When I was 4 or 5, we took a family trip to North Carolina. As we were driving back, it was getting late and my mother mentioned that we were getting close to Pennsylvania. My father then said "Uh-oh, it's getting late! I hope it's not closed!" For the longest time after that I really believed that certain states closed at night, and everyone had to leave and come back in the morning.

I wonder if parents realize that kids take everything literally!

Phil

i believed that england was a medieval country without cars and telephones. the reason was that i watched the silver jubilee of queen elizabeth II. on the telly in 1977 and there were only horses and old uniforms. the announcer was also referring to queen elizabeth I. who had lived in the middle ages. logically, number one is mother of number two - how exactly elizabeth II. could ever manage to live from 14hundredsomething til this day i couldn't sort out but it was amazing to know that there was a medieval country still in existance.
i also thought that latin america had to do with ancient rome and people would walk around in togas, live in colosseum- and temple-like buildings and speak latin

german geographer

When I was a little girl, I made a point of memorizing each country's flag so that if I was ever kidnapped and ended up in a strange place, I'd know where I was.

texasbabe

I used to think that you could actually dig a hole to China and set about attempting it when I was about four. My mother found me in the backyard, trowel in one hand and a suitcase in the other, and asked me what I was doing. I informed her that I was going to China for the week and I would be back in time for church.

texasbabe

I used to believe that Florida was really heaven becuase we would fly through the clouds to get there and it was filled with many old people, including my grandparents.

Jason

I used to look at a map of the world and think that it was only half of the world, and that when I flipped over the map, the other half of the world should be there. I would demand "but where is the other half of the world?" and become very distressed that grownups apparently weren't alarmed that half of the world was missing, which made me think that they were being brainwashed and I was the only one who knew that some greater power was trying to hoodwink us, or else the other half of the world didn't show up on the map because it wasn't discovered yet. I swore to become an explorer and find the other half of the world when I grew up. And yup -- I love traveling the world, though I know all the major landmasses are where they are supposed to be.

moon grocer

When I was a child, I used to believe that USA is a state of Poland, and someday we go there for a trip like we were doing this to Warsaw :)

nocnyMark

I used to think that the faces on Mt. Rushmore was a natural phenomenon. Of course, I grew up in Canada so it wasn't like they bore resemblance to the guys on my money.

gihrose

I used to think that The Great Wall of China was made out of porcelain.

Morten Vestergaard

When I was about 5, my family went to New Hampshire and saw the Old Man of the Mountain. My parents were pointing at it and asking me if I could see the old man. Well, here I was thinking there really was this old man up there and wondering why we were bothering him, staring at him like that!

Lisa