It’s not uncommon to tell little white lies, especially to a child or sibling. After all, messing with them is half the fun. Sometimes, white lies and tall tales go beyond the standard Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. Not only that, but often, the person being told the lie goes on believing it for far too long. Here are some of the dumbest lies people believed.
1. This Untruth Got Flushed Away
My childhood bestie figured it would be a total riot to rope in every female I knew into a joke that was at my expense. She let every woman I knew—including my mom, teacher, and sis—in on the gag. They were to make me believe that girls didn't poop if I ever asked about it.
They played along for a good bit, and I fell for it completely. I genuinely thought girls weren't regular from about fifth through ninth grade. It all unraveled when my sister left a surprise in the toilet. I walked in right after her and was suddenly smacked with the truth.
There it was, staring back at me—four years of fabrication floating right there, taunting me for being so naive. My friend burst into laughter when I confronted her at school the next day. She was amazed I hadn't caught on. She had almost forgotten she even started this prank to begin with.
2. A Crock Of Cheese
There have been numerous times where I've been tricked, but one incident is particularly memorable. I was only about seven, while my sister was 13. We were snacking on some strawberries when I spotted a massive one. Being the pesky younger sister that I was, I just had to snatch it before she did.
So, I did just that, taking the largest bite I could manage, only to start shrieking immediately. The strawberry was infested with ants. Suddenly, ants were streaming out and my mouth was full of this unexpected strawberry-and-ant combo. I was wailing at the top of my voice in pure shock.
Meanwhile, my sister was on the verge of keeling over from laughing so hard. She advised me to calm down and eat some cheese, insisting that cheese would kill the ants. Grateful for any solution, I consumed nearly a kilo of cheese similar to feta. I just kept eating and eating.
I ate so voraciously that my mom feared there wouldn't be any cheese left for breakfast. After a solid half-hour of my cheese feast, my sister eventually fessed up, giggling uncontrollably, telling me to stop because she had just invented the cheese solution to soothe me. Yet, I refused to believe her.
3. She Drummed Up This Tall Tale
Back when I was a kid and my mom would get me fast food, I'd use the straws as drumsticks and bang on the dashboard of the car. She'd always warn me to stop, cautioning that I could accidentally trigger the airbag and injure myself severely.
Fast forward fifteen years and I find myself driving a friend for a food run.
He starts doing the exact same thing. I worriedly tell him not to because I didn't want to risk the airbag deploying. He just looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. That moment really made me rethink all the other advice my parents had ever given me.
4. Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place
When I was a little kid, I was sad when I lost a button on my shirt. My mom told me not to worry and gave me a fun idea. She said if I put the button under a rock outside, a magic fairy would give me a quarter.
I completely believed her and unfortunately, I took it quite seriously.
The next thing she knew, I had yanked the buttons off of all my shirts in my wardrobe. Even now, 40 years later, you can still stumble upon shirt buttons hidden under various rocks in my parents' backyard.
5. It Was A Total Snow Job
Once, when I was around five or six years old, I was home with my dad when his buddy swung by for a visit. It was later in the evening, while I was engaged in my kiddo activities like playing with Legos and catching some TV shows.
My dad and his friend were chatting it up in the kitchen, laughing away, and just doing the usual grown-up stuff—at least, that was my impression back then.
Out of the blue, my dad proposed we should all take a stroll. It was deep into winter and pretty snowy yet not bitingly cold.
Of course, I readily agreed, anticipating some fun-time with snowballs and frolicking in the snow.
Halfway into the walk, my dad's buddy started teetering and acting peculiarly. He repeatedly stumbled into the snow and was oddly snacking on it too. Seeing this, my dad and I burst out laughing!
When we finally made it home, dad's pal flattened out right in the hallway. My dad promptly arranged some pillows and a blanket for him. Confused, I asked dad, "What's going on"?
He humorously responded that his friend overindulged in eating snow. We had another round of chuckles and then I was off to bed.
