the past

When I was 5 or 6, my mom and my aunt would watch the Watergate hearings with me in the room, and they loved making fun of Sen. Lowell Weicker because he would move his eyebrows up and down. They called him Wacky Weicker. So for years I thought there was a U.S. senator actually named Wacky Weicker.

Oh, and I used to believe Watergate was about a gate that held back water. I had no idea it was the name of an office building until I was in my early teens.

When I was little and asked my mom what Vietnam was (this was during the war), she gave me the emotional (but unhelpful) answer, "I hope they remove that country from the face of the earth!" So for years I went around with the mental image of a Vietnam-shaped piece cut out of the planet. That's what I thought she meant should be done with it!

During radio and news broadcasts, I'd hear of "guerilla's moving in from the north", etc. I used to think they were actual gorilla's moving in a group and getting closer to Illinois (where I was from).

My Mother used to show us pictures from when she was a child. I used to believe that there was a time when there was no color because of all the pictures where in black and white.

When I was a kid, carnivorous dinosaurs were said to be 'flesh eaters'. My Crayon box included a pink-tan Crayon labeled 'flesh'. I decided that African cavemen probably had a much easier time getting along; furthermore, that I'd better remember to get a good tan if I ever decided to go back in time. I'm still still tanning, still hoping.

When I ws told about Pearl Harbor and the war against Germany and Japan I got the whole idea of the war totally wrong. I remember asking my dad why we went to war with Japan and he told me it was because they hurt us. I said, "Oh yeah cuz their eyes are funny huh?" My dad laughed a little and told me no. He told me about the allience made between Germany and Japan and how they were trying to hurt as many people as they could and I said, "So the German people have funny eyes too?" My dad laughed a little bit this time and still tryed to explain it to me. I dont know how but by the end of the talk I had with him I thought that the Jews were the ones with funny eyes and thats why we went to war...weird huh?

When I was three years old I would look through our old family photo albums. Each album covered about two years and the years were labeled on each. Since the photos in the albums from the 1970's were in color but the photos in earlier albums were in black and white, I used to believe that color did not exist in the world and was not "invented" until 1970 .

My grandmother has a lot of black and white pictures in her house and so I believed that the world used to be black & white. We still say in our house: "Long ago when the world was black & white." Because of what I sayed when my gran told me a story of when she was small.

i used to think that the 50s were actually black and white because of i love lucy, ect. i came upon the relization while in an antique shop that the entire past wasnt, infact, black and white.

I first heard about Hitler when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I mixed him up with the painter Whistler. At some point I said something about Hitler being a painter and an adult said yes, he was that and alot more. (True-- Hitler was a failed artist.) When I finally found out about Hitler's deeds, I was horrified-- and very embarrassed that I'd gotten this so confused! Sorry Whistler......

My son used to believe that the people in black and white movies on tv were all really just black & white (and grey), he used to ask me when people started to have color.

I used to believe that old movies were in black and white because color hadn't been invented yet back then. I was so sorry for all the poor people who had to live in a black and white world while I was lucky enough to enjoy a beautiful world of color.

I once asked my grandmother "What was it like to live in black and white? What about crayons?" She was confused at first, but then realized as I asked a black and white episode of I Love Lucy was on the tv. :)

I thought you could paint in color in the past, but everything else was in black and white except that. :) This lasted till I was 5.

When the news reporter was referring to the Guerilla's who were waging war in the jungle all through my childhood, I used to watch the television closely waiting to catch a glimpse. I had this idea that it was a bit Planet of the Apes in that part of the world.

The news only ever showed footage of people though and I guess I just assumed they were the army out hunting the Guerilla's.

When I was a little boy, my grandma went to Germany. She, of course, brought back some gifts and stuff. I liked them so much that I thought Germany was a cool country and it hasn't beed in any wars because it's so good. :)

I used to believe everything in real life back in early times was in Black and White because watching old movies, all I saw were things in Black and White, until one day they magically discovered color.

I can remember when I was about 5, I thought the Gulf War was being fought in the Gulf of Mexico! I think I could have sworn that was also being fought in China. Hmmm...