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Most of us have that moment, often later in life, when we realize that some tidbit of information our parents gave us was, in fact, entirely fabricated to achieve some outcome, distract us, or just create a little havoc.
So some netizens decided to ask the internet to share their best examples of white lies they discover later in life. Be sure to upvote your favorate examples and share your own stories in the comments section below. We also got in touch with Natasha Devon, a writer, presenter & mental health activist to learn a bit more about how kids perceive things.
More info: Natashadevon.com
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was really young my mom used to tell me a red dot (only visible to moms) would appear on my forehead when I lied. I used to cover my forehead when lying. Well played mom.. well played.
glowworm2 2 years ago
If it was actually visible to everyone else, the cat would’ve gone wild.
Jumping Jellyfishes 2 years ago
Definitely saw the cat toy laser dot while reading this
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ॐBoyGanesh 2 years ago
The regional one for me was our earlobes would turn bright red. Anytime we kids would grab our earlobes we were obviously lying. We used this “knowledge” on each other, too.
Monday 2 years ago
My mother went the Pinocchio route and told me my nose grew so I'd look down at my nose when lying.
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YetAnotherSarah 2 years ago
Had a boyfriend whose mother said his nose grew when he lied, when he was a little boy so he would hold his hand over his nose when he was lying. This result of this was that, well into his teens, he would unconsciously touch his nose when he was lying. Thanks for the tip, Elizabeth!
MurderMittens 2 years ago
It's called the Mommy dot. Only Mommy's can see them. This worked on my kids too.
RELATED:
#2
When I was a kid my parents told me and my brother about the candy witch. She was a nice witch who came on Halloween night when you were sleeping and took most of your candy, but left a present in return. So my brother and I got to keep 10 pieces of candy and the rest went to the candy witch, and when we woke up we had awesome presents waiting for us. And that’s how my parents got to eat all our candy and prevented us from eating a s**t ton. Super smart and will be using on my own kids.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
Oh, brother... You blockhead! (It's a reference, don't downvote me.)
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hearditontheX 2 years ago
My kid hid her candy bc she was convinced we stole the candy bars at night
StrangeOne 2 years ago (edited)
My daughter would just make a small pile of the candy she didn't like, such as Twizzlers, Mars bars and those molasses things. If I wanted another candy she just said to ask her. I thought that was fair. The candy was intended for her and she was the one awkwardly going up to stranger's homes and having to chat with them while they were sizing up her costume to see if it was enough effort for the reward. People are like that here. When I was a kid I was the candy witch, sneaking into my pumpkin pail ever so quietly at night, thinking my mom was asleep but still alert. She was always alert to the slightest sounds. Now I know it was because I had just brushed my teeth and I was risking the cavities.
Anonymouse 2 years ago
Wait... My parents did the same thing, except it was only 5 pieces of candy, so my siblings and I would just try to hide most of it 😂
Beetlejuice 2 years ago
My parents told me it was Jack Skellington from Nightmare before Christmas.
Kiki’sNotLookingBack 2 years ago
My parents did a "Switch Witch", where 10 pieces of candy= one dollar. Saved us from eating too much, we got money and it was donated. Awesome.
#3
To be quiet when hunting mushrooms because they would go back into the ground. Was in my early 20s before I discovered it was a ruse to just get us to shut the hell up.
Astrius 2 years ago
I mean, if i was a mushroom and heard kids making noise, I’d revert to the ground as well.
Juan Something(downvotevictim) 2 years ago
I'm not a mushroom and I still want to go in the ground when kids are making loud noises.
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Couragetcd 2 years ago
Oh no, this one is totally true. Also, don't step inside a circle of mushrooms.
Cat Chat 2 years ago
What else is he supposed to hunt. Last I heard they took his gun away. 🙄
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Firefly1617 2 years ago
Why? I don't pick them anyway because 80% likelihood the ones in the garden are poisonous but is this something new?
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Joshua David 2 years ago
I would've loved to see that epiphany moment. Did you tell friends that? Love it.
Bored Panda got in touch with mental health writer, presenter, and activist Natasha Devon to learn more about how a kid’s psyche develops and what influences it. “Our teenage years are such a crucial time in our development. There are the physical and hormonal changes we go through but there are all kinds of interesting things going on neurologically, too.”
“That’s why our experiences during this time tend to be magnified and imprinted on our minds in a way other time periods aren’t. I write young adult fiction (my debut novel, Toxic, which is set in a high school, was published last year and the sequel, Babushka, is out in October) and coming-of-age stories have a special resonance, I think. Even the most mundane happenings feel like an adventure.”
#4
My grandma told us that smelling each other’s farts would give us enhanced strength and agility. Worst Christmas ever for us, funniest Christmas for her.
Greenmantle 2 years ago
A dad joke courtesy of my father: a group of aristocratic women were sitting at a table enjoying a high tea. The host, who accidentally farts, tries to blame it on her attendant by exclaiming "Giles! Stop that!". To which the servant replies "yes of course madam, which way did it go?"
Nadine Debard 2 years ago (edited)
Oh I know another one. Not very classy. A lady invited another lady to have tea. The host had a little poodle called Kiki. Suddenly the guest farted and she was feeling terribly embarrassed, but the host immediately called out her dog Kiki. Relieved, she farted again, and each time the host yelled "Kiki!! Come here !" but the dog didn't move. The farting lady let go every fart she had, as the dog was the perfect suspect. After the most horrible one, the host shouted: Kiki, come right now or the lady will sh1t on you!
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#5
We were on a road trip one summer and I asked my dad what the purpose of rumble strips was.
He told me they were for blind drivers.
Igor914624 2 years ago
"Why is the blind guy driving?" "He is the least drunk!"
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Squirrelly Panda 2 years ago
My dad called it "driving by braille" if he hit the rumble strip by accident
Tee Rat 2 years ago (edited)
There's an old biographical drama film about blind Canadian musician Tom Sullivan called "If You Can See What I Hear". I won't spoil it, but there is a great scene of his friends teaching him how to drive.
Remi Flynne 2 years ago
Used to know someone who was a blind rally driver and a pilot. He's still alive - just moved away from the area.
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Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
My friend often goes over the ones on the side of the road. For fun.
Dylan Rivera 2 years ago
I thought that place under the bridge was a wall and the cars who were driving it were going to crash. #illusionpower
#6
My father always said the animals on the side of the road were just taking a nap because the road was warm.
DC 2 years ago
It may be kind, but doesn't "wholesome" require some sort of truth or wisdom to be represented? Lying because reality is cruel, ugly, digusting ... is lazy, lily-livered, self serving ... or kind. But it doesn't do any of the other ... or am I having the meaning of it wrong (genuine question, not a native english speaker)?
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Bob Brooce 2 years ago
Upvoted, but just because I'm impressed at your eyesight and observational skills.
Load More Replies... 80 Van 2 years ago
And the part of their body that needs to get the most warm flattens down in the shape of a tire track.
Zircon (she/her) 2 years ago
Um, that's just ketchup! The animals are all... actors?
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Robert Trebor 2 years ago
I'd been to Texas about five times before I saw an armadillo "awake".
Of course, realizing late that something was a white lie or even a more blatant lie can make an adult question a lot. We do tend to think the decision we make as teens have a lot of impact and generally these are decisions made with limited information, so we were curious to hear if our childhood choices really did have that much influence on our futures. “It’s weird how you can be completely different but also basically the same as you were in adolescence.”
“I work with teenagers in my day job (visiting schools and colleges and giving talks and doing research on mental health) and whilst they are definitely not the finished product and they’re going to try on several different identities before they find out who they are, you definitely get a sense of the essence of the person. You can see the building blocks they are working with.”
#7
If we didn't brush our teeth before bed mice will climb into your mouth and eat the food between your teeth. That's why your mouth tastes gross in the morning when you don't brush, the mouse poops in there
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
It's not actually COMPLETE wrong; they're just smaller than mice.
