criminals

When i was very little i thought "to sue" meant "to murder" I thought if someone stole from someone else, the victim could say " i sue you!" and they would be killed.

Erin

One time when I was little I thought that I heard people in the house. I also thought that if I barked real loud like a big bad dog, they would go away!!! Go figure:)

Woo

I used to believe a burglar was some kind of non-human creature, so I once filled up a bucket with water, sawdust, and some other ingredients, which the burglar would inevitably eat and die from if he broke into the house. (I must have imagined that burglars were kind of like rats, which would be drawn to an appropriate poison.)

Andres Cabezas

I used to think that on Friday the 13th, the government would send Jason out to kill random people and I was afraid he'd come to my town someday

Jake

I used to believe that thrift stores were where thief's came to sell all the goods they stole. I couldn't figure out why the police didn't just wait outside the store to catch the thief's.

thrift does not equal theft

When I was young, I used to see "90 days, same as cash" on retail windows in my neighborhood. I thought that meant that if you had a choice of going to jail for 90 days, or paying cash for your purchase.

Nicole

I used to think that a "mafia" and a "gang" were the same thing except for what gender made up each one: A mafia being for girls, and a gang being for boys. Since the word "mafia" sounds like a girls' name, while the word "gang" sounds less feminine and therefore more like a boy's name, this belief made perfect sense to me and i believed it until middle school.

Anon

I used to believe that the rain hitting my window was really bad guys trying to cut through the glass to get into my house.

Maya

When i was younger somebody in primary school told me that their sister had been kidnapped in the night from her bed and all that they left in the bed was a brown paper bag with a face on it.I believed this untill i was about ten and would never sleep with the window open incase anybody climbed in,

kasia

I used to believe that if you tried to buy something and then at the counter realised that you didn't have enough money you could go to jail.

Giggy

I always used to believe that a robber would break into my house somehow and come into my room and steal all my stuffed animals. I had this one stuffed bear I got from my parents for Valentine's Day, and I was so scared that a robber would steal it from me. I seriously contemplated putting a sign around its neck that said "Please do not steal, very special to owner!" (Like that really would have stopped a robber who wanted the bear), but I never did because I guess I thought this would make the robber mad and he'd try to kill me, lol.

I really was crazy.

I was confused between babysitters and kidnappers. I couldn't understand why people would rather have someone watch their kids who sits on them and hurts them than someone who makes them nap.

Anon

I used to think that jay walking was only for people whos first name began with J, if your name was Alice, you would be A walking....

Johnny

When I was four my preschool class walked down the street to the capitol building to visit the governor. Our governor was under suspicion of embezzlement at the time and apparently I had heard bits and pieces of what this entailed. I told my teacher to hold onto her purse tightly so he wouldn't steal it.

Sarah

i used to belive that if you swore you would be arrested

kd

When stores have a grand opening and put those huge spotlights out front and light up the sky with them - I used to think that this was how the police would look for & catch criminals that had gotten away by plane or helicopter. Somehow I did not find out that this was a promotional thing until.....adulthood. (Maybe there was something like this on Batman?)

Anon

When I was a kid, every time the lights in our house would dim, I thought another prisoner on death row was being electrocuted. Just like in the movies.

Shari

When I first heard of "The Five Families" of New York when my parents were watching the news, I thought a crime family was a literal family like a mom, dad, and kids, who all committed crimes together.

Anon

When I was about 8, I heard the term 'kerb crawling' on the news. Upon asking what it meant, my mum informed me it was when people were walking along a kerb, trying to break into the cars parked in the street. I held this belief for about 10 years after that!

anon

I used to think the words Prosecute and Execute both meant the latter. Needless to say i didn't often tresspass as a child.

Nathan