Growing up is all about learning — but sometimes, the things we're told as kids don't exactly turn out to be true.
U/PrimalCarnivoreChick recently asked the people of Reddit, "What things were you told growing up that were just plain lies?" Maybe you'll learn a thing or two here in the process:
1. "I once asked my dad how waves at the beach were made. He said, 'Whales.' I believed that for years."
—u/InSight89
2. "My Nana would say, 'You're getting so tall!' whenever she saw me. I'm 5'1" — are you making fun of me, Nana? Is that what's happening here?"
3. "That moths were the ghosts of butterflies. Cheers for that one, dad."
—u/BudgetCoach_
4. "I was told in 4th grade science that our blood was blue in our bodies on the way back to the lungs, and that oxygen makes it red."
5. "That Saddam Hussein shot down Santa's sleigh with an anti-aircraft missile on Christmas Eve, 1990. My grandpa was a liar — Santa is alive and well."
6. "I need to behave in school because I have a 'permanent record.' LOL, no."
7. "'We are almost there,' during a long car journey."
—u/Iamaga10
8. "My math teacher telling me I wouldn’t always have a calculator in my pocket."
9. "If you keep making that face, it'll freeze that way."
—u/Ilcucf80
10. "'Just eat the crust, it'll make your hair curly!' My mom must have just been trying to make me appreciate those uneaten pizza corners."
11. "That the boys tease you because they like you. No, they were bullies."
—u/MadMomma85
12. "I was told in 2nd grade that I needed to know how to write in cursive because that’s how everyone writes as an adult. Lies!!!!"
—u/Graciehedgie
13. "This is going to sound silly, but I believed in the Sesame Street version of reality. It was really hard to reconcile the world as it actually is and the world as it 'should be,' if you side with the Sesame Street ethos."
14. "My mom always told us it was illegal to have the lights on in the car."
—u/chemto90
15. "Our D.A.R.E. officer in elementary school said the reason marijuana was so dangerous is because the smoke never leaves your lungs."
—u/SubKreature
16. "Swallowed gum takes seven years to digest."
17. "'You’ll understand when you are older.' I’m almost 30 and still don’t."
18. "My grandpa told me he wouldn't swim with me at the beach because he's made of salt and he'll melt. I believed him."
19. "Life is gonna be easier after school ends."
—u/Renanr_c
And finally...
20. "Go to college and you'll be successful."
Got your own? See you in the comments!
These entries have been edited for length and clarity.