Fast-forward to my teen years when I was 18 or 19; it suddenly dawned on me that they were both plastered that night.
The supposed walk was a guise to trek to the store to score more bottles.
6. I Was Out Of Tune With Reality
When we were youngsters, my sister and I were totally bamboozled by our mum.
She pulled a fast one on us, saying she’d won and been nominated for a bunch of Grammy Awards. Her excuse for the lack of trophies was brilliant, too—she said they were all stashed in the attic, a place she knew we’d never go hunting for them.
For years, my sister and I would boast to our pals about our mum’s supposed stellar music career, only to discover she couldn’t carry a tune to save her life. We never did let her forget about her epic ruse, though.
In fact, we presented her with a mock Grammy a few years later, complete with her name and favorite music genre inscribed on it, naming her the winner. The sight of her doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down her face—priceless.
Pexels
7. Her Answer Wasn’t Quite Black Or White
When I was just four years old, my mom was a stay-at-home parent.
One day, as she was washing dishes, I curiously asked her about my dad's favorite color. Without missing a beat, she replied, "Grey". Surprised, I remarked, "Grey? That's a dull color"!
She explained, "You do know your dad's colorblind, right? He can only see black, white, and different shades between them". Being so young and having never seen an episode of Rugrats explaining color blindness, I believed her, and it made sense to me.
Therefore, for the next four years, I became my dad's own personal traffic light announcer whenever we were together in the car. I simply assumed he couldn't tell the colors apart, so I'd always keep him informed. I only did this when my mom wasn't around because I figured she must have a secret way to signal him the colors while he drove.
So began our routine. Each car ride would start with me updating him on traffic light colors. "Dad, it's red now… OK, it's green now… Wait! The next one is turning yellow. Better speed up"! His responses often escalated from polite acknowledgments to a frustrated, "THANK YOU, I GOT IT" commanding me to stop with the alerts.
Usually, I would spend the rest of the ride sulking.
Eventually, I stopped the commentary as I discovered his actual favorite color was blue. I shared this childhood tale at my high school graduation party. My dad overheard and asked my mom why I had been so keen on narrating traffic light colors to him, as it had been quite bothersome.
My mom was surprised and admitted she never realized why I did it, because I never did it when she was in the car.
8. A Grizzly Tale
When I was a little kid, my dad loved to spin tall tales just to spook me, and I fell for one particular tale for years and years.
He often took on random tasks for buddies of his. One day, when I was around six, we were at a friend's place. My dad was busy pruning the bushes in the yard, and I was inside, engaged with my toys.
He walked into the home, his arm covered in large scratches, and I totally panicked. I asked him what happened.
His story went like this: "Well, I was tidying up the backyard, when out of the blue, a bear appeared, challenging me to a foot race! Naturally, I accepted, and naturally, I won. The bear got so offended he scratched my arm and bolted".
I literally believed this yarn until my high school years.
During a family gathering, I casually mentioned that time when my dad raced a bear in our friend's backyard, and I swear, I've never seen my dad chuckle harder than that moment.
9. He Was Just Pushing My Buttons
When I was little, my dad used to warn me not to press the button on the airplane armrest, calling it an "emergency" button. Once, when we were on a flight to see our family and I was around five, my dad dozed off.
Driven by curiosity, I pressed the button multiple times.
When nothing happened, I simply assumed it was faulty and drifted off to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a stroller, with my upset parents by my side after the plane had made an unforeseen landing.
Panic swept over me and I burst into tears, convinced I had caused the whole chaos.
Sign up to our newsletter.
History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.
10. This Strategy Backfired
Back when I was a kid, my stepdad told us he had traded his watch and all his cash for our family's chess set, which he had hauled out of the jungle himself.
My mom confirmed the story, and it wasn't a stretch to believe because he was a former army officer.
Fast forward ten years or so, and my boyfriend at the time strolled into my house and said, "My ex-girlfriend's got a chess set that looks just like this one"!
