general

Until I was 10, I used to believe that rats has poisonous tails. Somebody told this when I was much younger and I unquestioningly believed it. Eventually, I passed this information on to my friend Roger's younger brother when we were in the nearby ravine. Afterwards, Roger set me right and chewed me out for making it up to scare his brother. I realized how ridiculous it was and was very embarrassed.

Chris

childhood camping trips to scotland often ended with my younger brother running across the fields after haggis, those cute little critters indigenous to the country. anything small, furry and fast was automatically classified as such, despite any rabbit-like tendencies in the creature itself. it was my mam and dad who encouraged this, the cruel sods.

doran

When I was very young my mom had a big rock with holes all through it she used as a door stop. Because she told us a little lizard lived in it, my brother and I would sit very quietly waiting for it to come out. I never saw the lizard but, I'm certain Mom enjoyed the silence.

Jake

My mum told my brother that 'twat' meant pregnant goldfish. Imagine the hilarity in school when he is asked what rhymes with cat.

Em

My mother caught me eating biscuits in bed. "Look at the crumbs, you'll have mice". To a four year old this sounded like an exciting opportunity, so each night I would put crumbs under the bed in the hope, not that they would attract mice, but they would turn into mice! After about 3 months and a tell tale mound of crumbs the awful truth was finally broken to me.

Alan Schofield

I thought that the goats that live on the Great Orme in North Wales had shorter legs on one side, and that if they tried to turn round they'd fall down the slope. I also thought that they got married in opposite-handed pairs!!

Leo

As a very young girl, I believed that our neighbors sheep wore heavy quilts in the winter. I'm nearly 40 and my family won't let me forget it!

Sandra, California

When travelling in the countryside, the sheep in the fields always face the direction that you are travelling in.
I still believe this now, and im nearly 30.

Loz H

i wus told by a mad man on the side of the street mooses would rape. i had no idea what it ment but stayed away from them at the zoo

bob highcliff

When I was little we had a dog and I knew that feeding it chocolate was bad. I thought that even a little bit would kill her so when she found a hershey kiss and ate it I was convinced that she was going to die. Needless to say, she didn't.

Anon

I used to believe that birds had some kind of super power to withstand electricity when they stood on power lines.

Derek

I used to have a cat, but we couldn't keep it in our apartment. I come home one day to see ants in the bathroom, but no cat anywhere. My parents had told me that the ants ate the cat; bones and all. That was when I was 8; I believed it until I was 13.

Diana

I used to believe that flies were called "bloody flies"!

Angelface