When I was young, I was certain that inside every single stop light, a small man was sitting and waiting for the man watching the traffic in the pole to tell him it was time to change the lights. My dad had pretty good luck with the colors and was always singing at the light so I was pretty sure they liked his singing, now I'm constantly belting a good tune when I'm waiting on a rather lengthy light to change.

Elle (from transport : traffic lights)

I used to think TV actors would just wait around in the studio and jump into action when I switched on their channel. They did everything in one take and started acting in the middle of the episode if that's when I flipped the show on. I also thought that people on black and white shows actually looked black and white and performed on a black and white set.

Emily (from media : tv)

When I was little I thought that heaven was made of clouds and that there were little viewing rooms with windows on the floor so your deceased family member could see what you were up to.

Emily (from religion : afterlife)

You know when you look up at your dark ceiling at night you can kind of see spots? Well, my sister told me these spots were fairies and that in the center of every room was a tooth fairy. Every bedroom had it's own tooth fairy and the other fairies worked for her and would pass messages from room to room.

Emily (from make-believe : fairies)

I used to think that when you died you got to take whatever you were carrying with you to heaven. Every night I'd stick my hand through a hole in my blankie and wrap it around my wrist just in case I died in my sleep.

Emily (from death : people)

I used to think that toothpaste could double as hairgel too, and would go around, proud of my slick and shiny hair. This worked well until one day, my cousin, who was 4 years older than me, suddenly noticed than my hair was filled with white goo.

And the rest, my dears, is history.

Allison (from body parts : hair)

My aunt was a heavy smoker for a period in the late 60s, early 70s. When I was a kid, she told me about how she smoked 3 packs a day until one day, she "quit cold turkey." I felt my family had a personal stake in this, since we always invited her over for Thanksgiving. I gave myself a little pat on the back for our collective efforts.

Anon (from bad habits : smoking)

When i was little(I was four or five) I was CONVINCED faeries existed adn lived in our berry bushes. I would make swings for them out of ribbon and wood, and buttons and lace. One day after my nap my mother told me she had seen a little faerie with striped stockings and a pink dress on my swing. I ran to the window but it was too late. I was so dissapointed. About four years later I reminded my mom of this event trying to convince her faeries were real- and she got a guilty look on her face and confessed to making the whole thing up. I was crushed!

Faerie architect (from make-believe : fairies)

I used to put a camera along my fireplace on Christmas Eve in hopes to tape Santa.

Anon (from make-believe : father christmas)

I used to think that if you crushed unsugared corn flakes really good. That eventually it would turn into ground beef. That belief stemmed when I saw my dad make meatloaf when I younger.

Because cereal couldn't possibly be an ingredient to dinner.

Thegirlwhoknewtoolittle (from food : general)