Childhood Misconceptions

[Babs Johnson]

The thread about thinking Boxing Day was a celebration for Muhammad Ali or Sonny Liston reminded me of other things I had the wrong idea about as a kid. Some food related ones from the holiday season.

Horseradish was made of, well, horse. I saw the roots and though they were some weird horse bones or an unusual internal organ.

Mincemeat pie was made from an animal called a mince. Maybe it was a mink-type animal that was ground up after being killed for fur. I understand now that mincemeat DID used to contain meat in Olde England, beef, or mutton, or maybe venison.

Cream of Tartar for baking was dried and powdered seafood Tartar Sauce.

Potato chips obviously didn't come from potatoes. They were a snack, or like candy, not made from some wholesome ingredient. Sort of like the "Irish Potato" candy sold around St. Patrick's Day.

Does anybody have others, food related or whatever?

 

[Praying Colonel]

When DD was little, she would throw an absolute fit when we picked her up from children's church. Eventually she explained it to us: she thought they all stayed there all week long and got to have fun, and she was missing out.

Me: Ferris wheels terrified me. I wouldn't go near one. I didn't know the seats swiveled so they stayed in the same position as you went around. I was scared I'd get dumped out when my seat got to the top.

 

[dez1978]

I thought adulting would be much more fun. Dare made me believe there would be more drugs. I thought naps were stupid.

But more along the lines of what you are talking about... My mom made ham and beans a lot, and I was abosutely convinced that the skins that came off some of the beans and rolled up were maggots.

 

[RogueX]

I was convinced as a toddler that nothing good was happening when the last of the bath water drained. According to my mother, I screamed like I was being murdered. The pediatrician figured it must have been something of a fear of the drain....yeah, I guess I was on to Pennywise way before my time. Ugh!

 

[fla4fun]

I understand now that mincemeat DID used to contain meat in Olde England, beef, or mutton, or maybe venison.

My grandmother and my mom both made mincemeat from scratch when I was a kid. It had ground pork roast and ground beef roast in it, in addition to the raisins, spices and other fruit. The meat was baked before it was ground and added to the filling. Nasty stuff all the way around. I understand some people make mince pie now that doesn’t include the meat, just the fruit and spices. I can’t even imagine trying it. Mincemeat made me gag!

 

[design_mom]

My dad, my uncle and the boy who lived down the street were all left handed. My mom, my sister and I were not. Therefore: boys are left handed and girls are right-handed.

(Note: my husband is right handed, but my son is left-handed while my daughter is right handed.)

 

[BlueStarryHat]

My grandparents had friends on Mystic Island in New Jersey, and when they went to visit they would sometimes take me along. I used to pronounce the name of the place as Mr. Giles and I was under the impression for years that a mysterious guy named Mr. Giles really existed and that he owned the whole island and let people live there. I even named a small teddy bear that was bought for me there in his honor. I was only like, three to five when they were taking me to visit so...anyway, I still have the bear fifty years later. Yes, his name is still Mr. Giles.

 

[leebee]

I used to get scared when we'd be driving on the highway and come to a construction area where they'd be building a new but not yet completed off ramp. It just swirled around and went upwards and then just stopped, not connected to an overpass or roadway. How did my daddy know NOT to go that way? Would he think it was the road and drive us off the ramp? Also connected to driving was my confusion about suspension bridges. I didn't realize the road was the level part. I couldn't understand how drivers could balance their wheels on the 'swooping' part and get across the bridge alive!

 

[kerry1379]

When I was 2 I ran into the corner of the wall and needed stitches. I screamed and screamed when the doctor said that. One of my mom's favorite hobbies was sewing and I spent hours hanging out with her in her sewing room going through her fabrics and such (ie making a mess). I was convinced they were going to put my head under a sewing machine to put in the stitches.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I grew up Catholic and didn't know what a "parson" was (I had Priests who lived in a rectory, not pastors who lived in a parsonage). So I thought the snowman in It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas was a color called "parson brown". Of course, I also wasn't sure why the snowman had to be brown in order to marry people...

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I was under the impression that oyster crackers were made of oysters so I would not eat them.

Yes, I am still so weird about seafood that I still find oyster crackers unappealing due to their name and I still avoid them.

 

[Disneylover99]

I thought all cats were female and all dogs were male. Lol.

 

[wenrob]

I used to get scared when we'd be driving on the highway and come to a construction area where they'd be building a new but not yet completed off ramp. It just swirled around and went upwards and then just stopped, not connected to an overpass or roadway. How did my daddy know NOT to go that way? Would he think it was the road and drive us off the ramp? Also connected to driving was my confusion about suspension bridges. I didn't realize the road was the level part. I couldn't understand how drivers could balance their wheels on the 'swooping' part and get across the bridge alive!

I have nightmares about this.

 

[DLgal]

Not really a misconception, but I was an avid reader as a child and there are a few words I just read wrong and mispronounced in my head for YEARS, before I heard them pronounced the right way. Debris was DERBIS in my mind until I was in high school. I remember hearing the word debris and being like, "oooohhhh"

 

[jo-jo]

Not me, but grandson. Talking about Jesus and before he went around to tell people about God, he was a carpenter. Do you know what a carpenter does????? Yes, he lays down carpets.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Me: Ferris wheels terrified me. I wouldn't go near one. I didn't know the seats swiveled so they stayed in the same position as you went around. I was scared I'd get dumped out when my seat got to the top.

I could SEE that the seats swiveled and didn't go upside down, but I couldn't grasp just HOW it was done. I remember trying to draw a ferris wheel and the cars on top WERE upside down.

Of course, there were some ferris wheels that COULD go upside down, if one so desired. On the carnival, State Fair, and seaside amusement park circuit there was the Skydiver.







And the Roc-o-Plane.



I enjoyed both of these from about age 10 to my mid 20's, but couldn't handle them since. I haven't seen either in at least 20 years.

One of my favorites was the double decker Sky Wheel, also not seen in many years.




Hersheypark had a two-armed wheel, and Six Flags Great America near Chicago and Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California had 3-armed ones.







My drawing of a ferris wheel when I was young would look like The Enterprise in full motion.

 

[AndreaDM]

I thought all cats were female and all dogs were male. Lol.

LOL me too!!!

I also didn't think any 2 people had the same name until I went to Kindergarten and met more people, my circle was pretty small up to that point!

 

[BrianL]

I could SEE that the seats swiveled and didn't go upside down, but I couldn't grasp just HOW it was done. I remember trying to draw a ferris wheel and the cars on top WERE upside down.

Of course, there were some ferris wheels that COULD go upside down, if one so desired. On the carnival, State Fair, and seaside amusement park circuit there was the Skydiver.

View attachment 638013

If I recall, that Skydiver was going to flip upside down at the top regardless. There was a steering wheel (like in the center of the Teacups but horizontal to the car), but it was nearly impossible to keep it upright, at least for kids. My sister, cousin and I used to try to on the one at Rocky Point. Anyway, the fun was in spinning the thing anyway!

 

[Moliphino]

I grew up Catholic and didn't know what a "parson" was (I had Priests who lived in a rectory, not pastors who lived in a parsonage). So I thought the snowman in It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas was a color called "parson brown". Of course, I also wasn't sure why the snowman had to be brown in order to marry people...

I thought it was "parse and brown". Didn't know what parse was, either.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I just thought of another one. I always thought the frozen ice-cream-like fruit-based dessert was called "sherbert". That's how my parents pronounced it. With two Rs. So I assumed it was spelled that way as well.

Apparently, both are right?