I told him that couldn't be true because my stepdad had personally carried it out of the jungle.
He insisted, "No, really"! Then he decided to show the chess set on eBay. It was listed for $30. I later shared a screenshot of it with my mom, to which she simply laughed. To be honest, I felt hurt and kind of silly.
11. I Was Conditioned To Believe This Tale
When I was around ten, I was in a car with my dad on a hot day.
He told me to shut my window because the air conditioning would eventually run out. Because of this, I grew up thinking AC was something you could use up in a car, especially if you had it on with the windows down.
I was 22 years old, driving my work truck when this belief really proved false.
Every time my coworker lit a cigarette and rolled the window down, I quickly turned off the AC.
At some point, he finally asked me why I kept doing that. I'll always cringe at my response: I genuinely thought the AC would run out if we kept the windows down.
Let's just say he laughed for the entire hour-long drive back to the workshop.
12. My Stuffy Was Away On Vacay
When I was just a kid of five, I misplaced my beloved stuffed toy at the Miami airport. Losing my favorite toy made me super upset. However, a couple of weeks later, my mom surprised me with a new brown dog toy, which was indistinguishable from my lost white one.
She told me airport employees had found my toy and shipped it back to us, and that it got a suntan being in Florida. I completely fell for her story for several years.
13. A Salty Tale
When I was younger, our entire family, including aunts, uncles and grandparents, would go camping.
My great grandpa had this tradition of bringing along a huge salt shaker for each kid. Hearing his tall tale once we got there was always something to look forward to.
He'd hand these salt shakers out to us, saying, "If you manage to sprinkle salt on a squirrel's tail, you'll disrupt its balance. It won't be able to climb trees anymore.
That's the secret to catching a squirrel and making it your pet".
And just like that, we'd all disperse, spending hours running around in pursuit of squirrels with our salt shakers hoping to bag a pet squirrel of our own. Meanwhile, this gave the adults some peaceful time to sit back, relax, and enjoy a drink undisturbed.
Unfortunately for me, I never did manage to catch that elusive pet squirrel.
14. This Movie Was Pure Fiction
When I was about seven, I couldn't figure out just how action movies made all those brutal scenes look so real. So, I decided to ask one of my big brothers. He told me the most unsettling fabrication you could think of.
He said they let out inmates in the region where they are filming the movie, dress them up and then tell them they can walk free if they make it through the filming alive. I bought into his tall tale until I turned ten.
Shutterstock
15. I Didn’t See This One Coming
It was the summer after fifth grade when I first heard that sitting too close to the TV or computer could harm your eyesight.
Fast forward to sixth grade and there I was, picking out my first pair of glasses. As I slipped those frames on, all I could hear was a smug "I told you so".
They said my younger sister would be fine because she never sat too close like I did.
But guess what? She needed glasses less than a year later.
16. Poisonous Gingerbread
Back when I was seven, in grade school, we used to decorate gingerbread houses with icing and all. Our teacher warned us NOT to eat the gingerbread or the icing as they were "poisonous"—that we could get seriously sick. Being the instructor and a figure to respect, naturally, I took her word.
So, all these years, I was under the illusion that gingerbread was toxic. I haven't once tried a gingerbread house or its icing. Then, at 29, while my fiancée and I were crafting a gingerbread house, she began munching on hers, which made me panic. That's when she opened my eyes.
Apparently, my teacher had said that to avoid having a classroom full of hyperactive, sugar-buzzed kids for the rest of the day. I was flabbergasted at my gullibility and how I'd never even questioned it.
Pexels
17. This Lie Stunk
Every year, we used to kick off our two-week vacation to North Carolina's mountains the day after Christmas.
When I was younger, I went through this stage when I was obsessed with understanding where every word came from. On one of these trips, as we were driving through Jacksonville right before the evening traffic peak, we experienced an unforgettable smell.
