The world was black and white before colour photographs and colour TV

I used to believe that there were other colours, people just hadn't found them yet. I imagined it might look like a pattern. I would spend hours trying to think of this new colour while looking under rocks and behind chairs.

Lisa G

I was born right about when color film came along. Looking at my parents and older brothers and sister pictures, I thought that color happened when I was born. I felt so sorry for all of the people born before me, even their dogs were black and white.

the baby

when i was little i thought that "in the olden days" that everything was in black and white and that you had to buy color, and it was very expesive and it came in a box.

erin

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.

Anon

My dad told me that the world was in black and white. Then they invented crayons, and the world was never the same.

Bubs

i used to think the world was black and white because of old movies and photographs. i wondered what it must have been like the day the world became colour and what people's reactions were.

Anon

unlike most entries about black and white photots, I thought colour photos actually faded as time passed untill they wer black and white. the same went for movies.

Y2K

Before the invention of the camera, everything looked like a cartoon with the quality/effect of oil painting.

MD Caruso

After I saw the Wizard of Oz, I was under the impression Kansas was black and white.

Anon

When I was a child, I used to believe that the world was black and white a long time ago, because old movies and old photos were black and white. I used to wonder when did the world turn colorful or when was color invented and was thankful I lived in color.

Serena

Before kindergarden, I too thought that a long time ago the world was black and white. But that colours were invented one by one. All due to my kindergarden teacher saying "when I was little EVERYTHING was red!"...she was talking about firetrucks, and hats, and hydrants. I always wondered what colour came after red.

jana b

Like many others, I used to think that the world used to be black and white. I didn't question why dinosaurs were in colour, though.

Al's view of the world

Not a belief of mine, but something I got my son to believe when he was about 5.

We were watching the Wizard of Oz, and when we got to the part where the world changes from black&white (OK, sepia) to full glorious Technicolor, my son became a little confused by this.

Now, I'm a bit of a prankster (which is a bit like saying water is a bit wet) and I do so like a good story, so conditions were perfect for a wee spot of invention just then.

I told him what happened was the world used to be in black and white, but, right during the filming of the movie, the world changed to color.

My son was very interested in numbers, so he asked when the film was made. I told him "1938".

He thought for a second, and then said, "Didn't you say grandpa was born in 1933 ? That makes him the same age as me when the world changed to color."

After praising him for his awesome subtraction skills, I said "Yep. Grandpa was the one who told me all about it. You should ask him the next time we visit."

As luck would have it, my brother's daughter had a christening about a month or two later at which the entire extended family gathered.

Yes. Yes, he did.

"So, Grandpa, what was it like when the world changed from black and white to color when you were my age ?"

Needless to say, Grandpa was a tad confused, but #1 son forged on ahead, explaining how "well, Grandpa, when you were 5, that was 1938 because Dad says you were born in 1933, the world changed from black and white to color, and there's proof because the movie the Wizard of Oz was made in 1938, and you can see it happen right there. Dad explained it to me."

Oh, dear, I did have rather a time explaining that one away. #1 son thought it was pretty funny, but Dad was less amused.

Glad Bad Dad

My dad told me that when he was little, the color purple hadn't been invented yet. I got the idea that purple had been invented a few years before I was born.

Allison

after watching "the wizard of oz" i thought kansas was black and white and the rest of the world was color!

kelly

Like a lot of previous entries, I also thought that the worlds was once black and white, and when The Wizard of Oz came out, thats when it turned to color.

B*McD

I use to think polka dot was a color.

Anon

When I was young, I thought that the world really used to be in black and white, just like in the old TV shows and the black and white pictures in my grandmother's photo albums. I was very glad that I hadn't been born until after the world turned to color. At some point, I asked my mother when exactly the world had become color; I knew that she had been born before a lot of those black and white TV shows were on the air, and she is in a lot of those black and white pictures, so I assumed she must remember what it was like to be black and white and that she would know exactly when the change happened. That was when I learned about film. The bizarre thing is that we had a small black and white TV, and I could see perfectly well that shows that were in color on the big TV were in black and white on the small TV. I don't know why I never put 2 and 2 together.

Noelle

I thought the world was black and white because of all the smoke from the bombs in Second World War.

Bjoern

When I was a kid I use to think that the worldonce was black and white. I asked my dad if that was true. He said that a long time ago that a big color storm covered the whole earth and brought color.

jade