family

I used to believe that all parents were called "Inge and Dirk", just like mine

eva

My grandpa told me that one in every four kids were chinese. Since there were four of us, I belived for the longest time that i was chinese.

Anon

I used to believe that people with the same first name were related.

Rebecca

In a misguided attempt to explain genetic traits within families, my dad told us that if you couldn't "roll" your tongue (curve the two sides up together) that you were adopted. This theory caused a few problems for me at school that next Monday morning.

Andrea

My mother used to tell me that if I was misbehaving, the gypsies would come and take me away with them, so naturally I was always misbehaving.

Skof

When I was very little my grandma once told me that "Exit" meant "quiet" and that you had to stop talking. This worked great for my parents, when we would go places, if I started crying or whining or whatever, they would just point to an "Exit" sign and that would shut me up. But then one day Dad brought home an old "Exit" sign and hung it up in my room, for laughs, I was so upset!!

Kari

I used to believe that 'estranged' meant 'to become strange' and always wondered why women became strange after leaving their husbands, because they always said "so-and-so and his estranged wife".

This lasted until my mid-teens, sadly.

Anon

My mom told me when I was like seven that I was adopted, I cried and cried,and I believed her, then a few years later, i said,"how can I be adopted if i look just like you!" To this day they make fun of me.

Ada

It was rather cruel of my mother to lead me to believe that stepping on/in someone else's shadow would cause that person pain. Even today, I avoid doing this.

Nathan

Once my mom told me I was born black and turned white at 3

I believed her and took great offense to any racial slur

Nick

My cousin's brothers and sisters all told him that he had been found in a wheelie bin so my Aunt and Uncle had taken him home. He believed this until he was 7

Anon

My mom played a joke on me when I was young. She had picked up a new picture frame from the store. And as you know, new frames come with that fake picture in it, so you can see what a photo would look in it. Well I saw this and asked who the three little kids were in it. She said that they were my brothers and sisters that I had never met. I got all confused and excited that I now had a sister to play with. But then she said she was just joking...sigh...I never got that sister to play with.

Anon

My mother called my father Bill and he called her Phyll, and I thought they were calling each other the same thing.

Aussie

I used to believe that women had babies by virtue of being married and in love. Men and women got married because they loved eachother, therefore being in love produced babies. I was totally disgusted when I found out the truth (via reading Womans Own, when about age 9)

Rainbow

My grandfather used to tell me stories of when "he was a little girl". I was quite mystified as to how one changed sex in childhood. I wondered if I would turn into a boy, eventually. It seems this was a popular family joke, as my great-grandfather had told the same story to my dad!

Snow