work

I used to believe that when mum and dad went to work to 'make money', they went to a building full of construction paper and crayons, and literally, made money!

Liz

When I was little (around 4 or 5) I assumed that when you became an adult (which I reasoned to be around age 14), you automatically got a paycheck in the mail every few days. Work was just something adults did to fill the time. I wondered who sent the paychecks out, and guessed that it was probably the president and that's why he was so important. Then I wondered why he gave some people more money than other people and how he picked who got to be rich. I figured people who were nice to him and wrote him letters got more money, so I started writing letters to Ronald Reagan (who I also thought was Ronald McDonald, just without clown make-up) asking him to give my mom more money so we could have a helicopter and a pony. I used Scooby-Doo and Hello Kitty stickers as postage, so I'm fairly sure they never made it to the White House.

More cash please, Mr President

I used to believe that secretary was a person who kept all the secrets in a club or organization and was an important person in that group till I finally learned about them in school.

Anon

I used to believe that when my father went to 'work' and every dad that went to work, went out to a forest and they all did lumberjack stuff. They'd all cut down trees and for some reason form a line standing across a raging river and transport fallen trees to the other side, across rapids and jagged rocks, because that's where they needed them. My father was actually the president of a company and went to work every day in a suit, i just assumed he changed in a locker room in which everything was made out of wood. I hadn't come up with something that working moms did, for i didn't know they existed, i thought all moms stayed home.

AJM

I used to accompany my dad when we dropped my mom off at the subway stop to go to work. I thought thats where my mom worked: at the subway stop.

Rachel

When I was young, I wanted to be a taxi driver. I have no clue why, lol. But now I realized it isn't the most exciting job...

Anon

I used to beleive that when people got sacked from work the boss would put them in a sack and throw them into the rubbish and then they would eventually die frm rubbish fumes and get eaten by rats
i was distraught when my brother told me tinkie winkie from teletubbies got sacked
but now i know he was safe =]

LuIzA

when i was three years old, and at home while my parents were on the work; i saw parliament assembly on tv, and thought, that my parents are probably there, working all day.

en

Up until a few minutes ago, I thought that a "wet nurse" was someone who "took care" (let's not get into the details) of paralyzed/senile people who couldn't go to the toilet on their own. I wondered who would want to get such a job. I'm 17, by the way...

Anon

This is something I shouldn't say,but I ought to.
Until I understood what busy phones were,when I heard that telephone lines were busy,I actually thought they were doing some kind of work and could not be talked to by anyone until they finished their shift.

epimeno01

i used to think that the "graveyard shift" meant that they actually had to go out and dig graves.

Anon

Up until about 5 minutes ago, when I read a similar belief on this site, I used to think candy stripers in hospitals were called candy strippers. I'm 16. I never thought that they were actually strippers, I just thought it was part of the name. Thankfully I don't think I've ever said 'candy stripper' out loud to anyone, that I know of. Still, I feel stupid now XD

Lisa

At the age of 4 & 5 I remember how very proud I was of my father who worked "graveyard" at the nearby underground mine. My impression that made me so proud was that every night he went to the graveyard and watched over and kept the dead safe. I was also somewhat concerned that something bad might happen to him because of the a scarry job he had.

Sherm