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Must Be Bored Again 2 years ago
We called them "cavity buggies". If you don't brush, they will eat the sugar left on your teeth and that made them have to poop. Their sugar poop would rot your teeth and give you really bad smelly breath.
Feathered Dinosaur 2 years ago
Ha we have the same, only they're cavity monsters! The grow on sugar and punch holes in your teeth! Then grandpa has to take out his dentures and show his stumps, telling her this happened to his teeth because he didn't brush his teeth as a kid
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LooseSeal's $10 Banana 2 years ago
Great unless your kid decides they want to be kind to the mice and go to bed with a mouth full of candy.
Yer maw 2 years ago
100% my kids, but it's strap to capture and keep them
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Daycare Attendant Sun 2 years ago
You only get...TWO sets! Yes, two sets of teeth! Take care of them!
FantastiKitty 2 years ago
A friend of mine once fell asleep after eating candy and woke up with a cockroach on his mouth.
#8
My son had a patch on his arm that was a hairy birthmark. I told him that he'd actually been born as a puppy and that gradually he turned into a boy. He lost his bark and used words instead, that he learned to walk on his back legs and to stop chewing bones and enjoy people food instead. The story was very elaborate, and then I dramatically grabbed his arm and pointed to the birthmark on his arm and declared this was the proof because it was the last bit of puppy skin left on him. He really believed it for a while and was delighted to have been a puppy.
Daniel Atkins 2 years ago
I had a great uncle with a skin graft scar on his face. He told us it was an alligator bite.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
My Dad had a huge scar on his knee. He used to tell people it was his appendix scar. He claims people would say, "That's not where your appendix is!" and he could tell them, "That's why they removed it," but I don't actually believe that ever worked.
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Tessa 2 years ago
I think this one I am about to tell is a well known one, but whenever my kids ask about the (still quite visible) stretch-marks on my belly, I tell them I used to be a tiger in a previous life and these stripes were left there to remind me of my tiger powers. My daughter believed me until she was 6 and then started to question me. My son still calls me his “strong mommy tiger” 💪😅 💛
Anagram margana 2 years ago (edited)
Apparently I’m the only one who thinks this isn’t a cute story and I anticipate the downvotes. I’m glad the child reacted happily, but it takes a cruel streak to go into that kind of detail just to fool one’s son into thinking he was born a dog. Had he told some friends, he’d have been teased unmercifully - and come away feeling mortified. I don’t know what kind of satisfaction this parent got from such an elaborate tale that had such potential to hurt.
Transylvalleygirl 2 years ago
No, you're not the only one; I was bothered by this as well. But I have zero tolerance for pranks.
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Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
I have 2 small round scars from mosquito bites on my left forearm. BUT - they are just the right size, and just the right distance apart, that I can tell people "and that's where the snake got me". The rusted iron faerie in my outdoor pot? "Oh, Chloe! Never touch a faerie if you see her in the woods. A human's touch will KILL them". Sincerely & with tears in my eyes. I love being a Grandma.
Howl's sleeping castle 2 years ago (edited)
I have a birthmark on my right cheek. I was told that I wasn't ready to come to earth so God branded me with hot iron and pushed me out. Don't take it otherwise. I found it really funny.
Bob Eckert 2 years ago
Why didn't you just help the child by having the birthmark removed if he wanted it removed? I think parents lying to their kids is always wrong
#9
My mom always told my brother and I that the car couldn’t work if we didn’t latch our seatbelts. She even faked a break down and pulled over on the side of the road when she caught us trying to sneakily unlatch to test her claim lol
MedusaWasBeautiful 2 years ago
There are newer cars that will not allow you to shift into drive unless the seatbelt is engaged.
Apatheist Account2 2 years ago
Telling us the truth - ie that we'd go flying through the windscreen - worked for us.
Remi Flynne 2 years ago
My cars ancient but it will beep like a mad thing if anyone undoes their seatbelt.
“When I hang out with the friends I made at school they know me in a way that friends I made more recently cannot. There is absolutely no BS because they understand the essence of me. I feel the same about them – They’re parents, now and have grown-up jobs. They have grown and flourished in so many ways, but their fundamental qualities haven’t changed.”
#10
Dad told me those were tomatoes he was growing in the basement. They were not tomatoes.
Sea Squirrel 2 years ago
My brother told my mom the same. A couple of days later, she told him the green soup she made, was tomato soup. He immediately rushed to the garden. His plants were gone. So was the spinach. But he didn't notice that. Mom had a good laugh.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
But that was the wildest soup she ever had.
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Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
When I was a teenager my mum had some small plant bulbs she had put in the vegetable drawer in the fridge (they had to be kept cold before planting or something like that). One night I was asked to put the roast on, and when it was served up there were several small steaming bulbs in with the pumpkin and potatoes. "I'm not sure what those are," I said, "I found 'em with the other vegetables, in a paper bag." I took a few moments to enjoy the looks on their faces before revealing they were actually some French onions I'd secretly bought. XD
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
You say tomato. I say toweedo. Let's call the whole thing off!
Ashley Schriber 2 years ago
I was told the same thing for the same reason. I don't get why tomatoes would be the lie of choice; eventually the kid would notice the lack of tomatoes. Why not a plant that doesn't grow a big, red, obvious fruit?
#11
Toys R Us is closed when the R is backwards.
The Mediterranean Fruit 2 years ago
I went to a Toys R Us when I was probably 9. All the kids that I saw inside the store were demanding and begging for toys. Even at 9 I thought those kids were rude and spoiled.
Tiramisu 2 years ago
My parents only ever took me when we had to buy gifts for other kids 😭 all my toys came from other stores
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#12
Those big rolls of hay on farms...my dad always told us they were elephant cocoons.
Trish 2 years ago
My dad told me that those round bales were illegal, because cows deserved a square meal.
Dan Flo 2 years ago
In Sweden they are covered in a white plastic. Told my young daughters they were cow eggs.
Caroline 2 years ago
My grandpa called those moose eggs when I was a child.
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Couragetcd 2 years ago
This seems like an example of when I would squint at my mom and ask if that was really true or if she was just saying stuff to answer because she didn't know again.
“Anyone who shaped our life journey is going to be interesting. First loves are always intriguing. That’s especially true if things didn’t end well. I think some people feel resentment if they imagine that their ex-partners are being a better version of themselves – one they potentially had a hand in creating – with new beaus! It’s also a way to imagine ‘What if’ – all those Sliding Doors moments where our life could have turned out differently.” she shared with Bored Panda.
#13
That if I kept hitting the horn in the car, it would run out of 'beeps' and we'd have to buy a new one and we couldn't afford that. I didn't know any different until I was 17 and learning to drive..
Phoenix 2 years ago (edited)
I'm surprised anyone in New Jersey still has a working horn then.
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Daniel Atkins 2 years ago
I think we should only get three honks a month on the car horn because people honk the horn too much. Three honks that is the limit. And then someone cuts you off you push the horn nothing happens you’re like s**t wish I wouldn’t have seen Ricky on the sidewalk Mitch Hedberg
Couragetcd 2 years ago
How about a honk per slam on the brakes? There are too many stupid drivers for a limit of 3 a month. I never honk to say to people, I don't people well.
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Will Cable 2 years ago
With so many manufacturers doing subscription for things like heated seats and steering wheels that are heated this wouldn't surprise me in the least if they started to charge per beep
Tee Rat 2 years ago
"For an extra $1000 we can add 10000 beeps." The automakers creating paywalls to hide features already installed on the vehicle should be illegal, but no, not surprising at all.
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Huddo's sister 2 years ago
My sister did actually break the horn on my mum's car. She couldn't get it fixed without it tripping the airbag. Now my sister owns that car and is going to have to pay to get it fixed!
