get when you're sleepy. And it's not a terrifying man forcing sand into them...21. If you leave your fan on while you sleep, you'll suffocate
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There is a strong belief that when you leave your fan on in the room that you sleep in, you will suffocate and die. It's true, people do actually believe that the fan steals all of the oxygen from the room and leaves you with none to breathe in. And you're asleep so you wouldn't notice it getting harder to breathe. Luckily, this is not true!22. The world used to be back and white because color wasn't invented yet
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What we are able to see of the world in the past through photographs and audiovisual mediums is mostly black and white. And many children really do believe that this is how the world looked in the olden days because the color wasn't invented yet! Well, that's partly true, color wasn't yet possible in cameras and TV sets but the world was still colorful!23. Alligators live in sewers
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The lie that alligators live in sewers is something that New Yorkers might've been told as children. But the water in New York's sewers is extremely toxic, and there would only be raw sewage and rats to eat down there. We don't think alligators would survive for very long if they were forced to live down there!24. The Great Wall of China is the only made-made structure you can see from space
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The Great Wall of China can actually be seen from space. But it isn't the only wonder that you can see from way up there. In fact, you can see many wonders, including other manmade structures like The Pyramids of Giza, and also natural wonders, including The Grand Canyon.25. The boogeyman will get you if you aren't good
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Telling children that the boogeyman will get them if they don't behave the way adults want them to is definitely a vicious lie with the sole intention of scaring children senseless! Using these fear tactics has been successful for some, but isn't there the potential to cause lasting damage to a person?26. There are monsters under your bed
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Nobody wants to look under their bed in the dark. Even though it's probably fine, there is still that fear of something dragging you under there and devouring you whole! But in all seriousness, this is another lie designed to make sure children obey, and don't get out of bed after lights out!27. Trolls live under bridges
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According to some old English folklore, terrifying trolls live underneath bridges. And there's definitely more to the story than this but children all over the western world have grown up believing that, to some extent, this is actually true... But rest assured, more often than not, you can certainly have a troll-free stroll under a bridge whenever you want.28. There's a man on the moon
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The idea that there is a man living on the moon comes from the idea that people can see a face or other body parts in the shadows of the moon. There are folktales from around the world about who this man is, like in Norse mythology.,. A man, named Mani is said to live on the moon and his job is to pull it across the sky.29. The moon is made of cheese
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The idea that the moon is made of cheese is definitely influenced by the way it looks. It's almost like the craters on the moon are similar to the holes in certain types of cheese. But as kids, we believe this to be true, only to have our dreams of tasting the delicious moon trampled when we find out it was all a big lie!30. Rain is caused by angels crying in Heaven
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When we are kids, we have many questions about how the world works, including: Why does it rain? Perhaps this was laziness on our parents' side because they didn't know themselves or bother to find out the real reason for us. You might've found that they got really creative with this one and told you that it was angels crying in Heaven...31. "I'll think about it"
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Ah, those famous words from our parents - the words that would give us false hope and lead us to think of many creative ways we could convince them during this 'thinking' period. When actually, all 'I'll think about it' meant was 'No, but I'm not going to say no right now'.32. That your parents go to bed when you do
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Getting children to bed is one of the hardest things for a parent sometimes, and we all remember being a kid wanting to stay up late. But then it all made sense when our parents told us they were going to bed, too - that didn't make it so bad, right? But of course, they weren't going to bed at all.33. Oh - and that it's definitely way past your bedtime
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As children it was very difficult for us to have a clear concept of time. We might associate bed time with a certain theme tune on the TV rather than whatever the clock was saying. But when our parents told us it was way past our bedtime, we couldn't do anything other than believe them.34. "We can't get (enter thing you really want) - I'm allergic"
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As a kid there was always an animal we really, really wanted - we didn't understand the concept of responsibility, we just wanted whatever was cute and fluffy. But we were told we couldn't have the thing because our parents were allergic - and it made sense. Until it didn't.35. If you touch a frog, you'll get warts
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There was something drilled into us as kids about frogs - that they were icky, ugly and we were even told not to touch them because they could give us warts. Now we know better and feel bad - justice for the frog! Even worse, we for some reason believed they might turn into a prince...36. No, that animal is just sleeping!
