in the street

i used to believe that when you stepped on,
and crunched leaves you could control them.

wil

When I was 5 I always used to say sorry to lamp posts, when I walked into them. That should have taught me to look where I was going, but still, at the age of 14, I still walk into things.

Becky

Up until about the age of 9 I thought that the directional would tell you where to go if you got lost.

Kristen

My mum's dad used to tell her that there were gnomes on top of buildings that pulled up lifts by long ropes

Steph

When I was a kid I believed that each house with a streetlight outside of it had a switch in the house for the owner to turn on the light. If the light wasn't on that night, they must have forgotten to turn on their streetlight.

amy, quartz hill, ca

When I saw "NO PARKING" painted on the pavement near the curb, I read "NO" upside down as "ON". I thought that was where your car was supposed to be with the engine running, thus being "on". "PARKING" was where you were supposed to park.

Anon

I used to believe that you can only walk over zebra on the white lines. It was hard for me to make those giant steps, until my older sister explained me what it's really for...

Antonia, Croatia

When I was about 4, I saw someone riding a bike and I thought his legs would get tangled up so I was afraid to try it until I was 7.

Tory

i used to think that you actually were permitted to stand in a firelane because of the signs that read "no parking or standing in firelane"

Anon

i thought all the dompsters had a monster living in it.

Iris

I used to seriously believe that if you stepped on a crack, while walking on the sidewalk, you would brake your mothers back.

Kristen

Step on a crack you'll break your momma's back

CC

When I was around 5 I believed that the Doctors SURGERY was actually a SUGARY (which im sure dont exsist)which stocked lots of yummy lolly treats.
I would beg my mum to go over and over & when I did it was not a pleasant experience!

holly

I used to believe that speed humps were laying people, because in Colombia we call them "policias acostados" which roughly translates "laying policemen" so i used to think about that "people" staying all day laying in a street.

Sara

I dont know why but I used to think The Salvation Army was a mint company.

Anon

my brother would say "get lost" and I took it literally. I made a game of it and wandered the neighbourhood until I just almost didn't recognize my way home.
I think I was 5 at the time.

if i had only known...

My sister used to tell me that the fake rocks that cover the electric cicuits would create music when you weren't near them. I would always try and catch the rocks in the act, but never did...

Lunaka

In the alley behind our house, up on the telephone wires, was a rectangular box a foot or so long.
I believed that I saw it slide back and forth along the line between the poles, its purpose- to knock the snow off.
Now I know that it was just an (immobile) weatherproof connector for the wires, and my seeing it move must've been a dream.

Rick

Here in the UK, there are posts on the streets which tell the fire services the location of the nearest hydrant. They are yellow, with a black 'H' on it. Above and below the 'H' are numbers (I still can't work out what they tell you exactly - perhaps 'x' metres along and 'y' metres out?). I always thought that they told the fire brigade where the NEXT fire would be, to help them get there quicker. Well it seemed sensible to me!

Alasdair

One of my friends who was 17 at the time asked me "Why are all Fire Engines called Dennis?"

That joke ran and ran!

Liz