The coffee plant and the mills used to make the area smell so distinctively that you could tell you were in Jacksonville even with your eyes closed.
We all made comments about the strong odor, and out of curiosity, I asked my dad how Jacksonville got its name.
As dads often do when they don't have the answer, he made up a fun story, saying it was because everyone in town simultaneously released gas.
For a long time, that story painted a picture in my mind of business folks all over Jacksonville in suits and skirts, carrying briefcases, all collectively farting throughout the day.
I believed this story without questioning it much, just like you'd believe in fairy tales. It wasn't until I stumbled upon the real explanation in a school book that I stopped believing the imaginary reason.
I reckon I believed in my dad's creative explanation till I started middle school.
18. My Uncle Milked This One As Much As He Could
There's a local college with a cougar as its mascot that also sells cougar cheese, which is pretty tasty. As a kid, my uncles convinced me that this cheese was actually made from cougar milk.
It seemed logical enough at the time. But as I grew older, I stumbled upon a can of this cougar gold cheese and it got me thinking—how on earth would they manage to milk these fierce cats?
The realization hit me hard—running a dairy farm with angry cougars hooked up to milking machines was beyond impossible. The mental image gave me a good laugh.
So there I was, a full-grown adult who had, up until then, genuinely believed that the college was churning out cheese from cougar milk.
19. This Story Was Bearly Believable
When I was ten and my little brother was seven, we went on a trip to a lake. I was just strolling along the edge of the forest and he kept following me.
So, to make it fun, I told him that I was on a hunt for "bear eggs".
Considering he had just learned about platypuses laying eggs at school and wouldn't stop talking about them, I convinced him that the bears in our area were actually marsupials that had, "fallen off a truck".
I told him that when zookeepers couldn't round up all these misplaced marsupials, they became a part of our local wildlife.
I added that if he stumbled upon anything brown, oval, and not a pinecone, it could very well be a “bear egg".
As it happened, we were in an area where locals walked their dogs, so he found many brown oval objects. When we left the park, my uncle and I couldn't help but laugh at his "discoveries," and my mom was both shocked and livid.
20. Time To Hit The Kentucky Tale
I'm from the heart of Kentucky and would consistently spot a flurry of Ohio car tags on the highways.
Intrigued, I questioned why this was so. My dad explained to me about a peculiar law in Ohio—one that was akin to a curfew. He detailed how Ohio locals, upon venturing out of state, were given a fixed deadline to return.
If they failed to make it back within the allotted time, they were, strangely enough, denied re-entry into their own state.
The Ohio motorists we saw were nomads, aimlessly roaming neighboring states until they could eventually head home. He narrated it so convincingly that I accepted it as truth.
It was not until I jokingly mentioned it to high school friends that I comprehended how foolish I'd been.
21. I Couldn’t Handle The Truth
When I was just seven, a teacher assigned us the task of penning a letter to anyone—a relative, a friend, or anyone else. After writing the letter and sliding it into an envelope with a stamp, my mother suggested—she was working at the local penitentiary then—that I send it to an inmate who didn't get much mail. And so I did.
My note essentially said, "I'm sorry you're behind bars, but I hope you are freed soon". I even ended it with my typical childlike signature. At that time, my mom had gone out for a grocery run. In order to complete the return address, I needed our home address.
I innocently asked my elder brother for it. But, as a joke, he gave me the address of The White House.
I, unaware, included it on my letter and added it to my mom's outgoing mail pile. Years fast forward, I was picking my mom up from her work and got called "Mr President" by a corrections officer. Puzzled, I asked why and was told about my years-old letter that had sparked laughs anytime my mom mentioned my name in the penitentiary.
22. The Seven Year Myth
On my fifth birthday, my elder sister gifted me a pack of gum. It was my inaugural gum-chewing experience and I ended up swallowing it. My sister, in a teasing manner, informed me that I would pass in seven years as a result. This genuinely upset me.
