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Ready to blush? Just kidding—nobody enjoys making their cheeks burn out of involuntary embarrassment in awkward situations. But this time, we are taking you on an emotional rollercoaster where it may be the only option.

It’s called blast from the past. Remember your 8-year-old self drinking coke in a wine glass, thinking you were as tipsy as auntie Becky at a family reunion barbecue, ready to pass out on the floor and beg for salvation? What about the time you cried for 10 days straight after finding out that gum you swallowed would stay in your stomach forever? What if I told you that you're not the only one? In fact, that little kid with ginger frock from school, your cousin from Wyoming, and I was all secretly doing the same weird things. So, let’s go down this cringe-inducing memory lane were things we all did as kids are laid out on the table.

Pandas, is anyone having a déjà vu moment? Then share your experiences and childhood memories in the comments. Also, scroll down below to see what Krystine Batcho, a professor of nostalgia at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, told Bored Panda about the influence that childhood experiences have on the course of our lives.

#1

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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Bob Beltcher
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No basements here, but same with the whole downstairs before going upstairs for bed. Hell, my wife still makes me go downstairs first in the morning just in case there's a murderous clown or rats. We've never had either.

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Catlady6000
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to race the cars driving by the. I would go out to the mailbox, wait til I heard a car and try to make it to the front door before the car passed!

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Falcon
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Too real, due to my work I sometimes have to go to basements... I "play" that "game" a lot.

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Maria
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4 years ago

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Sera the Dragon
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did something kinda similar. Whenever I saw an inactive TV, I would never break eye contact with it until I was behind a wall or something that obstructed it from my view because I was scared that if I looked away from it then it would kill me with the THX sound

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Steve Cruz
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The house I grew up in had a coal cellar: mass murder central! The second place we lived had a finished basement... I stayed down there all the time.

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Bev's Cuddlekidsthree
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or run and jump on your bed before the boogie man grabs your foot from under the bed

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jessa avila
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please !! I am 32 years old and this is me now!! Not really from the basement out but from the bathroom to my room! What if I get dragged by the boogie man !!?

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Razetime
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my sister is still scared to go up stairs by her self lmao

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DKS 001
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

sometimes I still try to freak myself out this way - for old time's sake

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Mia right
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I run like the LASH when that happens but I still can win the runner race 🥲

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Syra ‍‍
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've done that so many times I've lost count. I still do that too.

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Elianna Vega
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do that OMG, and then my brother(he's evil) makes me walk back downstairs and walk upstairs again

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Lynn Lola
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

bwahahaaaa! yep, did it every time I had to go down into our scary, unfinished basement, that even had, ewwwww....silverfish!

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John Baker
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My basement light switch was at the top of the stairs. ;-)

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Debrina Blackmoon
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i do that just in the short hallway from the living room to bed after watching a scary a*s movie-or sometimes not

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Charlotte
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm 27, engaged and own my own home and I STILL do this... my fella went away for 1 night and I had basically all the lights on lol!

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Alex T
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, I still do this after turning off the hallway lights at night

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Prof. Krystine Batcho, a licensed psychologist and scholar in nostalgia, has developed a universal tool to measure our emotions towards the past using The Nostalgia Inventory Test. It measures how deeply and often people feel nostalgic.

Bored Panda asked the professor about the role our childhood memories play in our lives. “Childhood memories can influence adult lives in a number of ways. They can contribute to our overall sense of happiness in life.” Social experiences we had when little turn out to be crucial. “Positive childhood social events, such as family get-togethers during the holidays or parties to celebrate birthdays or achievements, help establish good self-esteem and healthy social skills in adulthood.”

Prof. Batcho’s life-long research has suggested that “positive childhood memories are associated with more adaptive coping skills in adulthood.” For example, people with happier memories of childhood were less likely to turn to counterproductive ways of dealing with stressful situations, such as substance abuse or escapist behavior. Healthy coping is not something we’re born with, but rather “is learned during childhood by role modeling trusted adults, and memories of how respected adults coped with adversity,” said the professor.

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#4

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

FahadKhreji , rudyright Report

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What does a Foxxy say?
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to draw on my erasers and then stamp them on my skin whilst the pen ink was still wet.

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Most of us deeply cherish powerful childhood memories and carry them throughout our lives. Batcho explained that this phenomenon is called a “'rosy retrospection,' that is, a tendency to remember the past as better than it really was.” But there might be an evolutionary reason for it, because “a favorable focus on the past helps most people remain healthy and happy despite the practical and emotional challenges of adult life.”

On the other hand, one's current mood has a tremendous influence on memory retrieval. “When we are sad or depressed, we are more likely to remember negative events in our past and remember past experiences less favorably.” That’s why if you’re in a bad mood, it’s better to leave those blasts from the past for another time in order not to distort them.

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#19

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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Starbelly Eleven
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do this at my parents' house and I snarl and hiss because my dad's office is right at the top and I know he's sitting there witnessing it. I'm 46.

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#20

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MagicalUnicorn
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i always dreamed of having this one as kid, but mom said it was too expensive...

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#23

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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Bookey
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hated this!! And they'd ask "do you remember me"? How the flipping heck would I remember you?

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#26

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Hendra Lim
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i still feel so proud when i hide in the bathroom while the lights out, my cousins searching for me, even get in the bathroom but didn't find me at all because of the darkness and me silently dodging their hands movement, because i got adapted to the darkness)

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#28

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LOttawa
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I still do that when I go shopping with my teen. It's fun to innocently embarrass her.

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#31

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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#32

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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Danish Dynomummy
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So true. And the same snacks you had at home tasted 1000 times better at their place!

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#39

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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What does a Foxxy say?
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is such an old wives tale, so many people still believe this as adults. For those of you that do, it isn’t true.

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#40

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Ilona
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did that once.. they cared. I ended up being so embarrassed about pretending to have drowned that I actually pretended to have drowned

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#41

Things-Everyone-Experienced-In-Childhood

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