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It's the lens of your past experiences through which you understand the world. But when you're just a kid and haven't been around for long enough, or simply lack guidance from adults, you will formulate your own interpretations of how everything works.

But since they're often based on imagination, it's only a matter of time before reality crushes our naive beliefs. And we at Bored Panda decided it would be fun to check out what misconceptions people had when they were little.

Digging around Twitter, we compiled the funniest "I grew up thinking" statements and put them together into this amusing list. So continue scrolling and enjoy!

#1

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Limey Cheesehead
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you grew up in the 60's & 70's quicksand was a real fear. The number of TV shows & films that made you think it was certain death were a tad too numerous.

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#2

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Limey Cheesehead
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was very disappointed years ago when we had mice...and there was no cute hole with a welcome mat out front.

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Sure, we can run from the world, even deny the truths that seem too difficult to accept. But this doesn't get us anywhere. In an earlier Bored Panda interview, social science writer and researcher Jeremy Sherman, Ph.D., MPP, highlighted how human life is uniquely anxious compared to other organisms.

"Just compare the range of worries a human could have compared to any other critter. No contest. To cope, we need denial, escapism, entertainment, but to survive we need all hands on deck in reality too," he explained to us then.

"I'm on a campaign I call 'optimal: see illusion, safe escapism or strategic gullibility', encouraging people to take their denialist flights of fancy but always with a return ticket to reality safe in your heart pocket. It's not how far out you go, but whether you remember to come back. The big difference between a death metal concert and an authoritarian political rally is what happens in the parking lot after. After the metal concert, people return to reality. After the rally, people think they've experienced something more real than reality. That's dangerous."

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#4

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Nadia Montera
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First time I flew to Bahamas, I was terrified and did not understand why the plane will not make a detour. LOL

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One study of 2,000 adults across the United States, which was commissioned by global tour operator G Adventures, suggests that the average American spends 12 hours and 56 minutes escaping their reality each week. (That's roughly four years over a lifetime.)

The most popular forms of disconnecting from work, responsibilities, and everything else that drives them crazy came in the form of reading books (1 hour 34 minutes), watching movies (2 hours 37 minutes), and dreaming of vacations (44 minutes).

#6

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girlsrock4ever
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not illegal, but parents banned it “because everyone will see what we’re doing.”

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But, again, this can't go on forever. Jeremy Sherman thinks people can make it easier for themselves by focusing on what he calls ironic fallibilism.

"An ironic situation is one where you get the opposite of what you expected: you do the right thing and it comes out wrong or vice versa. An ironic attitude is recognition that despite your best effort, ironic situations are not entirely escapable. There is no sure-fire formula for living. Just when you discover the meaning of life, it changes."

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"Ironism is not cynicism. It's the recognition that life is deeply tragic and deeply slapstick. Life is tragicomic," he explained.

#10

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Olivier VD
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Marcin Woizciwizynksy asks if it's ok to go home now. He's tired of being the South Pole. You could say he doesn't like his Pole position.

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#11

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Amanda Rose
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Rose, one is testing. Fourteen is brunch!" Golden Girls reference.

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#12

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

100 dollars is a lot if you have no bills to pay. That's like, 172 pounds of bananas.

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"Fallibilism is a concept in philosophy and more than any other notion, fallibilism has given me peace of mind about dealing with reality," Sherman continued.

"I think of the fallibilist mantra as 'no matter how confident I am in a bet, I remain still more confident that it is a bet. Life is iffy guesswork. Yoda is wrong. There's only try. One can make better bets. One can bet with high confidence. One can't escape betting."

#15

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Kate
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

... no, they're about as much a problem as I imagined. That's why I don't leave my shoes outside.

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#17

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Jrog
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TBH, fight against Acid Rain was one of the few successful environmental action taken in modern times. Since the 1970s, new regulations passed worldwide pushed for the widespread introduction of de-sulfurization processes for fuels (especially crude and coal) and technological innovation let to cleaner high-temperature combustion processes. This efforts more than halved the emissions of acidifier agents in the atmosphere. Acid rain impact has been successfully mitigated in America and EU, it is still a problem in mainland China, especially in the east, due to general lack of environmental responsibility, use of cheap dirty fuels and high concentration of industries with old machinery.

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Sherman sees ironic fallibilism as the antidote to two unworkable approaches that are often combined:

The first one is fundamentalist hypocrisy, or pretending you have the formula for living though you don't, can't, and shouldn't live by it. And the second one is cynical hypocrisy, or pretending there's no formula so you can do whatever you want.

"[Jerks] (I'm a psychoproctologist) employ both. Everyone should live by their supposed fundamentalist formula that they cynically don't think they have to live by. No deed is too dirty for saints like them."

#19

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Limey Cheesehead
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's more of an issue when you have your own apple tree. The worms are very real.

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#20

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Boreddd🇺🇦
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I legit thought that the bride kissed the groom and boom! She's pregnant! I used to be so stupid💀

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#21

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ThatOtherPanda
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean seriously, let’s replace “rock paper scissors” and flipping a coin with this!

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We must constantly work on educating ourselves and seeking knowledge that can provide answers to questions we sometimes can't even articulate. It's one thing to grow up thinking it's illegal to rip off your mattress tag. But it's another to take this notion into adulthood and beyond.

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History can be a nice subject to start with, as it shows what happens to those who deny the facts, reminding us about the scientific method and that following the evidence we gather is our best bet to navigate the world.

#22

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#23

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Amanda Rose
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This reminds me of a story that my dad likes to tell. When he was in college, he couldn't decide between majoring in geology or marine biology. He asked his advisor for some input and his advisor told him that he should go for the marine biology degree because if times got tough, he could always eat his experiments. My dad became a geologist! 😂

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#24

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Florence O'Grady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always hoped I'd get to go through a tunnel of love and be kissed inside. Never happened.

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#25

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a person who passes a family of skunks every day on my way to work, I still think this.

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#26

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Florida, but without the beach
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is actually the test now here in central Florida. I think it’s ridiculous and in no way prepares kids to deal with the roads around here

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#27

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Jo Focquet
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my country (belgium) it is in fact illegal to drive without shoes because of safety

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#30

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Jack S
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's cos it's made from recycled tears from the local hospital.

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Note: this post originally had 94 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.