But, I chose to keep this information from my mom so as not to distress her.
Consequently, for the next seven years, I lived under the shadow of the impending doom. My mother couldn't pin down the cause behind my melancholy on my 12th birthday. Finally, in the evening, before turning in for the night, I expressed my deep love for her and whispered my hope that she'd remember me fondly.
Puzzled, she asked what I meant. I confessed to her that I expected my life to end that night. My sister ended up being scolded, and my mother reassured me that I'd be safe and sound in the morning.
23. This Was A Bunch Of Blarney
When I was a kid, I genuinely believed that Leprechauns were real.
I spent countless hours crafting intricate traps to catch one because, as the legend goes, you'd earn a pot of gold if you did. Every once in a while, I'd find a piece of gold in one of my traps, which kept the magical belief alive. I never suspected the shocking truth.
It was actually my dad, sneaking gold-painted rocks into my traps under the cover of night. It's an incredibly heartwarming childhood memory, but things crumbled when I asked other kids about their own Leprechaun traps, and none of them had a clue what I was talking about.
24. This Lie Blew Up
Growing up, we didn't have the luxury of air conditioning or central heating in our house, so we often relied on box fans. Given their design, they weren't particularly stable on the ground and would frequently topple over. I recall my mother warning me about leaving them switched on after a fall, causing an "explosion".
As a child, my naïve mind interpreted this term akin to the catastrophic scenarios in films. The image of our house bursting into a massive fire ignited a primal fear in me.
I remember one instance when a fan fell over near my father and he didn't really rush to pick it up.
Consumed by panic, I started yelling at him, leaving him bewildered, looking back at me with a "why are you overreacting"? face.
25. Wood You Believe This?
From the time I was around five until I was twelve, I was convinced my dad had a wooden plate in his head.
Every time someone said "Knock on wood," he would tap his forehead. His story was that he got that wooden plate when he dove into an empty swimming pool as a child.
To keep up the tale, he claimed his doctor's visits were for replacing the wooden plate infested with termites.
26. Mirror, Mirror
My dad often reminded me to behave, implying that he had eyes at the back of his head. Whenever I got scolded for misbehaving, I’d sneakily give him the finger as I walked away, convinced he wouldn't see. But he always did. One instance when I was about 12 really stands out.
After he had lectured me for some mistake, I left the room and, thinking I was out of sight, made a pretty rude hand gesture. He caught me and ran after me. Then I realised how he always "saw" me. The door to exit the living room was adjacent to the back door that had a glass panel—he'd been seeing my reflection all along.
I felt so foolish for not realising this sooner.
27. Beam Me Up
When I was just a seven-year-old kid, my mom married my stepdad. He had an amazing job that allowed him to own a BMW. One day, I got the chance to sit in the front seat of his fancy car, something I'd never done before. I was totally fascinated by everything inside the car, from the dashboard to the warming seats—it was unlike anything I'd experienced before.
He must've seen how astonished I was, because he smirked and said, "Look at this". Then he lifted his hand in front of the dashboard, moving it as if he was adjusting the music volume.
What caught me off guard was the music's volume did actually increase!
Of course, I didn't notice his other hand, subtly manipulating the controls behind the steering wheel. Then he encouraged me to try adjusting the volume with the same hand gesture. To my amazement, it seemed to work!
I was so bewitched that I believed in the magic of his car till I turned 16.
I didn't get to ride in his car often, which somehow preserved the magical illusion. My stepdad was baffled that I believed in it for so long. But then again, I was also the kid who thought lacrosse was some big, secret world-wide joke.
28. I Couldn’t Brush This One Off
When I was a little kid, I remember asking my older cousins if they also disliked the burning sensation that came after swallowing toothpaste. Their faces were full of shock. One cousin told me, "Never swallow toothpaste. You only get about three times to do it. After that, you've taken in too many chemicals and won't make it past 21".