Binky Melnik 2 years ago (edited)
Wow! I am astonished at the crazy, ingenious lies parents make up! My weren’t nearly as creative. The one I remember best, and that did the most psychic damage to me, was when my dad told me that boys would try to lie on top of me, and that if they did that, I might suffocate. (Thanks a LOT, Dad. This stupid thing was the reason I was a virgin until I was 21, and even then, I was TERRIFIED that I’d die trying to have sex! Grrr. 🫏🕳️!) (And you didn’t lie well enough, Dad, as you didn’t say I’d risk death if a GIRL tried to lie on top of me! Ha!)
Jan van den Broek 2 years ago
When my son was two years old I let him use the horn, making the owner of a BMW parked next to us, very worried storming out of a restaurant.
#14
My dad told my brother that growing in chest hairs is an excruciatingly painful process. Days later, as my brother walks past my dad in the living room, my dad clutches is chest and screams, "AAARRRGGHHHH! Another god damn chest hair!" Scared bro sh**less. He believed it until he grew in his own.
#15
My mom said they only named hurricanes after girls otherwise they would be himicanes.
Isaac Harvey 2 years ago
Or "iicanes," "youicanes," "weicanes," or "y'allicanes."
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ThatG 2 years ago
They were given female names until 1979... from then they alternate between male and female. OP was probably told that during the reign of the female hurricanes.
Load More Replies... Ultimately, understanding the past can bring peace and closure, as well as some degree of entertainment, but it’s not necessarily the key to unlocking something special in the present. In most of these cases, the real value was reminiscing on the clever, weird, or just a bit of fun. And if you want to hear more from Natasha Devon, you can find her book here, her website here, her Instagram here and you can listen to my LBC show every Saturday.
#16
My sister hated eating fish when she was little, so whenever my parents fed it to her they told her it was "aquatic chicken". universal thing.
Gamin Coda 2 years ago
That really confused Jessica Simpson back in the day.
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Snorkeldorf 2 years ago
When my daughter was little my MIL made delicious ham and pea soup. Got my daughter to try it by telling her it was dragon stew. She loved it, for a while. Don't know whether she found out it wasn't dragon stew or her fondness of dragons made her stop eating it. That one may have backfired.
Feathered Dinosaur 2 years ago
Aren't shark toothy fish? So you'd be an aquatic teethed chicken lady 🤪
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Bamamom2boys 2 years ago
I told my youngest that turkey is white ham. It was the only way I could get him to eat it. Kid loves ham
Uncommon Boston 2 years ago
My son told me he had chicken that came from sheep for dinner. Clearly we were failing to expand his vocabulary to include, 'meat'.
#17
That the mannequins in clothing stores were kids who didn't behave and were taken to the "dungeon" in the store. Where they would promptly be made into a mannequin...
Kel_how 2 years ago
I think Doctor Who had an episode about mannequins coming to life, but I don't remember the details
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Mark Johanen 2 years ago
My parents tell me that when I was little I was afraid of department stores. They finally asked me why and I told them that I was creeped out by all the "dead people". Apparently I thought mannequins were dead people. Thinking about it now, it does sound pretty creepy.
Apple Jakes 2 years ago
I think this was an episode of "Are you afraid of the dark", or something similar
Craig Clark 2 years ago
This was also a plot point for an episode of Get Smart sometime in the late 60s
#18
My parents when I was kid (starting from the time I was about 4), told me I was adopted from the zoo. Told my brothers and my entire family to tell me the same damn story. The reason they said this is because my tailbone sticks out farther than it should. (IT IS WEIRD. I KNOW IT. DONT MAKE FUN DAMN IT). So when my third grade teacher asked me to bring in a photo from where I was from. I moved to Florida from New york and I brought her a picture from one of the zoos up there. I explained the story about how my dad stole a monkey from the zoo. Cut off my tail just far enough so I became human. Needless to say she called my parents and they then had to explain to me i wasnt adopted from the zoo.
Couragetcd 2 years ago
This one is messed up. OP is obviously self conscious about their tailbone years later. Unless it required medical attention, no one would have known or noticed this. If it did need medical attention, OP would know they were not really a monkey.
Lord Voldedork 2 years ago
Maybe he was just a kid and believed it back then?
Load More Replies... David 2 years ago
GRR! My child may get teased due to their elongated tailbone. Let's amplify that with a BS story about them being a monkey so they will get a lot more ridicule from their peers AND destroy the basic trust between parent / child. There's no way that could go wrong! GRRR. DON'T LIE TO YOUR CHILDREN
Binky Melnik 2 years ago
I’m thinking a lotta kids might LOVE thinking they were a monkey. After all, how many times did we hop, flop, and spin around on the jungle gym, proclaiming “Ma, loo!k I’m a monkey!”? This kid mightta been delighted with the story, at least for awhile. (My mom said we were fish as we forced her to take us to the beach as many as seven days a week in the summer. I kinda assumed all folks told their kids they’re one type of animal or another.)
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pineapple87 2 years ago
I've never understood lying to kids just because you think it's funny how gullible they are. I understand the lies connected to preventing bad or dangerous behaviour I understand, but something like this is just messed up.
#19
I was born with a full head of hair and my mom said that she knew I would have lots of hair because she would cough up hairballs while she was pregnant. It took until high school anatomy class for me to realize there is not a direct connection from your uterus to your throat. Also women don't cough up hairballs
Couragetcd 2 years ago (edited)
There is an old wife's tale that if you have bad morning sickness, your baby will have a lot of hair. Nothing about hairballs though.
Monday 2 years ago
Huh for us it's heartburn. Story goes that if you have terrible heartburn during pregnancy your kid will be a hairy one. I wonder where these stories come from.
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Fussy1 2 years ago
"Also women don't cough up hairballs" Oh the comments are flowing fast and furious in my brain right now! But I'm kinda enjoying my lazy rainy Saturday morning here, so I'll just keep quiet or I'll be showing myself out...Again.
Tessa 2 years ago
😂 I loved this last sentence from OP.. “just adding this notion to the story to be complete” they must have thought.
Load More Replies... Yer maw 2 years ago
I have however pulled a scary length of hair out my eyeball thinking it was an eyelash but turned out to be a head hair - thing just kept on coming
Cat Chat 2 years ago
That happened to my daughter. She asked if I could see anything in her eye, thinking it was an eyelash, also. I could almost feel it with her as I was pulling it out.
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Nightshade1972 2 years ago
My brother had a full head of hair when he was born. My mother waited as long as she could, he ended up getting his first haircut at 2-3 mos old because it was long enough it was starting to get in his eyes. He sat in my mother's lap in the barber chair.
#20
My parents got divorced somewhat early on, so my mom spent years being a single mother with four kids. Unsurprisingly, we were poor and didn't have dessert all that much. When she would be able to bake a cake, we were forbidden to run or jump in the house because that would make the cake "fall" and be ruined. Of course we weren't willing to mess that up, so we would be quiet for an hour - which was exactly the intention. Only somewhat ashamed to admit, I was in my early twenties, relaying this "fact" to my girlfriend, when it hit me what she had done.
The Mediterranean Fruit 2 years ago
Certain cakes can fall due to extreme or sudden noise...I think. Correct me if I am wrong
Squirrelly Panda 2 years ago
I believe there are some homemade baked goods that hit a delicate point in baking where a slight vibration can make them fall. Your standard box cake mix is not one of them.
Data1001 2 years ago
Yeah, it's actually your girlfriend who is clueless here. Cakes can definitely fall due to vibrations like jumping or running in the house.
Skip Marooch 2 years ago
What kinda house y'all live in where jumping or running around would affect a cake on the kitchen counter?
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Jumping Jellyfishes 2 years ago
I never experienced a cake falling until I moved to high altitude. Sometimes just opening the oven door will cause it to fall. I suspect it has to do with causing a temperature drop when I check too early, rather than vibrations
Spittnimage 2 years ago
My mom would tell us the same thing in the 60s when she made homemade cakes, probably would've back then.
