I used to believe that to be "fired" meant to be killed - to be set on fire. That's why I thought people were so afraid of being fired.

Anon

I used to think that being fired meant they set you on fire.
Or they just chopped off your head.

Anon

I used to believe that when a person was "fired" from their job, that they were literally burned at the stake.

Anon

when I was a young kid I overheard my sister telling my Dad that she was fired. FIRED?!! Yikes! I envisioned her being tied to a stake and surrounded by fire while all her coworkers looked on. I was amazed that she didn't look all burned and thought she must have gotten the ropes off and ran really fast out of there.

Sassigirl

I used to think that when somebody got fired that they would actually be thrown out of their office and set on fire, which is why I was always worried about my friend who had told me that her dad might get fired.

kristen

When I was younger (6 or 8, probably), I thought that when someone was fired from their job, they were put in a glass tube (kinda like those ones in a chemistry set, except big enough to put a person in) and got their feet lit on fire, and were launched like fireworks.

Cathrine

Back in the days before kindergarten, my mom and I would watch a lot of craft shows in the daytime while my dad was at work. I remember watching one particular show about making clay pots, and how they go into a kiln to get "fired". My dad came home a little later that day and I overheard him talking to my mom about how he'd messed up some cabinets (he was a cabinet maker) and how he was afraid his boss would fire him. I ran over to him and started crying, thinking my dad was going to get glazed and tossed into a kiln for messing up the cabinets!

Mel

when i heard of people getting fired at work i used to think, they got set on fire. I was horrified of growing up and doing a bad job at work, lol.

anon

When I was little I thought that getting fired actually meant that your boss would tie you to a stake and set you on fire. When my mom told me her friend had just gotten fired, I was horrified and started crying. It took an explanation and an hour of reasurrance for me to believe they had not set her on fire and that she was still alive. I was about 6 years old.

Amanda O

My ex~husband, after hanging up the phone one day, told our then three year old son, "Mommy just got fired from her job." He burst out in tears. It was only after he was able to calm him enough to understand him that he realized our son thought I had burned up in a fire!

Tanya

When I was four my mother went back to college. She brought me to the art studio one day and I made a clay pot that we left to be fired in the kiln. Sometime later I learned that our milkman had been fired and I couldn't understand what he could have done to deserve such treatment!

Anon

When I was 4, my mom told me that my brother had gotten fired from his job. I started crying. I thought to 'get fired' meant your boss took you out back and set you on fire.

casey

When I was little, I overheard my dad tell my mom about a co-worker who had been fired. I thought they had poured gasoline over him and struck a match.

Suzie

I had always heard about people getting "fired" on TV. I thought that when you were terminated from a job, someone actually set you on fire. I worried constantly that my mom would be set on fire. Of course, I now know that she was a perfectly good employee. :)

Holly

When I heard an adult talk of someone getting fired from his job, I thought that he was actually thrown into a furnace and for a long time I worried that my father might get fired.

Ron Bezant

When I was four years old, my mother told me my brother Guy was fired from his job bagging groceries. I was horrified. I pictured a man throwing a flaming towel onto my brother, while Guy frantically tried to beat the flames out.

Julie

I used to hear my dad talk about people getting fired, and I had this mental image of the poor guy running from his place of employment, hands in air, screaming, with fire coming out the door behind him.

Emily

I used to believe that being fired actually meant being set on fire. I heard my aunt discussing some union conflict where the employees wanted to be fired. That seemed awfully morbid to me.

joe

I used to think that when people got fired from a job, they were put into fire. I was understandably upset when I overheard my mother tell someone that my brother in law had been fired.

Broadway Baby

The first time i heard of someone getting fired from a job, i thought that they were actually set on fire.

Anon