Becoming an adult is realizing that at least half of the stuff they told you as a kid is totally wrong. Young children believe and learn from what adults tell them. Life is constructed upon a lie. According to developmental psychology research, young children, including those as young as three, have a strong tendency to trust the testimony of adults.
That gullible phase explains why so many of us spent years believing myths like swallowed gum staying in your stomach for seven years or that stepping on cracks actually breaks your mother’s back.
Children are chemically predisposed to trust figures of authority, and that understandably leads to some pretty stupid conclusions that will stick in their brains for a little too long. Ready to walk down memory lane and giggle at some of the most insane things you believed?
Swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years
This little ditty struck terror into children everywhere, who feared they might accidentally swallow their Hubba Bubba gum. The truth? Your digestive system processes gum just like any other indigestible object.
According to KidsHealth, swallowing a small amount of gum is not harmful, and the myth that it stays in the stomach for years is false because the body can pass it through the digestive system within a few days.
The seven-year timeline probably came from well-meaning parents trying to discourage gum swallowing. Still, it became one of childhood’s most persistent myths. Most kids believed this so strongly that they’d fish gum out of their mouths mid-chew rather than risk the supposedly dire consequences.
Goldfish have three-second memories
This one was guilt-assuaging for children who kept pet goldfish in tiny bowls with nothing to do. Marine biologists have actually shown that goldfish remember things for months rather than just seconds, and can be trained to perform simple tricks.
Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis
This one was popular with parents worldwide who wanted to quash the infuriating pop-pop-popping sounds of fidgety kids. According to Northwestern Medicine, cracking your knuckles does not increase the risk of arthritis.
The popping sound is caused by gas bubbles bursting in the synovial fluid that lubricates joints, and this is a harmless habit that does not cause joint damage or arthritis. That pop is instead the sound of nitrogen bubbles in your joint fluid collapsing, and it’s harmless.
This myth endures in part because the noise is actually very annoying for many adults, who need a scary reason to make it stop.
You only use 10% of your brain
This is the myth that convinced every kid they had some secret genius potential just waiting to be discovered. Neuroscience studies involving brain imaging technology have revealed that we’re using almost the entire brain, even when performing fundamental tasks.
The myth of 10 % probably originated in early neuroscience research, when scientists had little idea what long stretches of the brain were doing. Hollywood films adore this myth because it provides a plot device for stories about people suddenly able to harness their “untapped” brain power.
Still, actual neuroscience indicates that our brains are, in fact, quite active.
You have to wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming
The summer days of watching the clock tick by as your friends splashed about in the pool and you sat there digesting your sandwich. The American Red Cross states there’s no medical evidence supporting this rule, though swimming immediately after a large meal might cause mild cramping. The myth likely originated when parents sought some peace and quiet after throwing a pack of hungry kids into the pool party.
“While blood does indeed flow toward your digestive system when you consume food, it won’t make you sink like a stone. As a result, millions of kids wasted countless summer minutes looking longingly at pools with the hopes of diving in and cooling off.
Bulls get angry when they see red
Cartoons and movies made it seem like wearing red around bulls was asking for trouble. Bulls are indeed colorblind to red and green. Bulls chase things that move during bullfights, not things of a specific color. Matadors could use any old color, and bulls would respond the same way.
Most likely, this myth took hold because red appears to be an “angry” color to humans, and we attributed that to the bulls. By the new millennium, kids wouldn’t wear red shirts to farm visits or petting zoos, needlessly fearing that they’d cause a rage attack by a bovine.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice
This adage created the illusion that tall buildings and trees were mysteriously protected after being hit once.” According to the National Weather Service, lightning strikes the Empire State Building about 25 times per year, clearly debunking this myth.
Lightning follows the path of least resistance; that results in some very tall individuals getting struck again and again. It likely began as a way to offer comfort in the face of unlikely bad events that were more likely to occur.
Still, it certainly does not apply to real lightning. Children who bought into this myth frequently concluded that there were some areas in which they could forever find respite from lightning after a strike, which is essentially the exact opposite of the truth.