Nice Beast Ludo 2 years ago
I never knew this until my husband told me not to close the oven door too hard or it will collapse.
Anne Ferguson Mawdsley 2 years ago
My mam told us not to bang the back door when she was baking a cake, was she having us on? I’ve always been careful with doors when I’ve baked in the past!
#21
My parents told me I had to tell the mailbox where a letter was going or else it wouldn't get there.
They would watch and laugh as 5 year old me would talk to the big blue mailboxes.
Mark Johanen 2 years ago
Hmm. Seems kind of crude to tell your child a lie, and then laugh at them for believing it.
Nitka Tsar 2 years ago
It‘s funny to me personally, that they talked to a blue box, the picture has a red one and my country has yellow ones.
Downunderdude 2 years ago
Told my son that there was a mouse that lived in the fridge that turned the light on and off when the door was opened and closed. Came into the kitchen to find him e-a-s-i-n-g the door open hoping to catch the mouse doing its thing.
#22
My dad told me my goldfish ran away.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
Neither, he went to live on the farm where op's dog(s) and cat(s) went when they got old 😉🙂😁
Load More Replies... The Redhead 2 years ago
I think it's wrong to tell a child their pet ran away opposed to being honest that their pet has passed on. I knew a woman once who told her daughter that her cat had run away; in reality the mother didn't like cats & dropped the cat off at a shelter while she was at school. That poor little girl was heart broken thinking she had done something to make the cat run away. In my home pets are not disposable. We had two cats. Three days before my daughter's 4th birthday we had to have our 18yr old cat put down. We explained to her that the kitty was old & sick so she went to God's house; she's young & healthy again & is happy. Our daughter accepted that & understood.
Francesa Miller 2 years ago
I had a goldfish that actually did run away. It leaped out of the tank and dried to a crispy golden color behind the table before being found.
#23
My parents used to set the clocks back on New Years Eve. For years we thought it was a special treat to stay up until "midnight" to ring in the new year, when really it was only 9 o'clock. I never saw the Times Square ball drop until I was 16!
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Actually they are setting the clocks forward not back. Shades of Mr Bean...
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
Haven't seen so many people waiting for balls to drop since Justin Bieber.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
When Mom is tired, you celebrate New Years in London. When she's really tired, it's New Years in Moscow.
Bob Brooce 2 years ago
This person still screws it up when trying to fall back or spring forward.
Shelley 2 years ago
My nmom lied to us constantly-still does. She would set the clock back an hour and tell us it was bedtime (I could read analog clocks). With her next two kids, she started giving them phenergan (sp?) at bedtime. I have an interest in true crime, and recall when I first read about parents doping their kids up for sleep. Mom played the mind games, dad beat us with his belt when he got home and she reported our misdeeds. We were 5 and 3 yrs old. No contact now.
#24
That the German for windscreen wiper was Flippenfloppenschmerenmachinen. It was a April fool that was believed for about 6 months
Lord Voldedork 2 years ago
Petition to change the word Scheibenwischer to Flippenfloppenschmerenmachinen!
Deamhayness Doom 2 years ago
As a German I must say that this sounds rather Dutch than German^^
Bob Brooce 2 years ago
I thought everybody knew that flippenfloppenschmerenmachinen was German for an old wiper blade that needs to be replaced.
#25
When I was little (think six or seven) I was terrified of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. It just so happened to be one of my dad's favorites. So, to help my sister and I get over our fears, he used some positive reinforcement. Every time we got on the ride, we would find a silver dollar next to us. Dad said the pirates had given us some of their treasure. It took me an embarrassingly long time to put two and two together. I thought every kid got treasure.
Couragetcd 2 years ago
If bribing my kids got me extra rides on my favorite park rides, I would in a heartbeat
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
I was so afraid of fast rides (particularly roller coasters), that I'd sit on a bench to wait for everyone else.
Fussy1 2 years ago
Someone in the group needs to be the official purse/bag holder picture taker. I always nominate myself so others can enjoy themselves carefree. I'm selfless like that!! Lol
Load More Replies... Bob Brooce 2 years ago
Why would anyone be afraid of that? Even when it breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.
Skip Marooch 2 years ago
Put away like 3 Dollars a week per person and after 5 years you got like 800 bucks per person. Bam, Disneyland
Load More Replies... #26
When i was really young, my mum would unplug the bath and told me if i didn't get out before all the water had drained, i would get sucked down and have to live in the sewers...
glowworm2 2 years ago
That would only encourage the kid more because the teenage mutant ninja turtles and flushed baby alligators live there.
Bubs623 2 years ago
Mr Rogers has a whole segment about this. It is a legitimate fear for many kids- to go down the drain. I have a bracelet engraved with his words "you can never go down drain!" just to remind the wearer that most if not all your fears are unfounded and can be conquered
Couragetcd 2 years ago
My 7 thought this all by himself wen he was younger. I had to wait until he was out of the room before starting the drains n.
Nice Beast Ludo 2 years ago
I saw that rugrats episode and it terrified me... even at the end when they didn't get sacked down but their legs were going halfway in it was scary to me
Duckie Measles 2 years ago
I swear that show is the root cause of my anxiety.
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Phil Green 2 years ago
We had a bath monster, which was sucking all the water down. If you didn't get out he would suck my son down with it. I am 64 now, I tell the cat, who likes to watch her two, full-size humans bathing, the same thing... I'm not sure she believes me though.
Ryan Edwards 2 years ago
I've always been suspicious of the tub drain. When mom would give us bubble baths, I would scoop away the bubbles near the drain area so I could have an unobstructed view of any emerging danger.
#27
If I misbehaved, Michael Jordan would retire. I remember so vividly the first time he retired. Then I did everything they told me and he came back out of retirement.
Couragetcd 2 years ago
Rebellious streak during the Wizards. Had a bit of a dumpster fire of a year when Jordan decided to play baseball.
Load More Replies... Binky Melnik 2 years ago (edited)
This one’s odd, isn’t it? How did his folks know MJ would retire? What if he hadn’t? This trick wouldn’t have worked. (Now I’m thinking folks coulda used this with Steve Jobs; towards the end when he left, it was a daily thing: he’d decide he was leaving, then the next day, he’d changed his mind, then the next day, he’d change it back … this went on for MONTHS such that everyone was all “Oh, FFS! Just GO already!” Had people outside the company known that, they coulda had complete control of their kids! “Look what you did! Steve’s gonna retire now! Oh, thanks, pimple; because you were good, Steve decided to stay!” etc, etc, etc.)
#28
My dad told me that kiwi fruit was actually monkey eggs.
This led to a bunch of rotten fruit under my bed.
GoldfishCrackers 2 years ago
Or was too scared to eat the fruit and hid it away. 🤣
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Binky Melnik 2 years ago (edited)
I Was 21 when an employée of mine (He was a high school kid, so part-timer) had a crush on me and usta bring me small presents. Once he gently placed a kiwi fruit on my desk. I’d never seen one, and thought it was a small animal. I stared at it, waiting for it to move, and when it didn’t, I worried that he’d squished it in his pocket. I looked at him, waiting for a reaction, and he was looking at me, doing the same. Finally, I asked “Is it dead? Did you kill it?” He burst out laughing and asked, “Bink, what do you think it is?! Have you never seen a kiwi fruit before?” (Seen one? I’d never HEARD of one.) I was sooo embarrassed that I said “Of course I know what it is! I’m just funning with you. 😀” took every drop of courage I had to pick it up, put it in my purse, and take it home to my boyfriend to deal with. He cut it open —I nearly fainted!— then was delighted when he put a chunk in my mouth. Edison Chan, wherever you are: thanks for the lesson nine kiwi fruit! 💋
#29
In order to get me to stop sucking my thumb when I was really young, my mom told me that if I kept on doing that it would turn red, then purple, and then fall off. I ignored her warning and kept on doing it. One night when I was sleeping, my mom dyed my thumbs red. I woke up freaking out but quickly resumed sucking my thumb. The next night she dyed it purple. I freaked out so bad I never sucked on it again.