I was terrified and replied, "But I've swallowed lots of toothpaste by mistake". They cringed and said, "Oh no, we hope not". It wasn't until a few years later that I realized they were just teasing me.
29. I Had My Bubble Burst
When I was a kid, our house was close to a small, private airport. My mom used to say that if we waved at the passing planes, they would toss us bubblegum. So, foolishly, we spent way too much time cheerfully waving at every tiny plane that flew over.
Years later, we asked her why she made up such a tale.
She answered, "When you become parents, look into your kids' trusting and believing eyes. Let's see if you can resist playfully teasing them".
30. His Lie Left Me Sore
My dad used to tell me that lie-telling was the real cause behind canker sores, or "ulcers" as he referred to them. He drilled this into my head more than once.
So, when my third grade teacher wanted to know if anybody had any idea as to how we got these sores, eager me, I lifted my hand and promptly announced, "My dad says we get them from lying".
The sudden quietness in the class, and my teacher avoiding my gaze, swiftly revealed to me that my own father was the actual fibber.
31. The Apple Fell Far From The Tree
When I was a wee one, my grandpa used to bring me to the garden to pluck an apple from his tree every time I'd visit. However, four years after he passed, which was when I was 16, we were reminiscing about him around the dinner table. Suddenly, I asked, "Hey, what ever happened to that apple tree"? My family had a good laugh before they spilled the beans.
Turns out, it was just an ordinary tree. Grandpa would sneak away and tie some apples onto it with string before we arrived. Now that I think about it, the tree was quite thin, yet it had these large, flawless red apples.
32. She's A Rich Girl
When I was about eight, my family and I took a trip to Disneyworld and shared a hotel room.
There was a vending machine on our floor. Back then, I had a habit of peeping into the vending machine’s coin slot, hoping to find some extra change left by absentminded users. During this particular trip, I felt like I'd won the lottery.
No matter how many times I checked the machine, I would always find a few coins waiting for me.
By the end of our adventure, I had gathered almost six bucks! I was convinced the vending machine was faulty. Years later while sharing this memory with a friend, my dad burst into fits of laughter.
The secret was out—my doting grandmother had been the one slipping the coins into the slot before I had a chance to look.
33. The Parent Trap
When I was a kid, I was ABSOLUTELY petrified of thieves.
The thought of someone sneaking into our home kept me on edge. Despite my parents' best efforts, they couldn't seem to relieve my fear. But then, they crafted this fictional tale to comfort me. By our main entrance, an outlet featured three switches.
Two managed exterior and interior lights while the purpose of the third remained a mystery.
I frequently asked them, “What's the purpose of the third switch”? My folks chose to spin a story that it set off devices hidden in our front lawn.
My dad went on to embellish the tale, saying that he had once buried a plethora of gadgets in the yard that would be triggered if a thief trespassed.
By flipping this switch, the devices would explode and end the intruder.
Sure, it was an incredibly odd and extreme lie to feed to a six-year-old's imagination, but I can't deny it worked. I never fretted over thieves at that house again.
34. I Should Have Ditched This Concept
On the sides of the roads, channels were carved out to accommodate the shoveled snow during winter.
These channels naturally tend to fill with water, becoming quite swampy and growing reeds. In my younger years, I used to think one could sink into these mud-filled ditches just like a real swamp.
My sister, three years my senior, decided to play a trick on me—and boy, did she go all out. She spun a tale about children vanishing into these swampy ditches, devoured by trolls that reside beneath.
After a girl disappeared, she said, a bag of chips was dropped into the ditch and the sound of munching and crunching could be heard—the trolls gobbling up their snack.
35. This Idea Shouldn’t Have Taken Flight
I've always been on the sharp side, able to puzzle out sophisticated ideas. So, my theory was that planes used internal weights within their long wings to manage their turns.
When they’re flying straight, these weights stay in the center. To turn to the left, the weights shift to the left, towards the wingtips, and so on.