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If we were enjoying a family road trip, we likely came across an animal lying at the side of the road and not looking as though it was going to move any time soon. Our parents told us the animal was 'just sleeping' and we were happy knowing it was getting a nice nap.37. That your parents never did anything wrong, ever
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When your parents were trying to tell you to do something - the chores, your homework etc. - they likely said that they always did what they were told, that they were never in trouble and they were an A+++++ student in school at all times. We know better now - we might even be better kids than our parents were!38. That there's no dessert in the house
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One thing we all looked forward to after that meal that our parents had slaved over all day was a big healthy helping of dessert - that's all we really cared about to begin with, and we'd already forgotten whatever we ate for the main course. But our parents would tell us that there definitely wasn't any dessert in the house - and definitely no ice cream in the freezer.39. That the cashier forgot to pack your candy
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We go out in the car with our parents to nip to the store and that means we of course ask for the biggest candy bar they have in there. To keep us happy, our parents tell us they'll go buy us one. Only when they come back to the car they look Oscar-worthy devasted about how the cashier forgot to pack our candy! Again!40. "No, that's not the ice cream truck you can hear"
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The sound of the ice cream truck in the distance was enough to have us leaping out of our seat and bouncing off the walls - but while we think we heard it filtering through the window on a summer's day, our parents convinced us that we were just hearing things and they couldn't hear anything at all...41. If you swallow a watermelon seed, you'll grow one in your stomach
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To be honest, any kind of seed from any fruit we were told would grow a tree in our stomach - or grow something, at least. For some reason, it was mostly apples and watermelon we were told this with - but maybe that's because they were the sweetest fruits for us kids!42. Spinach will make you as strong as Popeye
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Parents try a lot of stuff to try and convince kids to eat anything that looks green and unappetising - and as adults, we can now sympathise, because spinach is a very important diet item after all. We all remember the Popeye cartoons of him popping spinach, and we thought that might happen to us, too.43. "You don't want to try my alcohol - it tastes terrible"
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For some reason as kids we were way too fascinated by what our parents were drinking from that glass every night. We really wanted a sip, but they told us we wouldn't like it because it tastes terrible. We didn't stop to think why they'd be drinking it if it tasted that bad!44. That we won't like what our parents are eating because it's 'spicy'
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There's something about being a kid and just wanting what everyone else has. Doesn't matter if you've just been given something to eat yourself, you want what someone else has instead. But just with the alcohol thing, our parents would tell us that we wouldn't like what they're having because it's too 'spicy'.45. "It tastes like chicken"
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It was an ongoing battle for our parents to try and make us eat a varied and healthy diet. Especially with our tastebuds changing every day. When they presented us with new foods and we asked what it tastes like with a screwed up face, we were told it tasted like chicken. Everything tasted like chicken.46. That you were only five minutes away
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Kicking on the back of the driver's seat and shouting 'Are we there yet?' is a core memory of most kids' childhoods, and one lie our parents told us - taking advantage of our lack of time perception - was that we were five minutes away. Always five minutes away, even after 30 minutes had passed...47. You'll get arrested if you put the light on in the car
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There was something forbidden about those interior dome lights in the car. We were told not to touch, but suddenly that's the only thing in the car we very much wanted to touch. So our parents told us that it was illegal to put that dome light on while they were driving.48. It's against the law to sit in the front seat
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There was something about being in the front seat in the car, like it was a rite of passage or you'd officially become an adult if you were allowed in the front seat. It was something you could only dream of from a distance while cramped in the back. But our parents told us it was against the law for a kid to sit in the front... and we didn't want to get into trouble, did we? Because then someone might tell Santa.49. The car won't start if you don't put your seatbelt on
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Our parents were always being buzzkills telling us to put our seatbelts on, weren't they? But of course we didn't know how life-saving and important they were when we were just a kid. But to convince us to clip it in quicker, they told us the car engine actually wouldn't start until our seatbelts were on!50. "No, it's not going to hurt"
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Said the doctor wielding the massive needle. This is probably one of the biggest lessons for us in 'how your parents can betray you'. How can the trust be rebuilt after they promised us it wouldn't hurt? Tricked us into going to the doctors or the dentist?What To Read Next
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