For most of us childhood is a time of wonder and exploration. Each day greets us with a feeling of newness and promise of adventure and finally ends with us protesting that there is still more to do. During our childhoods we learn about the world and how it works but as we do this we often get strange notions that make perfect sense to us at the time. Everyone has a story or two about what they believed as a kid that they later found out are true and the following is only a small collection of some of the most common childhood myths.
10. Color didn’t exist before Color Television
This myth is actually not as common as it was when black and white movies and television shows where still common fair on TV, but it was a very powerful one among several generations of children. The idea behind this myth is that color TV shows look better than black and white shows do. Because of this fact it is a very logical jump to assume that the reason black and white existed at all was because there was no color in the world.
9. Someone in their 30’s is old
When you are in the first blush of life and can still count your age on your fingers adults seem so much older than you. It’s actually kind of funny when you think about how it works. When a child of seven years of age looks at someone ten years of age that seems like a very big difference to them so when they look at someone who not just triples their age but quadruples it that can seem quite ancient to such a young mind. While we eventually learn that someone in their thirties isn’t really old, it’s hard not to see it that way when you are a kid.
8. All I need to survive on my own fits in a knapsack
Most children threaten to run away from home at least once in their lives, and many go so far as to pack for their new life. Most children tend to include favorite toys, maybe some candy, and occasionally a change of clothes or two. In their mind this is everything you need to survive in the world and with a head lifted high in dignity they will march down the road a bit. As they walk along the road slowly the realization that they are leaving behind a pretty good thing starts to sink in and thankfully they seldom make it further than a couple of blocks.
7. Cars can’t turn unless you use the turn signals.
This one comes about from children observing the actions of adults. As an adult drives, they always use their turn signal before turning (unless you live in California). Eventually a child will ask “why do you use the turn signal” and most adults respond “Because I can’t turn without it”. While the adult means that using a turn signal is about safety and laws, the child understands it to mean that the car actually can’t turn unless the turn signal is used.
6. Gravity is created by the world spinning really fast
It’s kind of hard to track down the actual beginning of this myth but most likely it was because of how a tornado or other similar phenomena sucked nearby things into it. This actually makes a lot of sense if you consider that not only children but many adults look at things through the lens of cause and effect. When a child observes something happening that becomes part of their knowledge and they apply that observation to other questions such as why gravity exists. We know the truth of gravity is now about the mass of the earth pulling on us, but that’s a very abstract concept to explain to a child.