transport

I used to think that at traffic lights, there were little gnomes or midgets that lived underground, beneath each intersection, and held the ultimate control of when to change the lights to red/green whenever they noticed a certain number of cars backed up at the red light. I also usually got quite upset at the gnomes when we would sit at the light for a long time, figuring that they were on a break and not paying any attention to us or the cars backed up behind us at the red light. This lasted until I was about 11 or so.

I was around six when I asked my father what why some cars had GB on the back. He informed me that it was the next stage after being a Learner driver and it meant 'Getting Better'. Seemed reasonable to me.

I used to believe that the different countries of the world were stacked upon eachother on layers of clouds, and when you flew you had to fly up through the clouds.

I used to believe…

When I was young there were no seat belt laws so no one in my family wore them. The seat belts were always tucked into the crease of the seat. I always wanted to use them but I thought that if I were to pull them out I would damage the car and get into trouble.

I used to believe…

My sister and I used to believe something bad would happen if you breathed while driving over the bridge, so we held our breaths. Strange that we could breathe in the center at the county line.

I used to believe…

As a little kid, I asked my mom how traffic lights worked, and she responded that they were operated by computers. I of course envisioned a person in a room surrounded by computers, pressing buttons to control traffic lights.

I believed that people riding diesel locomotives (as opposed to steam or electric) were notorious for fighting with each other. I have no idea where this notion came from.

I used to believe…

my grandmother had me convinced that you should always lock the car door you were sitting next to, because at any moment it could fly open and you would fall out. I thereafter viewed car doors as unpredictable creatures with an unending desire to fling themselves open and kill me, and it's automatic to lock the door as soon as I'm in the car, even if the car door lock automatically.

I used to think that if you went through a traffic light while it was red, a large hook (teathered to the light by a chain) would come rushing out of the traffic light, chase your car, crash its hook through the front windshield and drag you back to the red light until it had turned green. Was always very stressed out when my Mom went through a yellow light.

I used to believe…

All through my childhood our family called open topped busses 'Bertie Busses', convinced that this was their official name. I realised that other people didn't call them this but I assumed it was because they weren't 'in the know' like our family and insisted to my friends that BERTIE BUS was the correct name.
Years later as an adult, I discover my mum had jokingly named the busses Bertie after my very bald Uncle Bert who like the busses, had little on top!

I used to believe that when the radio dimmed a little when driving throught a tinnel, it was so blind people who were driving didnt crash into the sides.

i think i might have been dropped as a child...

I used to believe…

When I was very young, I thought that every airplane I heard was directly above wherever I was and whoever was in the planes were going to drop bombs and kill everyone I knew.

I used to believe that, in Germany, there was a major city called Ausfahrt, because of all the signs on the autobahn with that word on it. Ausfahrt is German for "exit".

I used to wonder why cars were designed with stuff still 'to do' when you drove them - like gears and stuff. I had always thought you should simply get in, press start and just steer...

I used to believe…

when we went on school trips, we used to think that the bus might fall apart when it went over railroad tracks (or get hit by a train, i suppose) so everyone had to put their fingers on any screws or nails or whatever that they could see (that held the bus together) so they wouldn't fall out. i thought it was dumb, so i rarely did it (except when threatened by the bigger, meaner kids).

I used to believe…

My dad used to tell me the moon liked me and followed me. I believed him because I would always see it in the sky when we were driving about in the car at night. I caught on though, when I was about nine when I said "If the moon likes me so much why does it seem to have an unhappy face?"