Patricia Healton 2 years ago
I sucked my thumb at bedtime until I was 11 and always had a perfect bite. Don't believe all old wives' tales.
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Xio in California 2 years ago
My youngest brother was 6 and still sucking two fingers. My parents had tried everything to no avail. He even thought getting his fingers rubbed with jalapeños was yummy seasoning. Our pediatrician finally told him she needed to perform delicate surgery at his well child appointment. She rubbed merthiolate and said it was anesthesia. She then pretended to use her surgical tools on him and then did some serious bandaging on them. Never again did he suck those fingers despite serious withdrawals. 40+ years later and he hasn't outlived this one!
Shark Lady 2 years ago
My mum used to paint my thumb with that bitter stuff that is used to stop you biting your nails. Ugh it was awful but it didn't take me long to stop sucking my thumb.
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
My mum tried that with me (and many other things) and I just learned it to x amount of time to suck the coating off and then it was fine again! I'm sure now that my thumb sucking was related to my anxiety but no one picked it up at the time. The thing that finally made me stop was the thought that I would accidentally do it in public and the boy I liked would see!
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Ryan Edwards 2 years ago
My perpetually grumpy father, an otherwise gentle soul, got so frustrated with my thumb-sucking that he put tobacco sauce on it one day to get me to stop. He only did my left thumb, as that was my sucking thumb. Even on that particular day, it was impossible for me to suck my right thumb because it was just the "wrong" thumb and felt uncomfortable. Within an hour or two he apologized for losing his temper and told me to go wash off my thumb. I don't believe either my mother or me ever told him that she and I had already washed off my thumb about 15mins after he originally marinated it.
Mark Johanen 2 years ago
My mother told me that sucking my thumb would make my teeth fall out.
Monday 2 years ago
Better to scare them into stopping than have them f**k up their palate though. I'd rather have an irrational fear of my finger falling off than have actual dental issues that need time and procedures to be corrected.
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Philly Bobcat 2 years ago
My Dad used to dip my thumb in hot pepper juice. I stopped sucking my thumb but now I love hot peppers and spice!
#30
One New Year's Eve when our daughter was about five, she decided that she wanted to stay up until midnight. By 9pm, she was overly tired and generally foul. By 9:30, we had enough. We explained to her that since her dad is Swedish, we celebrated Swedish New Year. Which we conveniently decided took place at 10pm. We all made it to bed by 10:30. For the next few years, we celebrated "Swedish New Year" until she was old enough to put the pieces together and realize that she had been lied to.
Mark Johanen 2 years ago
Sweden is 6 hours ahead of US Eastern Time, so "Swedish New Year" would actually be 6 pm Easter Time.
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ॐBoyGanesh 2 years ago (edited)
Genuine curiosity: reading that last line, what do kids take away from being lied to and does that affect their trust when they’re only enough to realize? I get little white lies to avoid topics that are beyond comprehension level. But I’m unclear if lying to manipulate coerce cajole control modify behavior is just a silly, harmless game or if it causes issues with trust. I ask because I can’t think of any lie told to me as a kid except that our earlobes turned red if we lied, which older kids figured out & shared with us almost immediately. And I really try to be 100% honest & forthcoming with my kid in hopes it sustains his childlike curiosity or sense of wonder. No judging the lies, just don’t fully understand them.
Harley Green 2 years ago
I completely agree. I enjoy those teachable moments, and when they come to you for answers, unless I had too, I don't lie.
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Mav Mav 2 years ago (edited)
How did they explain to you the fireworks 90mins after you all went to sleep?
Tomato Froggo 2 years ago
That’s not hard, cause at least where I live people are shooting them off constantly even after midnight. And the days after too, it’s really annoying
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Marley Nachi 2 years ago
in Australia, we have an early fireworks celebration so that kids can go to sleep early
Robert Trebor 2 years ago
We were gathered at my church in Austin, Texas for New Years Eve, and we have a report from the pastor, a pot luck supper, and play games until midnight. One year, by ten pm the weather was getting bad, and it was windy and snowing, so we declared that it was midnight somewhere, and went home. I go 30 miles one way, others 25-35 miles, and Austinite drivers don't know how to handle slippery roads, so this was prudent. We all made it home safely, but the news was full of after midnight accidents.
Keira Pendragon 2 years ago
I mean, aside from the specific time zone chosen, was it really that much of a lie?
#31
When I was little I badgered my mom to look at something while she was otherwise occupied and she said "I am looking, I have eyes in the back of my head." For years after that I suspiciously examined the back of her head trying to find those hidden eyes.
R Dennis 2 years ago
My mom said she had eyes everywhere... I remember checking under the TV, in the thermostat, above the couch...
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
I woke my mom up one night, looking for the eyes in the back of her head.
Load More Replies... Fussy1 2 years ago
My now 30f and 27m believed this for many years, even had some of their friends convinced. Helps to have a mirrored back china cabinet on one wall and a very large painting covered in glass on a different wall. I could casually look up from the dining table and see one with a wooden spoon lifted to swat the other or the two of them lovingly exchanging 'hand gestures' or making faces behind my back. Kept those little A$$holes on their toes for years. 2023, my 30f has the china cabinet and 27m the painting, as both have said they want to "do parenting right". Lol
Collette Moisan 1 year ago
I told my kids that, because they asked me how I knew what they were doing, when I wasn't looking. One day my son climbed up behind me & started going through my hair. I asked what he was doing, & he said looking for my eyes. I said, that I close them when I don't need them! lol
Penny Kemper 2 years ago
My son believed I had eyes in the back of my head, because I could see what he was doing in the back seat of the car while I was driving. Lol
Keira Pendragon 2 years ago
Ironically, after 16 years, without ever really being told I have eyes in the back of my head, my son has concluded that I legitimately must have. Ah peripheral vision ftw.
#32
If I went outside without telling them where I was going, elves would kidnap me and only let me eat brocoli.
Couragetcd 2 years ago
At least it wasn't the broccoli monsters getting the bad rap this time...
Mycroft1967 2 years ago
And if you don't go to bed gnomes will come and steal one sock, so you can never find a pair that matches.
ShellO 2 years ago
These gnomes must live in my house, my odd sock bag is ridiculously big
Load More Replies... Holy Shimmering Sheeps541t 2 years ago
When my cousin was little my aunt would tell her the Muppets would get her if she misbehaved, she grew up terrified of them, has absolutely no recollection of this now. But I maintain the way she was brought up was why she's married the biggest most misogynistic ahole to walk the earth, none of our family like him.
Friendly neighborhood possum 2 years ago
Broccoli?! *Proceeds to go outside without telling anyone where i’m going*
A. Starhawk Hunt 2 years ago (edited)
I’d have asked if I could have ranch and some carrots and I’d polish their shoes for them…. At a potluck one time I tried a miniature chocolate cake. Swallowed it, said “Gah!” and grabbed a piece of broccoli to get rid of the taste. Cracked up my coworkers.
Binky Melnik 2 years ago
I can’t stop laughing evilly! This is BRILLIANT (though I woulda though Brussels sprouts would work waaay better). Seems to me the yucky-food elves could be used in many (most?) situations to scare kids into doing whatever the hell you want/need ‘em to! Wow! I’m now so disappointed at how unimaginative my folks were. 😕 (Then again, I spose they didn’t need to be as the beatings worked REALLY well.) Kids will believe nearly ANYTHING, so it’s gotta be a BLAST making up crazy stuff to manipulate us!