Looking back, it seems a bit naive to think that, but I can't help imagining that such a design might actually be functional in real life.
36. Her Lie Left Me Cold
My sister once dramatically claimed, "My hand's frozen solid"! This happened as she was warming her hand under hot water, having lost a glove during a skiing trip. Scared, I fled to my room and stayed there for an hour. When I emerged later, her hand was fine.
I asked her how she managed to "regrow" her hand, to which she replied, "It grows back when it's frozen off. It's only gone for good if it's cut-off". Surprisingly, at the age of seven, I relayed to my teachers and classmates the story about my sister regrowing her frozen hand.
Even though they tried to explain that she was pulling my leg, I stubbornly believed that my teacher wasn't as knowledgeable as me.
37. This Story Was All Fluff
I was a bit fussy when it came to food. One day, I announced quite passionately that I didn’t care for marshmallows. Someone mentioned that they were a key ingredient in Rice Krispie treats, so I promptly told my mom I’d be skipping those since they had marshmallows in them.
All through my childhood, she cautioned any and everyone I might cross paths with—family friends, my educators, basically anyone within earshot—that her Rice Krispie treats were made with "sugar glue".
I didn’t find out that wasn't true until I turned 18.
38. Switched At Birth Sham
I always had a hunch that I was adopted.
My older brother often teased me about it, exacerbating my suspicions. Interestingly, I had a distinctly Mexican look while the rest of my family was half white, half Indian. This contrast made me the center of attention often. During my childhood, my family relocated to a city a few hours away.
The previous owners of our new house had employed a maid service. As a courtesy, we received a free month to try out their services. A young Mexican maid named Juanita assisted us during this period. My brother, having quite a creative mind, fabricated a story that Juanita was my biological mother.
The plot thickened as he added that Juanita had a secret relationship with a famous personality. To maintain his public reputation, this celebrity had paid her handsomely to give me up for adoption. My brother went on to claim that my parents discovered Juanita's whereabouts, and that was the reason for our moving to the new city—to reconnect me with my birth mother.
Believe it or not, I bought into this tale for two whole years!
Shutterstock
39. They Told Me A Historic Lie
When I was young, my father bought some miniature arrowheads from a gift shop and scattered them in our backyard. He told me that our backyard was once home to Indigenous people and that if I looked carefully, I might find remnants of their lives. When I discovered these arrowheads, my excitement was hard to contain.
I truly believed I had unearthed artifacts from an Indigenous community right in my own backyard. I would occasionally share this story with others, feeling very proud of my "discovery". Friends, teachers, and even folks from the local history society heard about my backyard treasures.
It took me a while to understand the truth, and I felt foolish for my naivety.
I should have questioned it sooner, considering the exaggerated stories, the arrowheads' obviously convenient placements and the fact this story never came up before or after that particular afternoon.
40. It Was A Twisted Deception
When I was around the age of four or five, I was a pretty anxious child. You see, we lived in a place where tornadoes were uncommon, but not entirely out of the question.
This gave me an unhealthy fixation about tornadoes wiping out our home.
In order to calm my fears, my dad came up with a clever story—he said the spinny attic vents you see on roofs were "tornado stoppers". His reasoning was that they spin in the opposite direction to a tornado, thereby nullifying its effect.
He even claimed that their anti-tornado influence extended to the end of our street.
As a naive kid, I bought this story at face value, not questioning its validity till a few years later. That’s when I spotted that our own roof lacked this supposed tornado-repelling gadget. Turns out, my dad had simply assumed we had one and never bothered to check.
Pixabay
41. A True Fairy Tale?
When I was about seven or eight years old, I questioned my mom if Santa was real. She clarified to me that he wasn't. To be honest, it didn't upset me and I thought it made sense. I then queried if the tooth fairy actually existed, and my mom, misjudging my understanding of humor, asserted that the tooth fairy was real.
