I used to believe that the tap water at basins in public toilets and at schools was somehow derived or tainted from the urine.

Anon

I used to believe that if I looked at the clock and it was exactly midnight, I had to stare at it until it changed to 12:01 or else something terrible would happen.

Julie

My mom often told me that we would do something in a specific way because "it was better in the long run." Because we always did things that were "better in the long run", I thought we were constantly in the mode of preparing for this "Long Run", the way a runner prepares for a race, and that at some unidentified point in the near future, life as we knew it would cease and we would find ourselves at the start of a foot race, with a huge banner at the starting line that said "The Long Run". But I could never quite reconcile how doing the specific "better" action would prepare us for this really long run as these "better" actions were never running related.

Katie, CA

I used to believe that the future (robots, flying cars, plastic clothes) was in 1992. I guy told me so when I was young. Perhaps he said so because something hot would come out in 1992.

I really though we would be in the future in 1992.

eye forgot

A neighbor kid told me that if a person ever slept for 24 hours they would die. I think that's why I have to have a clock right beside my bed so I can see the time as soon as I wake up.

Jeanne Marie

I used to believe that the sun shone brighter on a Sunday! Sunday in all languages is named after the Sun!!!

Vasu Moses

i used to think that every place in the world had a different time to the exact minute. like if you were 10 miles east of someone you would be ahead by like one minute.

chris

I used to think that people who were born in a leap year only had a birthday each 4 years. So when I was 6 my baby cousin sure enough was born on Feb. 29 1996 and to this day he is only 3 years old to me.

Al Strickland

When I was smaller, I was convinced that time didn't begin until I was born. How could all these people live without me around? I found it impossible. Seeing people on TV who lived before I was even an egg was scary, and drove me crazy.

Dumb-ass Father Time.

I used to believe adults who made the systems in the world were really thick in the head. Here are two reasons why:

a) The way a clock works. If you were going to have two of something, couldn't you have made it two dials, instead of two needles?! One dial with only the hours (numbers 1 to 12), one dial with only the minutes (numbers 1 to 60). My childhood brain was very stubborn and just couldn't accept that a 1 could be 5, 2 a 10 and 3 a 15 and so on. It was the dumbest instrument to be ever made; instead of being easy to read, it was totally frustrating for me.

b) Piano books. Please, I beg of you, why on earth did you have to start at different notes for the left hand and right hand? Couldn't you respect the beauties of nature, and mimic symmetry?! I ended up giving pinao for this very reason. To this day, I solemnly detest piano books; they make no visual sense to me at all.

Writing Chemistry

When I was young I did not understand the time zone thing. I wondered how TV studios could get the recorded shows all the way to the next time zone at the end of the show so it could "air" on time.

4.0 Kevin-Charlotte

When I was younger, for some strange reason, I thought there was another part of the day. It was in between the AM and the PM. This was because people would always refer to the parts of the day as morning, afternoon, and night. I honestly thought there was three parts to the day. And when your a very young child without any cares or burdens, you thought the day lasted forever. I did not want to look stupid so I never asked anyone.

T

We re in AZ, my firns in IL. On 9/11 after the attack had happened I get a call from my fiend in IL. During the conversation she says, "well, we saw it happen first becasue we are 2 hours ahead of you in time" Hehehe, I didn't correct her.

Sara

When ever i would ask my brother or sister for something they would hold on a minute. so i would stand back count to one and then cotinue asking them. they would yell at me, "That was a second!!!"

Alyssa

When I was a kid - about six or seven years old - I didn't think that midnight was a time of day. I thought it meant that it was late at night - not just late at night, but it had to be stormy to be midnight!

Anon

that groundhog's day was the beginning of beaver hunting season. I pictured a bunch of pilgrims sneaking up on an unsuspecting beaver's hole (don't ask me why i thought grounhogs were beavers) and yanking the poor thing out. I thought they would wave it around and then bash it on the ground to kill it. If it hit its shadow i thought that meant people could hunt beavers until spring. I'd seen various pictures of those strange men in top hats (who look rather like pilgrims) waving around these big rodents (who also look like beavers). I guess i sort of combined thanksgiving and groundhog's day in my mind. I dunno, but i'm starting to think i was a crack-baby.

Laura

When I was little I used to be afraid that when I flushed the toilet I would make the spirits of the house angry and I only had 10 seconds after flushing to find someone or the spirits could get me. So i would stand as far away from the toilet as possible, then flush and run like hell through the house trying to find someone.

jesse