#33
As a way to get me to eat my crust when I was younger, my parents told me that eating it would make me whistle. Unfortunately, I believed this until I was 15 because I’m a dumbass.
RabidChild 2 years ago
Don't feel bad, my Dad told me spinach would put hair on my chest. I don't know why I, as a girl, thought chest hair was something to be desired but it got me to eat spinach. Looking back, I'm pretty glad Dad was full of s**t.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
I'm strong to da finish, coz I eat my spinach! I'm Popeye da sailor man! Toot toot!
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Nightshade1972 2 years ago
When I was younger, I didn't like eating crust--either bread, or pizza. It reached a point where my mother had packed me a sandwich for lunch in first grade. My teacher saw me leaving the crust behind. She decided it'd be a good idea to make me stay behind until I ate the crust (small private school, they could get away with stuff like that). It surprised her greatly when I told my mother about it, and my mother called the school to complain. "Yes, I already know Nightshade doesn't like eating the crust. Yes, I know it's 'wasteful'--but so what? She's eating the rest of her sandwich, she's eating whatever else I packed in her lunch, she's drinking the beverage I packed for her, so what makes you think you have the right, as her teacher, to make her stay late at lunch just because she didn't eat the crust?!" That was the one and only time my teacher pulled that stunt. As I got older, eating the crust no longer bothered me, I'm perfectly willing to do it now.
Roland Charron 2 years ago
My grandfather used to say that all the vitamins were in the crust.
Heather Talma 2 years ago
I was told it would make my hair curly and I desperately wanted curly hair so I became known as someone who LOVED eating her bread crusts.
yellowphantom 2 years ago
We were told it would make your hair curly. My sisters and I had stick straight hair, that was not a popular look then, and my mom's was wavy, so we would even ask to eat her crust.
#34
When I was a kid I asked my mom what the word was for a female's private parts, and she told me it was "vagola". And then one day we were at a Thanksgiving dinner and my mom was being mean to me in front of my family, so I wanted to get back at her and yell something very inappropriate. Lets just say my family was very confused when I angrily yelled "VAGOLA!!!" to my mom at the dinner table.
Realistic_Lemons (any) 2 years ago
This could’ve led to some problems if this kid or one of their friends ever was touched inappropriately. They would never know the proper names for parts and therefore wouldn’t be able to explain what had happened.
Cat Chat 2 years ago
What? Plenty of kids have been able to let someone know without having to know the proper words. For example, dolls can be used for a child to point out what they are talking about. Even adults can forget an exact word for something and still get their point across. Or, am I also supposed to believe 2 people who don't know each other's language won't ever be able to communicate?
Load More Replies... Binky Melnik 2 years ago
I did something similar: an older kid in high school told me how to say “Go to hell!” in Latin. Imagine my horror the day I screeched that at my Latin teacher, smugly thinking I’d told HER off! When she told the class I’d said “I walk on the shore,” I wanted to die.
#35
When my siblings and I were younger my parents would sometimes (usually weekend mornings) lock their bedroom door. One of us would almost always want to just come in and say what's up, but they would tell us through the door that they were in there talking about "Christmas presents." Be it June, August, s**t even January, it didn't matter - That was the go to excuse since it worked. They played our asses. Anyways, now all grown up, we kind of figured it out and it has become a punchline for our family now. "Hey dad, did you get mom a good birthday gift? Hoping to have some serious discussions regarding our Christmas presents?"
Couragetcd 2 years ago
Yeah...want to come in just to say what's up ....sure...no demands about being hungry or fights with siblings or messes that need cleaned up....right....parents probably needed a barricade along with the lock just to feel secure.
Xio in California 2 years ago
We'd tell our kids it was "ñaca ñaca" time, so they couldn't come inside or know the door, or it'd break the spell and ruin Christmas/Halloween/birthdays, etc. One time, the day before Thanksgiving, my husband and I retired to sleep early (for real). Our littlest one told our visiting family it was our "ñaca ñaca" time, so please don't break the spell or it'd ruin the holiday.
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
My parents just say “no interruptions unless blood or fire,” and let us have free rein over the rest of the house for an hour or so. Works like a charm.
FaceTime Audio 2 years ago
In my house the rules were always “don’t wake us up/come in unless there’s a fire, you’re sick, or we need to call 911.” Nightmares were also a valid reason, but I always thought they’d be mad for being woken up (they never were) if I got them for a nightmare, so most of the time I’d take a walk around the house or read to try to calm down. Worked well for them.
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Kimberly Young 2 years ago
My parents told us they were flipping the mattress and we couldn't come in because they might drop it on us.
#36
When I was little, my mom told me that, if I touched a caterpillar, my head would swell to twice it's size. She got my older sister to confirm it as well, saying she saw it on the news. I believed this without question until I was 17 and my friend went to pick up a caterpillar. I said, "Don't! Your head will swell." As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized how stupid I was.
Verena 2 years ago
Some of them are poisoness, so this actually could happen. White lie, which is okay
I heart Boo-BI-es 2 years ago
I didn't know that some caterpillars were actually poisonous until I was an adult..lol
Load More Replies... Alicia M 2 years ago
My parents had me absolutely terrified to pick up any feathers on the ground. They made me think birds had germs that were so bad that I could get severely sick, or even die, by merely picking up a feather off the ground. I don't even want to think about what would happen if I ever touched a dead bird. To this day I do not understand why my parents were like that.
Mary Hiers 2 years ago
I was terrified of mushrooms until I was a teen because we lived in a very damp climate (so mushrooms were everywhere) and my brother told me they were all poisonous, even if you just touched them.
Christof Irran 2 years ago
My mom told me that if touch frogs you get warts. I guess she was sick and tired of finding frogs all over the house.
#37
My father didn't actively try but I was convinced that he knew everything. When I asked stupid kid questions like 'why is the sky blue?' or 'how does the sun shine?' he would whip out this long as ELI5-ish scientific explainations about them. If he didn't know he would change the subject, research it later and then would tell me. He f-ed up when he was in a bad mood. I was 6 maybe 7 and asking a generic question like 'what are we having for lunch?' It was the first time I've heard him say 'I don't know' and I was so shocked. I even exclaimed 'But Dad you know everything!' I was 100% convinced that he was omniscient and he could have kept that illusion for so much longer :( Still. Good job, dad, good job...
David 2 years ago
I had a similar situation with a friend I have known since her birth who thinks of me as her big brother. I enjoy learning about a wide range of things so on most topics I know some info or if a question is interesting and I don't know I'll go research it. She was far into adulthood when one day my answer was "I don't know" and she expressed surprise to her mom because she thought I knew everything. Which is silly of course because nobody knows everything but she was just used to me having an answer when she asked me things. To clarify - I never lied to her or knew she had that impression so the comment was a surprise to me.
Mark Johanen 2 years ago
Reminds me of the story of the tather, fed up with questions, who finally exclaims, "Why do you always ask so many questions?! When I was your age, I didn't pester my parents with all these questions." To which the child replied, "If you had, maybe now you'd know the answers to mine."
Binky Melnik 2 years ago
You’re lucky. What my dad knows would fit in a teaspoon with a lotta room left over. (I did, however, think that all adults had millions in the bank. I didn’t think any of them was rich; I just believed that “millions” meant that grownups could buy anything they wanted.)
Load More Replies... Cat R 2 years ago
I thought my dad knew all. As I got older, I realized that he always had an answer for absolutely everything, but a lot waa made up stuff. I don't believe that he ever said that he didn't know. As an adult, I know he is a liar, a cheat, an adulterer, and loves to brag about how he gets away with.those things. No contact for years, much better that way, but sad.