You’ll go blind if you sit too close to the TV
Parents around the country made this threat to pester kids, dragging them away from their Saturday morning cartoons. The myth took hold in the 1960s, when a handful of General Electric color TVs produced high levels of radiation; nowadays, screens are safe.
Millions of kids spent part of their childhoods worrying that watching their favorite shows would damage their vision.
Touching frogs and toads gives you warts
This myth transformed harmless amphibians into creatures to be avoided like the plague during a nature walk with kids. Mayo Clinic reports that warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).
The warty texture of toad skin likely contributed to this myth, as it resembles war to many. Unfortunately, misinformation has led to fear and adverse behavior towards these invaluable amphibians.
Countless kids never got to appreciate the wonders of nature because they believed that every single frog was basically a walking factory that made warts.
Hair and fingernails keep growing after you die
This eerie “fact” started popping up in enough ghost stories and horror movies that kids thought it was a scientific fact. Cell division requires energy and nutrients that are not available post-mortem, and continued development is not possible.
This myth most likely endured as it seems to bolster otherworldly ideas about life after death. “From the visuals of the apparent growth, the effect is real,
Shaving makes hair grow back thicker and darker
This urban legend led legions of teen boys to shave their barely-there beards, thinking that would help them grow their beards faster. Dermatologist Dr. Amy McMichael from Wake Forest University confirms that “People are just not very good observers, but there’s just no science behind hair growing back thicker.
The blunted edge left by shaving causes new growth to feel coarser, but the caliber of hair has not actually changed. Hair may seem darker when it first grows in because it hasn’t been exposed to sunlight and other elements that can naturally lighten hair.
Some kids put off shaving because they were afraid they might end up with thick, dark hair in places where only peach fuzz was growing.
You can see the Great Wall of China from space
This “fact” had been repeated in so many textbooks and trivia games that it seemed like the ultimate word. NASA astronauts routinely state that the Great Wall is difficult to see from low Earth orbit without help, and invisible from the moon.
The myth likely originated from the fact that the wall is indeed quite long, leading people to assume it would be visible from space. The Chinese-American astronaut Leroy Chiao took a photograph of what he thought was the Great Wall from the International Space Station, but through a powerful camera lens.
Carrots improve your eyesight
Parents pushing vegetables created one of nutrition’s most persistent myths with this orange propaganda. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that eating carrots provides the essential vitamin A necessary for eye health. Still, it will not grant “superhuman vision” or improve eyesight beyond normal levels.
The myth was popularized during World War II, when British intelligence spread rumors about pilots who ate carrots to cover up their use of radar technology. An absence of vitamin A can lead to night blindness.
Still, most people get plenty out of their regular diet without needing to overdose on carrots. Children frequently gobbled down more carrots, thinking the vegetables would cause them to grow the eyesight of an eagle, even if they were already receiving enough vitamin A.
Different areas of your tongue taste different tastes
This “tongue map” theory was taught in elementary school science classes for decades, often accompanied by colorful diagrams highlighting sweet spots and bitter zones.
The original research was mistranslated and misquoted in an oversimplified form that became a myth that flourished in textbooks for over a century. It’s common for kids to try to see for themselves by putting various foods on different parts of their tongue, and they typically become befuddled when their perception doesn’t match the official chart.
Your eyes will stick if you cross them
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the six extraocular muscles work in coordinated pairs. When voluntary effort ceases, their inherent muscle tone allows the eyes to return to a neutral, aligned position.
This myth originated from cases involving medical causes that result in permanently crossed eyes, which is not surprising given that some people make a causal error on this. Lots of children never got to enjoy harmless fun, being silly and goofy, too, because for some reason, they thought they’d get stuck with their faces making goofy expressions.
Key takeaway
The things we believe in childhood structure the way we view the world, even when they are totally erroneous. Ultimately, these myths survive precisely because trusted adults pass them on, and because children’s developing minds take in authoritative information without skepticism.
The good news? To grow up is to learn to question “common knowledge,” and to find that reality is often more interesting than the tall tales we held so dear. The next time you happen upon one of these old favorites, you’ll finally understand the truth behind the childhood revelation.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
Disclosure: This article was developed with the assistance of AI and was subsequently reviewed, revised, and approved by our editorial team.
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