transport

I used to believe…

My sister believed that travel plug adaptors (the things you have to make your electrical appliancies work overseas) were used for breathing through when on an aircraft...weird!

I used to believe…

When I was young(er) and stupid(er), I thought that when there was a street sign with an arrow pointing up, that it refered to cars actually going up, instead of forward.

I used to believe…

my Dad told me that a car could run on air for 10 miles because it had gremlins in the engine to keep it going - I belived until I ran out of petrol and the car didn't carry on - at all.

I asked my parents why so many roads in California were named after the Prime Minister of Israel (at the time, Menachem Begin). I had observed that almost every freeway we drove on was marked by a big sign saying "Begin Freeway".

I used to think that the car stayed still and the earth turned under it. Obviously the car bounced and rocked because turning the earth was such hard work... that's also why there was a whole line of cars on the road, because one would not be strong enough. I thought the line of cars going the other way was there to stop the days getting longer or shorter due to everybody driving and speeding the earth up.

I used to think that the bus I was on would tip over if I didnt go against the force of gravity. I never used to sit upstairs as I thought it was harder to balance myself when sitting up there.

I used to think that we had a car which knew where we were going, because just before we turned left or right, a little arrow came up on the dashboard pointing the right way: I never noticed my dad flicking on the indicator lights!

I used to believe…

One day at the beach in Boston when I was 6 or so, I asked my dad what kind of plane was making the stripe way high up in the sky. He told me that it was a B52 bomber carrying nukes to protect America. Thinking all contrails were made by B52s, I became and remained a very nervous kid until high school.

I used to believe…

Every time I went on the underground in London, I used to queue up to get a ticket inspector to let me through rather than use the automated gates, which I was terrified of. One day, aged about 13 and after many years of gate-avoidance, I was travelling with my father who got fed up waiting for me and finally asked why I couldn't use the ticket gates like normal people. I explained that if you didn't get the timing just right and run through at exactly the right time you would get cut in half. I'd been told that dozens of people got killed on the underground every year because the gates caught them, and I wasn't brave enough to risk it.

He was horrified by my gruesome childish beliefs. "But that's rubbish! They have sensors and things to stop you getting hurt - who put this nonsense in your head?". "Er - you did, dad." He had spun me this yarn when I was four and instantly forgotten it.

I used to believe…

Some time about 1980 I saw a public information film advising people not to drink and drive. This made perfect (and obvious) sense to my three-year-old brain, as your coffee might distract you from the road.

I used to believe…

One day while sitting in the back of my mum's car (aged 6 or so), I somehow invented the belief that if we stopped on a bus stop for any reason at all, we'd turn into a taxi, have to take someone wherever they wanted to go, and I'd be late for school. This was quite a fearsome problem, given rush-hour traffic, and that being late was SUCH a taboo...

I used to believe that if you didn't fasten your seatbelt while in a car, the car would also crash. Also, that if you were in a carpark and didn't hold the hand of an adult, the police would come and arrest you.

I believed that the road sign meaning 'road narrows' meant be careful because there are glass bottles littered on the road ahead. I believed that the sign meaning 'end of speed restriction' was reminding you to wear your seatbelt (white circle with black diagonal line). And I also believed that 'soft verge' meant that there was a roadside fruit and veg stall coming up soon.

I used to believe…

When driving downtown one day, my four-year old daughter was mentioned that it was a good thing she didn't have to go pee because I had parked right by a building with no bathrooms. I was confused until she showed me the sign with a large P and a slash through it (No Parking).

I used to think what a shame it was that such nice looking cars were going "under the hammer" thinking they were going to be broken up, not merely being auctioned!

I used to believe…

when i was a kid the electrecity used to go and it would get dark. so i thought that every thing was being run on electrecity and their was no light so when i saw cars i used to think that why dont the cars light go out so my father told me that they have batteries so until i was 7 i used to keep a 1.5 volt battery with me every day people told me but i never believed until i was in grade 4 science told me everything

I used to believe…

When we used to go on holiday on the motorway I always believed that the 'posh' cars were the only ones allowed to travel in the lane nearest the central reservation!
Needless to say we never went in that lane.