media

I used to believe…

When I was little, I used to think that if you listened to the radio and looked into the silver middle of a speaker, that you could see the artist performing the song.

I used to believe…

When I was little, I used to think that you could break the glass on the T.V., climb in, and then end up wherever the T.V. was showing. I also thought that when commercials came out for toys, you could break the glass and get them out of the T.V.

I used to believe…

For a while (by which I mean about 12 years) I thought that when people said "pay-per-view", they were really saying "paper view".
I just didnt understand why people would pay to watch a piece of paper...

I used to believe…

When I was younger my dad told me that when we turned off the television, all the little people inside would come out through the back of the telly, then wait for you to turn it back on again and jump back inside. The amount of I wasted waiting for this to happen!!

I used to believe that when you turned on the TV or put on a video, the little characters actually came into the TV and were performing, and once I asked my mom if the characters would come out and I would get to meet them if I smashed the TV screen.

I very early found out that cartoons are in fact series of fast changing pictures, each next only a bit different from previous. It was well explained in some magazine for kids. So I knew how does every cartoon work, but I though it is executed just like the cartoon-book you can make yourself - they are holding out there in the studio thick stack of colored papers right in front of camera, and when the sheets are moving very fast, it is just being filmed and showed on TV. So many times I just wondered why all those cartoons on TV are so perfect quality since there should be visible trails of sheets moves etc. Then some day I found out they just record each one picture in the other film-tape tile, and this is it.

i used to think that if i stood behind the tv, i could get on television! i still remember standing behind it and asking my brother if he could see me on the screen..

I used to believe…

One of my favourite cartoons when I was little was called Willy Fogg. It was about a lion who had to travel around the wrold in 80 days. Story sound familiar?

This cartoon really confused me though because whenever I heard a reference to Phileas Fogg, I thought they were talking about the lion! For years I didn't realise that Phileas Fogg was a person.

I used to believe that people in the TV were performing live all the time and I used to wonder how they got inside the TV and how they knew when I wanted to watch them.

I used to think all the data in a video-game cartridge was written on the little metal contacts at the end, where the slightest touch of a finger could erase it. That big hunk of plastic behind the contacts was only there to give you a good grip on the cartridge when you inserted or ejected it. Same with diskettes--I thought the data was stored on the shutter at the bottom.

I used to believe…

When i was littlei always thought the "Worthington Ford," commercial song out here in California would say "Pussy Cal, Pussy Cal, Pussy Cal."
In reality: "Go see Cal, Go see Cal, Go see Cal."

Go see cal for a good car deal, that is

I used to read this kid's magazine that printed the BASIC code for a simple game in every issue. The instructions didn't say much more than "enter this in and run it," which somehow led me to think that if I just typed that code--anywhere--the computer would magically understand and do whatever it said. Imagine my disappointment when I tried to get one of the games working and found that neither Word nor the Windows desktop speaks BASIC...

I used to believe…

There was an advert many years ago on British TV about soap. It involved a bleary eyed person getting up in the morning and stumbling to the shower as if he was blind. He had a shower using the soap and as a result could see again. I kept wondering why don't all blind people use this soap so they can see.

I used to believe…

When I was little I used to think that commercials were live. So I felt bad for the people because they would have to react the same thing over and over every time that commercial came on. Then I found out that they only had to film it once and just replay it.

I used to think that anything in my room with a face (posters, dolls, stuffed animals, etc.) could see me. I would always face away from them when getting dressed and I always feared doing anything stupid in front of them. I'm 17 years old and I still do this.

I used to believe…

When I was younger someone told me that there was a special chip inside Furbys so the government could use them and spy on everyone. To this very day my Furby still faces the wall.

I used to believe…

The National Enquirer used to run television ads that teased you with tidbits from that week's issue. Then they would state, "On sale at newstands!" I always thought they were having a sale that week, and it would be cheaper then it usually was. One time I walked to several different stores trying to find one that had it discounted! (I was only 11!)

I used to believe…

When I was little, I would hear TV shows talking about how it was filmed before a live audience. So, I concluded that a studio audience was made of dead people.