I used to believe that the term "being mugged" meant someone beat someone else with a coffee mug.

Matt Thiel

My sister and I heard the phrase kerb-crawler on television and logically assumed it to mean someone who drove slowly and close to the kerb, like an old granny (it never occured to us for what reason they were doing that). We were somewhat confused when our mum told us off for shouting it out the car window at some man who was driving really slowly, and oddly enough she refused to tell us what it actually meant

Badz

I used to believe arson was a really bad person. It must have come from hearing reports such as, "The police belive arson was responsible for the fire."

Tessica

I used to believe that if robbers came into the house they wouldn't hurt me if they thought I was asleep. So I tried to look asleep even when I wasn't.

Kimberly

I thought a "cat burglar" was either a burglar who stole cats, or some kind of evil cat that burgled....wasn't quite sure if I could believe my mom when she told me what it actually meant.

Anon

When i was in first or second grade i used to get really mad at my dad because he would drink a cup of coffee while driving me to school. One day after he dropped me off at school i was really upset about his "drinking and driving" so my teacher asked me what was wrong. I told her that i was scared that my daddy was going to hurt himself or me because he liked to drink and drive in the mornings. Of course my teacher was very upset about this and took me to the princpal's office, who called my dad and asked him to come to the school for a talk. I remeber lots of laughter coming out of the office and then they came out and explained to me what drinking and driving really meant!!!!

Drunk off KoolAid

I used to see newspaper stories about people being arrested for keeping/being in "disorderly houses." I used to think they were guilty of poor housekeeping, not gambling or prostitution.

marybb

I used to believe that jay walking was walking naked on the street.

Kendra

When I was younger, I thought that stores that displayed Help Wanted signs were encouraging people to help criminals wanted by the law. I always felt very roguish shopping at these stores.

I didn't realize that the signs meant that the store was hiring until I was about 10 years old.

Lindsey B

I used to believe that if I used the bathroom in the middle of the night, the duration of the flush would be just enough time for the robbers to break into the house (without being heard over the sound of the flush) and get me. Petrified, I would flush and then run back to my room as fast as humanly possible, get under the covers barely peeking out, listening for the robbers. And out of breath from the sprint back to my room, I didn't breathe too loudly or else I might not hear the robbers coming to get me. Or I didn't flush.

smw

I used to believe that if I slept with my face towards the wall, I would be better able to disguise my terror when the Bad Guy broke into my room. Since he would assume I was still sleeping, he would kill my sister instead of me.

Jennifer

Up until I was about 8, I believed that sexual assault is when a person punches another person in the face while touching their genitals. LOL!

Matt C.

With a child's understanding of time... I used to think my dad was a convict settler. I'd heard about the first white Australians who'd come to the country as prisoners from England (some 200 years ago). I knew my dad came from England too when he was younger, so it just seemed logical that he was one of them.

Jude

When I was younger I saw some graffiti in an under pass, My Nan told me that a vandal had done it.
I thought about vandals and decided that they were men in suits with big tanks of paint on the back. (like a space suit)

Durrr

when I was little Iused to think that when a robber robbed your house he was replace your valubles with worthless replicas.

Anon

Ever since the age of 2 I read everything that I could get my little hands on: medicine bottles, Ajax cans, outdated newspapers, ANYTHING! One day I was crawling under my parents bed when I noticed a tag hanging from the mattress. It said "Remove this tag under penalty of law". In an uncharacteristic fit of defiance, I snatched the tag off. Then, fearing that the police were coming to get me, I hid in the closet for hours. Nothing happened and I finally crept out. But I looked over my shoulder for years, feeling like a felon, waiting to be arrested. It was only when I turned about 18 did I discover that the tag was meant for mattress dealers, to prevent them from selling used items as new for health reasons. But I finally felt free after over 15 years. What was I thinking!!!!

Linda Lou

At the age of about 5, I thought that any man carrying a bag/sack over his shoulder was a burglar.

Police officer, Ola.

When I was about 3 or 4, I used to be horrified whenever my mother got steel wool at the local hardware store. I thought it was "steal wool" and, not knowing about past tenses, assumed she had stolen it. I felt terribly worried for days, thinking the police would come and catch us and arrest us for stealing wool.

Anon

My father always told me that if i did anything remotely impolite, that the police would come and throw me into politeness jail. (this was prompted by me gargling at the dinner table)

Gene

I used to believe that torturing a person meant flashing a torchlight onto the face of a person till he almost went blind and begged for help!

Pooja