when i was really small, like 4 or so, i used to believe that if you got too close to a white wall at night, the hamburger helper hand could reach out and grab at you and hold you hostage against the wall, because the walls are white, and so is the hand, so the hand can camoflauge itself against the wall. i was very scared for a long time because all the rooms in any of the houses i lived in were all white.

boo radley (from make-believe : monsters)

When I was a little kid I saw a movie where a guy was in the electric chair and I thought the toilet was a sort of elctric chair cause it had a handle too, and so when I flushed i would run screaming in fear of being electrocuted, one day my mom was on the toilet and I came in and she flushed while she was on it and I screamed 'MOMMMY your gonna be shocked run for your life!!!!! auuuggggghhhhh"

THE SHOCKER (from toilets : fear of)

When I was about 6, I was convinced that I was a talking super hero cat called Tabitha. My Mum was so concerned that she took me to see a councilor.

Blue (from kids : i'm different)

My parents told me a rainbow only occurred when 2 animals got married in the forrest...I believed this up to the age of 11!!!! I didn't really feel I could question my science teacher when we learned the real reason behind rainbows + light spectrums.

Lindsey (from nature : weather)

When I was about five, I was told that God was everywhere, watching me all the time. This, of course, made me connect him to Santa Clause, and I used to think that Heaven was Santa's summer home, and God went skiing at the North Pole, because they were best friends. I was rather confused as at why Santa wasn't ever mentioned in the Bible.

Sara (from religion : characters)

I used to believe that if you saved the bits of crud that collected in your eyes overnight instead of wiping them away, they would eventually grow into a whole new eyeball.

Every day I would leave the 'sleep' in the corner of my eye until I got to school where I would hide it behind a door. I was hoping that eventually I would grow an army of eyeballs there.

Anon (from body parts : eyes)

I thought cologne would make me smell better when I drank it. After having my stomach pumped I was told otherwise.

Doofus (from people : appearance)

It seems I'm not the only person to have assigned genders to the numbers. I took it a step further though, and imagined them as members in a family. For me, 1 is male, 2 is female, but they are also the little brother and sister, and don't get along. 4 is male and the "cool-guy" teenager who doesn't say much. 5 and 6 are husband and wife, with 6 wearing the pants in the family because she is bigger. 8 and 9 are the old aunts who never got married so they live together and have a bunch of cats (Like Patty and Selma from "The Simpsons"). 10 is the grandpa (Six's dad) who tries to keep everyone under control but mostly just shakes is head and mumbles alot. After ten, we get talking about the extended family... Don't get me started.

Shan (from language : counting)

I was travelling with my Dad in the car one day when I saw him throw an apple core out the window. Thinking this was cool I threw my packet of chips out the window as well. Dad then yelled at me about how it was bad to litter, so when I told him I saw him do it, he simply said "it's different, it's biodegradeable". For years afterwards when my sister and I weren't allowed to stay up and watch TV with Mum and Dad I would tell her "It's biodegradeable" as I thought that meant something adults were allowed to do but not kids.

Pat (from language : speaking)

My imaginary friends were three little dragons - one red, one green and one purple. The purple one was the pest and I was always having to "clean up after it". My mum only persuaded me not to bring them shopping with us by saying that the No Dogs sign meant No Dragons as well.

Rachel (from make-believe : imaginary friends)

I used to believe that the actors/actresses in black & white films would spend hours sitting in a make up chair having white powder spread all over them and black and gray accents would be added here and there to make them look black and white. i would think 'gee those prop guys must spend a lot of time painting the props/floors/walls black and white!' I never quite understood why they would spend their time doing that...but i soon came to figure that the film was black and white...go figure!

Brittney (from media : films)

I used to believe that the inside part of the banana was posonous, but fortunately the outside part was the antidote, so as long as you ate the whole thing, you'd be fine. I was told this by a microbiologist when I was 9 and believed him utterly.

Janet (from food : dangerous food)

I used to believe that when animals died they became camels in heaven. I think it came from all the sunday school lessons with the stick-on felt picture boards where they always had camels in the background.

Wiebke (from religion : afterlife)

When i was younger my dad used to take me and my brother mushroom catching.

We had to leave at about 6 in the morning so that the mushrooms would still be asleep. We had to creep up the field slowly and throw our coats over them before they ran away.

gullible git (from nature : plants)

i always thought that a DEAD END sign
as where they put all the road kill.

pav (from transport : road signs)

When I was little, I was absolutely convinced that if I could just get my parents to attach the furniture to the ceilings I'd be able to walk on the ceilings normally. I still want an upside-down room, and I'm 32.

Marla (from body functions : special powers)

I used to think our cardboard stand-up of Steve Martin talked to me through our vacuum cleaner. It sure didn't help that my dad hid behind him and spoke into the cleaner hose...

Rat (from at home : around the house)

This isn't one of my child hood beliefs, but my Mum's, but when she told me, I couldn't resist but to tell the world!! When she was young, she thought that the weekly British Top 40 singles chart, was selected by HRH The Queen, depending on what records she'd been listening to that week!!!!!

D A Valentine, Britain (from media : radio)

As a four-year-old with a very large vocabulary, I decided the "Civil War" was the one war where everybody pretended they were nice to everyone else. For example, a soldier would offer the enemy a cigarette, shoot him when he least expected it, and then pretend to be sad about it.

Hannah (from the past : wars)

Trees grew leaves as camouflage so birds would`nd nest in them. Don`t ask.

DaWind (from nature : plants)