25 women on the 'facts' they were told as kids that were actually lies.

Kids can come out with the funniest things, right? But it's not just the kids who say weird stuff. 

If you were raised in a time before smart phones and the option to Google something, you likely grew up for YEARS believing various strange myths and 'facts' your grandma or teacher told you.

I remember being fed all sorts of untruths and outright lies that have since been debunked. Things like, 'If you swallow gum, it stays in your tummy for seven years' or, 'If the wind changes, your face will stay like that' and the sad part is, I believed them.

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To check I wasn't the only one who suffered from extreme gullibility in the 80s and 90s, I asked the Mamamia community to tell me the most outrageous myths they had ever been told as kids.

Here are 25 of the very best.

1. 'My nan told me that if I wore thongs too much, my toes would permanently separate, and I’d have weird looking feet forever. I still don’t wear them to this day.' - Kate.

2. 'I used to suck on my hair as a kid. Once my neighbour told me that a girl the exact same age as me died suddenly. They didn't know why she died, so they did an autopsy and then discovered her heart was covered in hair. I never sucked my hair again!' - Jade.

3. 'My dad had a receding hairline. He told me when I was very young that it was because he and a friend collected all the leftover firecrackers from firecracker night as kids and then lit them all at once, which blew his hair off. I believed it for years!' - Lauren.

4. 'That all the hills were actually just dead dinosaurs that grass had grown over the top of.' - Lauren L.

5. 'If you lie in the sun on the cement in summer to warm yourself after being in the pool, it’ll cook your insides. Guess they were just trying to teach me to stick to the shade!' - Belinda-Jane.

6. 'My mum told me that if I told a lie, I would get a pimple on my tongue. I believed that until I was about 30.' - Fiona. 

7. 'My dad told me and my sisters that McDonald's soft serve ice cream was made out of whipped pig fat. On the rare occasion we were allowed to get one, he would order 'four whipped pig fats' at the drive thru, leaving the poor Macca’s worker very confused.' - Rebecca.

8. 'If the ice cream truck is ringing its bell or playing music as it drives around, it means it has run out of ice cream.' - Hanna.

9. 'If God wanted you to have your ears pierced, you would have been born with them. That’s why some babies have their ears pierced; they were born with them.' - Jen.

10. 'My mum told me my pet rabbit had run away to join the Easter bunny. Fast forward 20-odd years, I discovered she didn't even run away. She died in her cage and my parents removed her so I wouldn't know. I was shattered!' - Brooke.

11. 'My grandpa told me the freckles on my face came from flies landing on my face when I sleep and pooping on me.' - Chloe.

12. 'I was told the classic, 'If you pee in a public pool, it turns a bright colour and everyone will know you’ve peed.' It’s actually genius that parents worldwide came up with this to stop their kids from peeing in pools.' - Alisha.

13. 'My grandmother said, 'If you leave your feet out of the bed at night, the devil will chop them off.' I always think of that when my feet are out!' - Janice. 

14. 'My pop told me if you swallow the seeds in fruit, then a fruit tree will grow in your tummy! I always believed it and spat out my seeds.' - Ali.

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15. 'If you watch too much TV, your eyes will go square.' - Tild.

16. 'A gremlin lives in the washing machine and eats socks.' - Lavinia.

17. 'When it rains, fairies come and put chocolate in the pot plants outside.' - Emmy.

18. 'If you want to know if a kitten is a boy or a girl, you lift the tail and it’s written underneath.' - Amie.

19. 'If you eat while sitting on the toilet, you’re feeding the devil. Who eats on the toilet, anyway?'- Kylie.

20. 'When making a pavlova for Christmas, you had to be super quiet and not bang around the oven/house or it would cause it to go flat!'- Michelle.

21. 'Driving with the interior light on at night time (so we could read in the back seat) was illegal.' - Mandy.

22. 'My Italian grandmother told me that birthmarks are caused by eating salami during pregnancy. Or if you have sex during pregnancy and the penis hits the baby, it will leave a birthmark. She's clearly an expert!.' - Gemma.

23. 'As a kid, I woke up a lot due to nightmares. My dad told me you only have nightmares if you sleep on your back, never if you sleep on your side. I believed it until I was an adult.' - Liz.

24. 'I grew up in Ireland, and went to school at a convent. I was told if you sit on a seat after a boy, you’ll get pregnant!' - Melinda.

25. 'Eat your crusts so your hair will go curly.' Pauline.

What weird myth or 'fact' were you told as a kid? Did you believe it? Tell us in the comments below.

Laura Jackel is Mamamia's Family Writer. For links to her articles and to see photos of her outfits and kids, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

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