When I was little, I had no idea what a period was. I was really scared to have one. I really couldn't understand how someone could go all day with just a pad or a tampon. I thought that when you had your period you were peeing on yourself all day long.

Tabitha

I didn't really know how "feminine products" worked. I had always seen tampons and maxi-pads in my bathroom as a child, but, had never asked my mom how they were supposed to be used. So, when I had my first girlfriend who admittedly had a period, she told me she used tampons. I asked her - "how do you pee with that thing in there?" and she said "you just go to the bathroom and it stays in there." I was shocked! I still didn't understand how she could go to the bathroom with a tampon in her urethra! :) I asked her if it hurt to put the tampon in where she peed -- that's when she explained to me that a tampon goes in your vagina -- NOT in your urethra!

Jerry

(I hope this isn't offensive.) When I was 10 years old I wanted to go to the neighborhood pool with my friend. She told me she couldn't because she was "on the rag". I said to her, "Tell your mom you'll do the dishes later." I thought that "on the rag" meant that she had dish duty. Haha!

akg

I was already confused about periods when I got to about the hymen layer in women it added to my confusion.I knew women had separate holes for peeing and sex but didn't understand if the vagina was covered with hymen layer then how would a women go through periods? From where would the blood come out if the vagina was covered! And I presumed women bled from peeing holes ;)

Poosh

When I would see my mom's tampon applicators in the trash can, I thought they were "little toilet paper rolls" and proceeded to pick them up from the trash can. I always wondered why my mom would always snap at me to put them down.

Nicole

when i was about 8, i used 2 drink a lot of cherry lemonade and cherry cola. when i saw something red in my pee after drinking one of them, i thought it was the cherry in the drink. after not drinking them, i stopped "peeing red". then when i was about 10, my mother told me about periods. it all made sense after that. to this day, i laugh about what i thought when i was 8 everytime i get it.

it's not the cherry lemonade?

My brother once covered my mom's bedroom door with pads. He called them her "airplane stickers".

Raechel

I had gotten my first period when I was 13 and I was at volleyball practice. I had felt something come out of my vagina and I ran to the bathroom and I saw all this brown stuff in my underwear. I was terrified. I thought I had a pooping problem since it was brown. I didn't even think it was my period. The thought never even crossed my mind. So, I waited about 2 days to see if it would stop and it didn't so I decided to tell my mom. I was SO relieved when I found out it was just my period.

Relieved

i used to believe when i was little that the tampon dispensers in the bathrooms were mint/gum dispensers.. i was always mad that my mom wouldn't buy me a roll of mints!

lil girl

I believed that when girls got older they no longer had the time to go to the bathroom (I'm sure an assumption based on the tampon commercials with ladies proclaiming a need to accomodate their busy lifestyles). Tampons and pads were the evolution of the diapers.

Anon

One year my mom's friend underwent a hysterectomy (sp?). As a joke, she sent all her now unnecessary pads and tampons to my mom as a Christmas gift. I had no idea what they were at that point and thought they were candy. I begged my mom for "just one, PLEASE!" She explained they were for "Special Occassions" only.

ilikecows13

on my first period ithought i just got a cut so i put a bandage on then later my sister explained it to me because there was blood all over her bed

nonny

I used to believe that tampons were noise makers that would make a loud sound if you pulled the strings... That is until I tried it in secret and nothing happened......

Anon

I used to believe that menstruating meant you were diseased, so when my mom got her period I thought she had a rare disease. :D

Anon

The first time I used a tampon my mother sent me in to the bathroom to try it out. I was so scared I couldnt believe THAT THING could fit in me. When I came out I asked my mom why it hurt to sit down. I thought the applicator was supposed to stay in too! No wonder it hurt. We still giggle about it to this day!

L B