I used to think that each traffic light had a control room underneath the street and that city employees monitored the traffic with video cameras, manually changing the lights at arbitrary intervals.
A childhood belief about traffic lights

others believed things like this
- When i was little i always thought there were little men inside the traffic lights changing the light— Kiley
- I used to belive that there was a god living in every traffic light, controlling the traffic!— Sukhi
- I used to believe that the yellow light in traffic-lights meant Go Faster!— M. L. E.
- I believed that traffic lights had police officers inside them, turning the lights on and off...— CrowHeart
- when i was about 5-8 i used to believe that oompa loompas lived in traffic lights and controlled the lights!!— ~wierd ~
- I used to believe that the "Employees Only" room in the back of the store was where the employees lived. — KewlKid