Ridiculous things people told you when you were little..

[SallySkelington]

I once spent an entire summer break digging a hole to China. My parents didn't care until it got very deep. I could sit in the bottom and no one could see me. I did it all with a kitchen spoon. They filled it in on me.

Now that is dedication. Spoon and all!

 

[NFLDERS]

I once spent an entire summer break digging a hole to China. My parents didn't care until it got very deep. I could sit in the bottom and no one could see me. I did it all with a kitchen spoon. They filled it in on me.

So.. What real trouble were your parents keeping you out of?

 

[snoopyluvsdis]

We went to the deer park in the Wisconsin Dells where you could feed the tame deer kernels of corn. My Dad demonstrated how you could feed the deer by putting the corn in their ears. I believed that one for a long time.

 

[tigercat]

My brother was told that the sandman would be around to help him sleep. He didn't want any sand in his eyes so he slept with the blanket over his face. He is in his 60's and he still does.

He told my kids that green olives were fish eyes. To this day they won't eat olives and they are in their late 30's.

tigercat

 

[Handbag Lady]

My father convinced my sister and me that any time we drove through a tunnel, if we didn't put our thumbs up on the inside ceiling of the car, the tunnel would cave in on us. (This was well before seatbelts were in vogue.)

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My mother told me that if I ate the crusts on my bread, I'd get curly hair. I faithfully ate all those crusts and I have the straightest hair you've ever seen. I was so disappointed to find out that wasn't true.

TP

 

[minkydog]

My step-dad was raised by Russian parents and his Ba-ba (grandma.) To say they were superstitious is putting it mildly. They had a superstition for EVERYTHING.

Ba-ba told him that raw cookie dough would make his insides stick together and he believed it well into his 60s. When my oh-so-practical nurse mom tried to disabuse him of this belief, he was horrified---horrified that anyone would try to tell him his Ba-ba didn't know what she was talking about.

Ba-ba told him that boys weren't supposed to sit on the living room furniture because it would make them "less manly". And I kid you not, he sat on the floor IN HIS OWN HOUSE until he died at age 72.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I was raised on the ridiculous story. Watermelon or other seeds would grow into a plant in your belly. Grandmother would look for leaves in my ear. Lying would make your tongue turn black. She always knew somebody. She knew somebody who jumped on the bed and their eyes got crossed. They hit their head on the ceiling and their eyes were stuck that way. Somebody she knew went to high on the swing and went all the way around and the chain wrapped around them and they were killed....
My sil was the queen of this. She knew somebody who went to the zoo and snuck a penguin out in his backpack. She knew somebody who licked envelopes and cut her tongue and bug eggs got in and hatched in her tongue.
Apparently I told a few to my kids, most notably the one about seeds. I didn't think they believed me. To this day one of them reminds me of how upset this made him.

 

[aprilchem]

My parents told us that if you sat too close to the TV then you wouldn't be able to have babies when you grew up.

 

[threecrazykids]

My Grandma was infamous for telling us any bad habits we had would "give you worms".

I had a habit of chewing on the ends of my hair. "You're gonna get worms if you keep chewing on your hair".

Same went for chewing your nails.

Never did get worms.

 

[gracie1]

That's what my mother told me; thunder is the angels in Heaven bowling. And I told my kids the same thing. A really loud clap of thunder was a strike.

I heard this as well - that everyone in heaven was either bowling or moving furniture. Lightening meant they made a strike and raining meant god was crying.

 

[FergieTCat]

My mother told me a little man lived in our dishwasher, and if I didn't empty it fast enough, he would throw the dishes at me. Now, he lives in her computer and deletes her pictures.

 

[KristaTX]

My dad told me that brown spots on bananas were caused by spiders biting them. I eventually realized it wasn't true, but I'm 43 and I still refer to the brown spots as "spider bites".

He also told me the thing about watermelon seeds growing into plants in your body if you swallow them.

 

[NFLDERS]

My Grandma was infamous for telling us any bad habits we had would "give you worms".

I had a habit of chewing on the ends of my hair. "You're gonna get worms if you keep chewing on your hair".

Same went for chewing your nails.

Never did get worms.

threecrazykids: On the off chance your username reflects having three.. And one of them has inherited the hair chewing habit (was the reason for warning) It's possible to create a hair ball that may block the intestine!

Eww.. I know but thought disers may wish to know this.. or not.

 

[PaulaSB12]

and that you believed? Back in 1984 when I was 5, I had a neighbor who had a dog that was identical to the one who played Sandy in the movie "Annie." I told her one day "This looks so much like Sandy from the movie Annie." She told me it WAS Sandy. OH wow!!! I thought I was soooo cool because I lived on the same street as a movie star dog. LOL!!!! I swear kids believe everything you tell them.

My sister told me that the car wash was the cybermen coming to get me. I was told by teachers that swallowing chewing gum would give me appendicitis, but no matter how much I swallowed the appendices is still there.

 

[NFLDERS]

My mother told me a little man lived in our dishwasher, and if I didn't empty it fast enough, he would throw the dishes at me. Now, he lives in her computer and deletes her pictures.

The last sentence a thought like that of nightmares!

 

[threecrazykids]

threecrazykids: On the off chance your username reflects having three.. And one of them has inherited the hair chewing habit (was the reason for warning) It's possible to create a hair ball that may block the intestine!

Eww.. I know but thought disers may wish to know this.. or not.

Yep, I have 3. They are all too old to believe any tall tales now. Dang it! They know WAY more than anyone else on this earth anyway... I do have nieces that I could scare the bejeezus out of though.

 

[SirDuff]

Somewhat specific here, but my parents told me that the police were after me and I believed them for years (they didn't tell me for years, I just believed it for years).

My crime? Dropping (and smashing) a watermelon at the grocery store and then running away. I was about four or five so I only ran just outside the store (didn't live within walking distance of the grocery store - at least not for someone that age).

More general...

Quitting smoking cold turkey meant that you ate cold turkey to get over the cravings. I just assumed that there was something in the turkey (i.e. tryptophan) that mimicked nicotine.

 

[Tazicket]

My Dad told me that when you lose a tooth, if you don't stick your tongue in the hole, you'll grow a gold tooth. I never lasted very long.

 

[lovesmurfs]

My uncle used to tell me that the lemon filling in cakes (ew) would put hair on my chest. No worries there....

Same uncle still has my nose, I believe. He didn't give it back the last time he took it from me.