When I was young and I got ringing in my ears, I thought that it was my call from the police and that they needed me to arrest somebody! I believed was really a police woman but that nobody knew it! Men in white coats coming to take me away!

Anna

I used to hear my parents talk about the Highway Patrol and I misunderstood them. I thought they said "troll" as in troll under the bridge in the billy goats gruff story. Every time I would hear a siren, I would run away in a panic thinking the troll was going to eat me.

DahDoll

From watching a lot of stupid kids shows that had this, I always thought that if you went to a store and tried to purchase something, but ended up not having enough money, that the clerk would call the cops who would come and arrest you. I believed that for years.

Jim Thomason....

I used to believe that beat bobbies wore big helmets so they couldnt fit into patrol cars,so they had to walk!

Tommy B

I grew up in Texas and when I heard someone was "sentenced to death" I thought that they'd been forced to write the same sentence over and over again until they died, since one of my teachers at school made us write sentences on the blackboard when we were bad.

anonymous

Once when I was about seven, I took a peppermint from the Brach's pick and mix display at the supermarket. I hid it in my closet because I was terrified that the police would come and arrest me for it. I found the peppermint a couple of years ago when I was cleaning out my closet at my parents' house...it was still there!

Anon

I used to think it was a coincidence that judges all had the first name "Justice".

Katz

My older brothers did not want me, their little sister, to play board games with them. They told me that the (recommended) age on the box meant I couldn't play unless I was that age or older because it was against the law and I believed it and thought the games had tiny little policemen inside of them that would pop out and arrest me if I played it. I believed this for a really long time.

cathy

When I was young and saw 101 Dalmations, Scotland Yard was talked about in it, but I never really understood what it was. I imagined it was a very expensive-looking, fancy yard with statues, but I couldn't figure out what it had to do with catching the criminals who stole the puppies!

rinrinkokopop

I used to think that the river police were there to stop naughty people from pulling the plug out.

Linda

I always believed that having your dome light on in the car (while driving at night) was illegal. It was only a few months before my TWENTIFITH birthday that I realized it was a lie that my parents told us - I guess we asked them to turn it on one too many times during car trips! Scary how we believe everything our parents tell us as if it's gospel.

Angie

I grew up in a very small town in Illinois. When my parents took me to Peoria (population about 150,000), I saw my first motorcycle police officer. His motorcycle was beautiful -- low-slung and white, with shining white saddlebags across the back. I just KNEW they contained ice cream.

Kate M.

when i was a kid, i believed the news far too literally. when the news reporter said "a man is helping police with their enquiries" i thought a nice bloke had gone to the police station on his day off, with notepad and pen, and said offered to carryout interviews.

Richie, Newcastle, Uk

When I was little I was making my bed one day and ripped the "do not remove under penalty of law" tag off of the mattress. I hid the tag in my dresser for years fearing that I'd get caught and arrested. Funny thing ... I still never remove those tags from anything I buy.

Nancy