We have all been told a white lie by our parents when we were kids, and we believed them for months (and sometimes years) after.
On Fully Charged with Cormac and Daniella this morning, we went through some of the things SPIN 1038 listeners were convinced were true.
Cormac got the ball rolling with something that many listeners agreed with.
1. The past was in black and white
We've all seen those movies from years beyond where there was no colour, and we've all seen segments from TV shows that were in black and white.
This led Cormac and many listeners to believe that this was what the world was like back in the day.
So you could look around your surroundings, and all you could see was everything in black and white.
One texter said: "Cormac I also thought that and asked my dad once if when he was small did he ever see colour!"
While another listener tweeted us with her own additional theories about silent movies:
@spin1038 I thought the same about black and white when I was a child!! And thought the people in silent movies were always silent 🙄😂
— Cloe Prendergast (@clo3p) May 3, 2017
Oh our curious minds as a child.
2. When you went through airport security, you had actually arrived at your destination
This was something I personally believed.
I was going on my first foreign holiday with my parents at the age of 5, and the concept of getting an airplane to another country completely went over my head.
So I came to my own conclusion (that my parents went along with) that once we got through security at Dublin Airport, we had arrived in Portugal.
3. Fish lived in our toilets
One texter got in touch with the show, saying that she believed that fish had been living in her toilet bowl for about a year.
She said: "When I was a child I dropped my pencil sharpener down the toilet and my dad told me it was OK because fish needed to pair their pencils too. I then proceeded to think fish lived down my toilet for about a year after."
It's not beyond the realms of possibility that people would believe fish have their own life.
4. Various conspiracy theories involving China
There was a couple of people who got in touch with different beliefs involving China.
One texter said something a lot of us would have believed as kids, digging the hole big enough to reach China: "Hi guys, when me and my brother where kids are mum and uncle told us one day if we dug a hole deep enough we would be able to see China, we had two shovels and spend the majority of that day digging, but no sign of China."
10/10 for effort on actually busting that myth.
Meanwhile, another one appeared to take the fact you can see the Great Wall from the Moon the completely wrong way, by saying: "When I was younger, I believed you could touch space and the moon from the wall of China, confused with the fact that you can SEE the wall of China from the moon."
Easy mistake to make!
5. The Celtic Tiger
I think it's fair to say that many people still have their own conspiracies about the Celtic Tiger, but one texter gave a legitimate idea on what the Celtic Tiger actually was: "There used to be a giant inflatable tiger on top of an esso petrol station at Blake cross near lusk - I thought THAT was the celtic tiger everyone was talking about at the time!"
As good an explanation as any.
6. Turning your eyes in and getting them stuck there
This was another one I was led to believe actually happened, and I became afraid of my life of it.
One texter told the show: "When I was a kid I used to turn my eyes in and me Ma would tell me that if the wind changed direction I would be left like that for ever."
I didn't quite believe that, but I was told if someone frightened me while doing this, it would stay like that.
Slightly related, another one linked their eyes to picking your nose: "My cousin told me if I picked my nose my eyes would pop out, I didn't pick my nose for about 3 weeks then I chanced it. I still have my eyes."
Great news for nose-pickers worldwide!
7. Extractor fans sucked you in
This is one people I haven't heard of before, but when your dad tries to convince you in the worst way possible, it's definitely one to be easily believed.
That's what happened to one listener, who told us: "Hey spin, when I was younger my dad used to tell me that the extractor fan could suck people up into it, he turned it on one day and proceeded to pretend he was getting dragged into it! I ran and hid and was terrified for a solid 5 years.. I m 29 now and no longer afraid of the cooker."
Oh how evil our parents could be!
8. The curious incidents involving the belly button
There were a couple of different lies spread about the belly button.
The first one comes from a listener who tweeted the show:
@spin1038 my parents told me that there was a screw inside your belly button and if undone your bum would fall off. @wackerthediver
— Neil Murphy (@smurfdadrummer) May 3, 2017
Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'the arse fell out of it' doesn't it?
Meanwhile, another listener was told another fib about what happens when you untie your belly button: "As I have an outy belly button I used to think that if someone untied it I would fly around the room deflating like a balloon, just like when you let go off a balloon and it goes everywhere...worst thing is when I asked my parents about this they went along with it for years."
Did we miss anything? What silly things did you believe as a child? Let us know in the comments below.
For more of your weird stories, tune into 'Fully Charged with Cormac and Daniella' - Every weekday morning from 7am-10am only on SPIN 1038.