Lene 2 years ago
I also try to explain stuff to my kids in an as scientifically correct way as possible. And if it's relevant I'll even google for pictures. The biggest topics have been about why Thor and his goats don't hang out/live in Churches, why there is thunder, how skeletons look (and if they are evil), and what zombies like to eat. 😁
Binky Melnik 2 years ago
How dumb are your kids that they don’t know that zombies eat brains? (Please don’t downvote me; I’m making a joke!) (Though I do have a serious question: I thought they eat brains. If they don’t, then what the heck DO they eat?)
Load More Replies... Isaac Nemo 2 years ago
This is all the sweeter than the child thought it up and believed it on their own.
#38
My mom would tell me there were bugs in my nose when I had a cold to make sure I blew my nose.
FaceTime Audio 2 years ago
Is there actual harm in not blowing your nose? You’ll be uncomfortable and you’ll make weird sounds sniffing up the snot, but will it actually cause damage or make you sicker?
Zircon (she/her) 2 years ago
Not exactly sure, but I believe sniffing it up might cause infection in your nostrils or throat because the mucus isn't being removed.
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#39
I had 7 ~~younger~~ brothers, which kept sliding down the staires and they all died.
I never slided down a stair. S**t is dangerous
Apatheist Account2 2 years ago
These would surely have been older brothers...if they were younger, the OP would have known them.
No spam 2 years ago
Of the many people who post here, English is not always their first language. Or, yes, they just don’t always know all the grammar. Gotta try and help folks when we can whatever the case 👍
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#40
My mom once told me that while she was reading at the beach a severed hand washed up onto her foot. I was horrified for YEARS until one day I brought it up and she said "Oh, I wasn't serious." No life lesson involved, just some mom f**kery.
meow point1 2 years ago
I don't think she was trying to get the kid to do something; I think she was just making a morbid joke.
Load More Replies... Shark Lady 2 years ago
On the Scottish coast police are often called by members of the public who have come across a severed human hand. In come the forensic scientists and 99% of the time it's a seal flipper.
Alicia M 2 years ago
My mom, who is known as the person in our family who lies all the time, told me as a child that my cousin witnessed some crazy stuff going on at our County fair. They were apparently selling live pigs, sticking them on spikes, and people were walking around the fair with the pigs squealing in pain, and no one cared. This bothered me so much that I never forgot and years later I brought it up to my cousin, who quickly informed me that it was just another lie my mom told and he teased me a little for believing it, but I was really young. I literally don't believe anything she says anymore. She is most likely lying and she is a person who loves to cause chaos and seems to get off on other people's suffering. This made me feel so bad for so long and I was really angry at my mom when I found out she lied. It messed with my sister's head for a long time too.
Tessa 2 years ago
Sorry she did this to you! These don’t sound like cute lies. This messes with your brain! I hope you got help to restore some faith in people.
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#41
My mom told me if I made weird faces, my face would get stuck that way.
Brainmas 2 years ago
I was waiting for this one. My grandparents told me this too. For some reason there was also something about getting smacked in the head while making a face to make it stick.
Monday 2 years ago
For us it was the clock! If the clock chimed for any reason while you were making the face your face would get stuck like that forever.
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Couragetcd 2 years ago
I'm actually surprised this one is here because I think we all heard it. Except my kids. I critique and send them back to the mirror to practice until they can raise one eyebrow
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
I met the woman it actually happened to. She was a (sadistic) guard at the prison I was in. Talk about resting b***h face! I think that she just trained her facial muscles due to her extreme sourness.
MINNI THE HAMSTER 2 years ago
Wait...this is fake?!?! I'm serious guys. Man my family have some talking to do.
Annita Stephanou 2 years ago
Other kids' parents used to tell them that if they cross-eyed eventually their eyes would get stuck that way. I used to do that and that is what those kids told me. It had the exact opposite result: It made me test the theory more. (My parents never did; they knew me too well)
Lori Lewis 2 years ago
Back in the 60's it was if you crossed your eyes they would get stuck that way
#42
That orangutan was pronounced "Orange-newton".
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
Anyone remember the MythBusters episode where they tried to make a massive Utan's Cradle?
#43
My mom told me that if I was a pack rat, that meant actual rats would come and make nests in my things.
(I was about 7, and had been tossing toys and clothes behind a little couch in my room as a method of cleaning. After she told me about what being a pack rat meant, I tearfully knelt on the couch with a bent wire coat hanger, fishing things out, terrified of rats.)
Brainmas 2 years ago
Found a dead mouse in my daughter's room, so she's not wrong. Not even any food in there, just clutter all over the floor.
Deborah B 2 years ago
My Dad told us there was a mouse that lived behind the kitchen pantry cupboard, and it would come out at night to eat crumbs if we dropped food on the floor (we ate in the kitchen). Backfired a bit, when we moved, they found a lot of moldy bread that had been posted between the side of the pantry and the fridge, "for the mouse."
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
Rats will absolutely make nests in piles of junk. I give mine old bits of clothing to build a nest out of, and they'll add cardboard, paper, bits of straw and basically anything else they're able to drag in there. Once I left my fox pelt hanging too close to the cage and they managed to grab the tail through the bars, rip it clean off, and go to sleep on the remains.
Jane Cortez 2 years ago
Rodents can carry Hantavirus, ticks with various diseases, all sorts of other diseases, not to mention starting fires because of chewing electrical wires. Get rid of mice in your house asap!
Shelley 2 years ago
The hanta virus is in the fecal matter of mice. Masks should be worn while sweeping or disturbing feces from mice, as inhaling the virus is the way of transmission.
Load More Replies... Annita Stephanou 2 years ago
My sister, although adult, didn't pick up her room for months on end. And even when there was a mouse in there, instead of tidying up, she would sleep in the living room till my dad took care of the mouse.
#44
Bread crust is the healthiest part of bread so I had to eat it. I was like 25 when I figured that one out.
bElLa sTairZz 2 years ago
how would it be true? its just bread that was cooked more!
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Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I've always found them too dry, but even when eating soup I have to have a drink between mouthfuls! My mum just told me 'save the best 'til last' and even in my 30s I still do that with meals. Sandwiches or toast I eat the crust first, then the inside. No way mum was letting us waste food!
Load More Replies... Mark Johanen 2 years ago
Some day I've got to research this. Because if the crust is NOT healthier for you than the rest of the bread, why do mothers want you to eat it?
brittany 2 years ago
i got told that about bread crusts and fruit peels like apples and pears. all the nutrients was in the skin and the rest was just sugar. lol
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
Well fruit skin does generally have more fibre...
Load More Replies... Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
The proper way is to eat the bread bottom to top, so you end up with the best part of the crust for last.
Keira Pendragon 2 years ago
Nono, around the outside starting at the top. The top crust is actively the most unpleasant bit imo. The bottom is meh, the SIDES are the best. :nodnodsagenod: xD
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ProbablyNotBehindYou (he/him) 2 years ago
I heard that, but didn't care and still don't eat it
Philly Bobcat 2 years ago
I love the "heels" of the loaf of any bread the most! Especially long rolls like Italian or French breads.
#45
If you break a pinky promise your pinky will melt off over night
John Dilligaf 2 years ago
You just don't break pinky-promises. There's some 5th grade secret drama s*it I'm taking to the grave because of pinky-promises
Hanako-Kun 花子くん 2 years ago
Me and my siblings would always say if you break a pinky promise well chop it off (we were not serious just to be clear)
Katrina M. Alecson 2 years ago
Mine and I went further, we would claim we would take said p8nkt and jab it into the eye
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Rob(erta) Roy 2 years ago
In my family, if you break a pinky promise, whoever you made the promise to can chop of your pinky. No one has ever broken a pinky promise around here...
#46
They said if anyone poked my bellybutton my butt would fall off, so whenever a family member would tickle me or try to poke my bellybutton I would cry and run away.
Snakebite Mcghee 2 years ago
My dad told us if we unscrewed our bellybutton our legs would fall off.
Luci 2 years ago
My mom told me if I kept playing with my belly button I would unscrew my legs.
