in the street

You know those big green electric box things? They have a sticker on them, showing a person being electrecuted by this scary looking thing. When I was little, I thought there was a monster in there because of that and the sticker was a warning that it was there. There was one outside our apartments and I'd be scared to be near it. It always hummed and I thought that was the monster....

Stephanie

I used to think that all paved roads went all the way through to the other side of the earth, so that somewhere in china there was an exact copy of our streets.

Michelle

I thought there was a guy wearing a white lab coat in a shiny underground lab at the center of every city controlling all of the street lights. When my mom told me they were controlled by plates in the ground, I didn't believe her, because nothing (not even a car) could be heavy enough to affect something under asphalt.

A StrongMod

When I was ten or eleven, I asked my mother, "Do they paint the lines on the road by hand or do they use a machine?" My mother answered, "They go and bend over and paint it by hand. They have to go to a special school to learn how to paint so straight." Yeah, thanks Mom.

Ashton

My dad always used to tell me that the small road humps on motorways coming up to a roundabout (UK) where for the benefit of blind drivers.
It took me 3 years to finally realise he was lying to me!

Vince

When I was at school some kids used to come from a nearby village on the waterfront. When they went home at night they told us the were going to play on the wreck. I always imagined that this was some old abandonded ship, maybe a galleon or something. Years later I realised they were going to meet at the rec - short for recreation ground - where they would play on swings and slides and in the park.....

Karen

when i was little i used to be a hardcore ninja turtles fan (actualy i still am at the age of 20), and i used to believe that whenever there was smoke comming out of the manhole from the sewers it was the ninja turtles cooking some pizza. man did i ever want to go eat pizza with the ninja turtles.

Buddha

When i was little my mom used to tell me that all the oil spots and/or gum spots in a parking lot or road was children that ran in front of traffic and got splattered! i belived that from the time i was 3 to the age of 7 ....kinda cruel huh?....but i guess if it kept me out of the road!!!!

Tegan

Growing up I believed that once I left my street, I was out of my hometown. I was baffled when my parents would take me a couple of streets down, asking "what town are we in NOW?", and they would replay with a blank expression "We're still in [hometown]."

Matt

Up until very recently, and I am now 22 years old, I always thought that the reason some people's lawns were a kind of teal or light bluish-green color rather than regular green was because they had their lawns painted so that they would stay a pretty color all year long. I was driving with my husband one day and saw a lawn like that and I actually said out loud, "I wonder why people paint their lawns?" and he said, "that's not paint, it's pesticide". And laughed.

Shanna

When I was a small child, I used to believe that little gnomes lived inside the lamposts seen in the street. These gnomes would sit at computer consoles inside the lamposts and, when it would get dark enough, simultaneously switch on the lights. They lived there all day, every day and I often wondered how they survived as well as admired them for their demanding occupation.

Anon

Whenever I would travel with my parents I noticed the signs that had JCT on them. I thought that meant that Jets, Cars, and Trucks could use the road. I have no idea why. It was years later i realized it was abbreviation for junction. I still say to myself "Jet Car Truck" when I see the JCT sign.

Kristeen

I used to think if you stepped into a nasty puddle of water or car fluid in a parking lot, you would be mutated like TMNT or the Toxic Avenger!

LongLiveRock

I used to believe the 'To Let' signs on buildings meant there was a tiolet there

marky

I used to think that there was a highly complex underground tube system that connected public mailboxes around the world - once you popped your letter into the mailbox, the underground system would figure out where it's going and pop it out on the other end.

I thought the mail man was only for private, home mails only...

Anon

When my neighborhood friend from New York moved to Florida, I expected my new neighbors moving into the house to be from Florida as I was sure they were exchanging houses. I had no concept about buying and selling and I assumed it was just a trade. When I found out the new neighbors were from across town, I was very concerned about what happened to the poor family from Florida.

Will

When I was 2 or 3 I used to believe that, when you mailed a letter, it went down a chute under the mailbox and was somehow (pneumatically?) whisked into your mailbox at home. When walking along the street with my mother, I used to peer under mailboxes, looking for the chute.

Mike

I thought the painted white lines of a crosswalk were meant to lift you up a little higher so cars could see you.

Anon

i used to think next door neighbors were "next store neighbors"

Anon

When I was little, I assumed that gas stations had to be built over underground gasoline deposits (naturally, because gas comes from the ground, into the pumps). So when they knocked down the FoodTown by my house and built a gas station in its place, i could only wonder why they didnt just build an Exxon to begin with.

ShayBaby