3,499 beliefs in this area
I used to believe…
During the Viet Nam war, I was ten, growing up in Hawaii. I commented to my mom that P.O.W. was a fitting term for the poor guys caught by the enemy, because they were realy pow. She explained that the word I was looking for was spelled pau (Hawaiian for finished), not pow.
I used to believe…
As a child, I had a hard time understanding why you had to give the store clerk "tacks" with the money. I also thought it was unfair that "miners" could not buy beer.
I used to believe…
Once, I found a very fascinating book in my mother's book case. I read the summery on the back, and learned the word, "Courtesan", as well as many others(all of which got me into some sticky situations). I reasoned that from the sound of the words and the summary that a courtesan was a female lawyer.
Bursting to show off my new word, I addressed my aunt, who was a lawyer. I...asked her what she did as a courtesan. What happened afterwards was Not Fun.
I used to believe…
When I was little I thought there was a bodily fluid that gave people the ability to talk. No one told me this; I came up with it on my own. I thought that every time a person talked, some of the fluid would be used up, and once it ran out, they would never be able to talk again.
I used to believe…
When I was young, I didn't know my language was called, "English". I thought it was called, "Normal". When the gardner at my grandma's house would speak strangely in words I'd never heard before, I'd ask him why he didn't speak, "Normal". He'd laugh and say it was called, "Spanish". Sometimes when he'd speak in Spanish to his co-workers, I'd watch his lips & tounge, but only from a distance, because I was afraid his tounge might fly out from moving so fast!!
I used to believe…
We had an extended household. My grandmother was very tiny, about four feet, ten inches. She and her parents all spoke German, French and English. So did my father and his sister.
I was not much shorter than my grandmother. In fact, we were the shortest two people in the family. So, I believed I need only grow a few more inches to speak German :)
It seems to have worked ;P
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I used to think that a Freudian slip was an apron women in the middle ages wore.
I used to believe…
My sister (when she was in Kindergarten)used to sing the alphabet song with her class, except they'd start "Oh! A,B,C,...)and for the whole year she thought O was the first letter of the alphabet. She even argued with our mom about it!
I used to believe…
When I was two years old I thoght the F word was a good word. So when a old lady came in front of my mom I said
That "That fucken' lady dosen't know how to drive." Then my mom toled me it was a bad word.
I used to think facade was spelled f-a-s-o-d.
I know I am only one of many who, as a small child, thought that the worst thing anyone could possibly say was "shut up." When I worked briefly with 4- and 5-year-old kids in 1979, I was amazed to find that there were still kids who thought the same thing!
I used to believe that if I had mentioned rude words I would would lose my tongue and not be able to talk again and I would go strait to hell!
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I used to believe…
My mum's aunt gave her daughter a copy of Jackie magazine. She refused to read it as her name was not Jackie.
I used to believe…
When I was three or so, I thought "volley ball" was pronounced 'bally-ball'....cracked everyone up.
I used to believe…
When I was little we used to take trips to Cape Cod. I was just learning how to read at the time, and I would see the word and not realize that the "e" was silent, so to me, it was "Cape-a Cod." The worst part was that it took my parents about 2 years to notice that I wasn't saying the name right. When they corrected me, I was in shock! It altered my sense of reality.
I used to believe…
Having to emigrate to an English-speaking country at the tender age of 12 with English that I learnt by rote in school, I spoke an alien kind of English, with text-book big words wrapped in an unfortunate grammar and an even more unfortunate accent.
Needless to say I was much parodied in school. But one thing I don't quite get was why my classmates insisted I say 'orgasm' when I said 'organism' in science class. I insisted that they are missing a syllable, while the nastier ones insisted that that was the way it's spoken. Fortunately I have never wavered in my belief - being the bookworm that I am, I found out what's what from a dictionary. I always played dumb though to wind them up!
I don't remember thinking this because I was very young, but apparently I used to claim to my family that I spoke Japanese. I'm American and most definitely have always spoken English.
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I used to believe…
A friend of mine used to think that when he was called an "Only Child" that people were calling him a "Lonely Child"
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I used to believe that to add, for example, seven and three, you'd count "seven, eight, nine". Obviously, adding one to any number didn't change it.
I used to think that Sioux Indians were pronounced "Syox" it wasn't until I was around 18 that I realised the pronunciation is "Soo". I'm Australian so what would I know!
