i used to believe that there was a little green alien a little orange alien and a little red alien that only stood up when they felt like it

ass hole

I used to think that traffic lights could see cars because how would they know when to let the other cars go through?

Jaime B

I used to think street lights had hidden cords in bushes

Anon

I used to believe that all traffic lights were operated by people in a big control room under the streets. I have no clue where this idea came from.

Rachel

When I was about six years old, I used to go shopping with my grandfather. When we were standing in front of a traffic light, he could always tell me when it would turn green, but when I tried, I wasn't even close. I thought he had special powers. Now I know he just looked if the cars on the road had already stopped, because our light would turn green then.

Lucky Duck

i used to believe that there was a man that who lives in a little house and his job was to change the colour on the traffic lights...red, yellow, green... ok, now you can go...

Anon

when i was little i belived that the traffic lights where a ufo spaceship because they changed colours quite quickly. whenever i went past a traffic light i used to close my eyes and now i look back and laught at myself.

the wardens

like a lot of people here it seems....i believed my mom had the power to predict when the light would change, because she was looking at the other side for it to turn yellow. but i had forgotten about this for a long time, and only just realized how she did it by reading all the other people's memories....DOH!

Anon

when i was younger i thought all traffic lights were controlled by a person sitting in a building looking out the window at each intersection

fiona, nz

I used to think that at each intersection with traffic lights, a little man would sit underground with video cameras. His job was to look to see who had been waiting the longest to see who would get the next green light.

Erica Brandt

I used to believe that the traffic lights were operated by a miniature person who hid close to the traffic lights so he could direct traffic. I thought that he used a remote control to do this!

Goatgirl

My dad used to tell us that he could change the traffic light from red to green by blowing at it from his spot in the driver's seat. We believed it until we finally learned that he was watching the lights on the other side and could see when they were changing from green to yellow to red. He had really GREAT timing!

Anon

I spent years believing that little men lived under roads controlling the traffic lights, after I asked my Dad when I was four years old "How do they know when the cars are coming?" This belief also applied to Zebra and Pelican crossings...

Kenny

When I was around 5 years old, I remember visiting my grandparents in a big city. I had never seen traffic lights before and I believed that a person lived under the road and shone differents coloured torches through tubes.
I've been digging up heaps of roads but I still haven't found the traffic light people: They're too fast!

The Amazing Pancake

I thought that when you crossed the road that you kept your arms in the same position as the green man. The same goes to the red man by standing with your arms to the side of you.

Helen

My brother told me that little men lived under the traffic lights to make them changed.

Arts sister

My parents used to tell us that if we blew at the traffic lights hard enough it would change. Must've been hilarious for them watching us puffing away!

Katie

My father is a terrible practical joker. He inflicted his sense of humour on all 4 of his children, and, unfortunately, now on my nieces and nephews too. Amongst the things that I believed were:
That dad was a god, with magic powers. He could change traffic lights from red to green, by commanding "lights please change". Miraculously, the lights would change colour - it wasn't until i was about nine that i realised that dad was watching for the lights in the other direction to turn before his command!
He also told me that the giant bales of hay in farmers paddocks were in fact 'wild hay', a type of very shy animal that would move only when no-one was looking at it. Occasionally they were covered in a tarpolen, because they were prone to catch colds, and the farmers were worried about them. I suppose its not that unusual for a city kid like myself to believe this, but unfortunately my older sisters kids - born and bred in the country - believe this as well!
Unfortunately, my father's jokes appear to be genetic - last week i convinced my three year old niece that bread grows on trees. We spent nearly an hour hunting around the backyard for bread to have with dinner. Amazingly, we found a french stick and two rolls - that i had hidden earlier.

Rebecca H.