Load More Replies... Keira Pendragon 2 years ago
I was and still just am, horrified of my belly button. I don't care how irrational it is. Nothing to do with butts though. I just don't like anything going near it.
#47
Mess up in school and it will stay on your permanent record. That's the weirdest lie told to me by my parents.
Couragetcd 2 years ago
Thank you for coming in to interview for our open managerial position. Now, I see here that you were late to French in tenth grade because you went to the bathroom without a hall pass? Can you explain your thought process during this incident?
RabidChild 2 years ago
I was a kindergarten drop out. I would have been totally unemployable!
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AnnaRachelle 2 years ago
I think that saying that to a child is putting unnecessary stress on them..in secondary school,I get it
Mark Johanen 2 years ago
Many years later I thought. When I'm 40 years old and apply for a job, is the interviewer going to say, "We were going to hire you, but then we say in your Permanent Record that in 3rd grade you chewed gum in class. Sorry."
Kimberly Herbert 2 years ago
I have a variation on that one. Spring of my 7th-grade year, I ended up in a medical study about my not being left or right-handed. I used my right hand for some things, and others mainly writing I used my left hand for. The study requested to look at my school records. The doctors then asked for a meeting with my parents. They discovered my 3rd grade teacher had forced me to use my left hand by physically punishing me if I used my right hand. Until then I had written with my left hand to the middle of the paper then switched to my right. (Red flag for LDs that I was later diagnosed with). The study was required to report the physical abuse she DOCUMENTED and some other flat-out cruel things she documented. The district did an investigation. She seemed to have picked a kid to harass and abuse each year. She was told to quit or be non-renewed.
River wolf 2 years ago
…that’s not a lie. However, not ALL mess ups go on it, so you were probably just lucky and pretty well behaved.
Francine Oglethorpe 2 years ago
Right, we have to fill out life cards as teachers. It has all your grades for every year and a picture on the back....so
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Binky Melnik 2 years ago
I’m pretty sure most of us were threatened with our “permanent records.” It’s kinda evil, but I believe it worked on a LOT of us!
kansasmagic 2 years ago
The followup was that you could ask the school for a copy of your "permanent record" once you graduated. I tried that and got a transcript. But then I was very well behaved.
#48
When asking what "Ped Crossing" meant on street signs, my parents told my sister and I that Peds were 2 headed dog beasts that were incredibly violent. They then proceeded to tell us vivid stories of their close encounters with these beasts and their narrow escape from death. Needless to say, my teachers in school were quite confused when I tried to explain my fear of Peds.
Mark Johanen 2 years ago
When I was a kid the signs in our town said "Ped Xing". My big sister told me that Ped Xing was a Chinese person who made signs.
#49
If you don't eat your vegetables, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will die.
#50
My mom used to say: If I didn't cover my mouth while yawning, a bug would crawl into it. As stupid as that sounds, I still cover my mouth to this day. I hate bugs.
Daniel Atkins 2 years ago
Well it is easier than explaining what being polite is to a very young kid and trying to come up with an answer as to why we do it to be polite.
David 2 years ago
No it's not. we just told my grandkids it is rude and people don't want to see the inside of their mouths. It was not a difficult concept. You can teach a child manners without lying to them.
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David 2 years ago
This is sort of true in a "can happen" kind of way. When you yawn you typically have mouth wide open and are inhaling. I've had small bugs like a gnat go down my throat when yawning and it is an unwelcome surprise. But yes to the obvious that covering is more about manners than bugs.
Janice - Hazeldine 2 years ago
Not untrue. I have seen this happen on several occasions. Of course you need to be in an area with a lot of bugs. Most commonly house or horse flies. Its not pleasant.
Jeremy Bell 2 years ago
Then she taught you good manners. We aught to start doing it with hats/caps that are worn indoors/cafes/pubs etc.
Mary Hiers 2 years ago
My friend's mom told her that if you keep your eyes open while you sneeze, your eyeballs will fall out.
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Monday 2 years ago
Feeling inspired I messaged my mom to ask what had actually happened to the bunny they "took to the farm" when I was like 8 or 9. I figured out as a teenager that "going to the farm" meant pet death but never really asked how he died. Turns out he actually did go to a farm. A local petting zoo type place actually. I spent my childhood believing the truth and convinced myself of a lie in my adulthood xD
glowworm2 2 years ago
Aw! I love that this one was actually true and the bunny lived a good life there.
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Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
Not my story, but my dad knew a guy who got skin cancer and had to have his nose removed. Supposedly he was at the supermarket one day and had forgotten to wear his prosthetic, and some little kid kept staring at him until the mother noticed and said "that's what happens if you pick your nose!" Friend apparently thought it was hilarious.
witchling 2 years ago
My kids couldn't go with us to Jamaica because there was a sneaky group of people who'd go around and steal the big toes from visiting kids to make 'kid toe soup'. Don't judge me. My kids were/ are brilliant negotiators and I need something to set them on the back foot. It was funny enough that they weren't horrified and they still tease me about it to this day. And they've been to Jamaica as adults since. Yes they have all their toes.
Petra Schaap 2 years ago
when i was 6 my mom told me the first day of the new school year, a monday, all the moms were so happy that all the kids went to school again, they would activate all the emergency sirens at noon. LO AND BEHOLD! (yes, the Netherlands is one of those countries that test the emergency sirens every first monday of the month....) i was so impressed :-D
Taryn Pirelli 2 years ago (edited)
That my mom had a receipt to the hospital and could take us back if we were bad.
Nice Beast Ludo 2 years ago
My dad used to scare the s**t out of me with the thumb trick. He was absurdly good at it. I really thought he was pulling off his thumb.
SnackbarKaat 2 years ago
At the zoo as a toddler, my dad told me the crocodiles escaped. I was terrified! Oh he also told my cousin he was going to eat her pet rabbits. He was named 'uncle poison' for a good reason.
Monday 2 years ago
Feeling inspired I messaged my mom to ask what had actually happened to the bunny they "took to the farm" when I was like 8 or 9. I figured out as a teenager that "going to the farm" meant pet death but never really asked how he died. Turns out he actually did go to a farm. A local petting zoo type place actually. I spent my childhood believing the truth and convinced myself of a lie in my adulthood xD
glowworm2 2 years ago
Aw! I love that this one was actually true and the bunny lived a good life there.
Load More Replies... Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
Not my story, but my dad knew a guy who got skin cancer and had to have his nose removed. Supposedly he was at the supermarket one day and had forgotten to wear his prosthetic, and some little kid kept staring at him until the mother noticed and said "that's what happens if you pick your nose!" Friend apparently thought it was hilarious.
witchling 2 years ago
My kids couldn't go with us to Jamaica because there was a sneaky group of people who'd go around and steal the big toes from visiting kids to make 'kid toe soup'. Don't judge me. My kids were/ are brilliant negotiators and I need something to set them on the back foot. It was funny enough that they weren't horrified and they still tease me about it to this day. And they've been to Jamaica as adults since. Yes they have all their toes.
Petra Schaap 2 years ago
when i was 6 my mom told me the first day of the new school year, a monday, all the moms were so happy that all the kids went to school again, they would activate all the emergency sirens at noon. LO AND BEHOLD! (yes, the Netherlands is one of those countries that test the emergency sirens every first monday of the month....) i was so impressed :-D
Taryn Pirelli 2 years ago (edited)
That my mom had a receipt to the hospital and could take us back if we were bad.
Nice Beast Ludo 2 years ago
My dad used to scare the s**t out of me with the thumb trick. He was absurdly good at it. I really thought he was pulling off his thumb.
SnackbarKaat 2 years ago
At the zoo as a toddler, my dad told me the crocodiles escaped. I was terrified! Oh he also told my cousin he was going to eat her pet rabbits. He was named 'uncle poison' for a good reason.
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