To paraphrase the philosopher John Locke‘s Essay on Human Understanding, the human mind is like a blank page, waiting to be filled up with knowledge. What John Locke didn’t say is that when you’re a kid, sometimes that knowledge is really just a bunch of nonsense. Because children believe a lot of malarkey about the world and how it works. Sometimes, this is because a parent or another adult decided to have a little fun and tell their kid something deliberately wrong, because it’s hilarious. Other times, kids come up with their misconceptions all on their own. Point is: kids believe some really dumb stuff.
Recently, writer Ross McCleary asked his Twitter followers to share the dumbest things they believed as kids, and provided an example of his own.
Photo Credit: @strongmisgiving
And his followers had a lot to share. So, if you’re the sort of person who used to believe that TV shows are performed by tiny actors inside your television, or that the sun just disappears every night, read on!
1. Smurfs are people, too.
Photo Credit: @kimmacaskill1
2. You don’t need a doctor, you need a plumber.
Photo Credit: @exBatHen
3. Putting yourself on Silent Mode.
Photo Credit: @dawnsgeddes
4. Cartoons are probably to blame for this one.
Photo Credit: @bigbankhank87
5. Pour one out for T. Rex.
Photo Credit: @karizzzz
6. 419 days a year
Photo Credit: @flanneldouchery
7. “And now, a word from our sponsors” is a LIE!
Photo Credit: @jtokeefe
8. Free money!
Photo Credit: @srthorpe
9. Put down the Diet Coke and say the alphabet backwards.
Photo Credit: @rivenscythe
10. Stuck in the clouds…literally.
Photo Credit: @glocparty
11. “I got shot by a blood gun on the way to my Superman exam.”
Photo Credit: @RonanMurphy16
12. When you watch TV, they watch right back.
Photo Credit: @alicelucyrose_x
13. Your shoes are shrinking.
Photo Credit: @lesley900
14. If you’re feeling dumb right now, don’t worry: this person still became a doctor.
Photo Credit: @DrAndrewV2
15. Wait, he isn’t?
Photo Credit: @chloefoster27
h/t: Bloomjoy Collective