I believed her because she had just confessed about Santa not being real. Afterwards, my mom found me telling other kids that Santa was made up, but that the tooth fairy was real. Regrettably, I believed in the tooth fairy for a much longer time than I'd like to admit.
42. The Meaning Of "Gullible"
When I was around six years old, my dad managed to persuade me that the word "gullible" wasn't listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. He was backed up by my mom and sister during dinner conversations. We had a dictionary situated within arm's reach on a bookshelf near the dining table.
Each time, I would grab it, flip through it and voila, the word was there. But with time, I would forget about it and my dad would reintroduce his little trick, sometimes after a year or maybe half a year. I fell for this ruse about five times before I finally wised up and stopped believing him.
43. There Was Not A Crumb Of Truth To It
My folks always told me that the crusts of bread, whether for sandwiches or toast, were packed with all the goodness and nutrients I needed to stay healthy. I bought into this idea until I was 26 when I saw my wife happily trimming off her crusts. I informed her how she was discarding the most nourishing bits of the bread.
I can still picture her expression.
She was completely taken aback and probably thought I was a bit simple-minded. Naturally, she set me straight.
44. A Haunting Tale
As we were heading to a volleyball game, my dad shared a story. He said that our school was built on an old cemetery.
While efforts had been made to reach out to the families to relocate the bodies, those that could not be claimed still lie beneath the school. So, there were rumors that the school was haunted.
Like lively fifth graders, we couldn't resist sharing this spooky tidbit, and it wasn't long before both our school and the rival school knew about it.
This little tale landed my dad in a spot of bother.
45. What A Croc!
When I was little, I had relatives who lived in the next town. We'd often go over to their place for family gatherings since their house was quite spacious. To get there, we had to drive over a road that crossed a large pond.
Once, I spotted a log protruding from the water.
Curious, I asked my dad what it was. Given we had recently watched some Crocodile Dundee, he playfully told me, "It's a crocimagator". Despite the fact that we were in Canada, a country without crocodiles, I still believed him.
That log didn't move an inch and remained in the same spot for years, which kind of corroborated his story.
I even saw a documentary mentioning how crocodiles or alligators could remain still for months. So, I bought into the crocimagator idea for quite a while. Eventually, the log disappeared, likely sinking into the pond.
I didn't make much of it, just assuming that our supposed crocimagator had decided to move elsewhere.
It was only then that I realized I had been rather gullible.
46. I Was Sunk By A Titanic Tale
When I was about four, my mom and I were watching Titanic. But she didn't think I should watch the intimate scenes, so she'd cover my eyes and skip those parts.
Her explanation for this? She said vampires showed up, causing a ruckus and making Rose and Jack run away. As a kid who was terrified of vampires, I wholeheartedly bought into this.
For the following three or four years, I firmly believed in this vampire storyline. The Titanic, in my mind, had turned into a horror flick. This misconception was only corrected when I was at my best friend's house, and they were watching the movie.
Imagine my surprise when I found no vampires!
I felt quite let down and couldn't help but feel puzzled as I got older. When I later asked my mom why she made up the vampire story, she said she just panicked and couldn't come up with anything better.
This story of Titanic's vampires is now a running joke in our family.
47. I Was Neither Older Nor Wiser
When I was little, my older brother and I would constantly butt heads. He'd pick on me, tormenting me in every way imaginable. Being a young girl and three years his junior, I felt too puny, powerless, and naive to stand up to him.
One day, in a moment of frustration, I asked my mom why he was older. She said, "Sweetheart, you were once older than him, but then you fell ill and stopped aging. All the while, he continued to grow, so now he is the older one"!
I completely fell for it.
More than that, I was overjoyed to learn that there was a period in my life, despite lacking any recollection, where I was the older sibling and had the upper hand. But of course, as time passed and I seemingly overcame this peculiar "no-aging" disease, I figured out that my mom had indeed spun a fairy tale.
48. Sneaking Soda
Once, I was at my father's place, and he was just relaxing outside with a buddy while I goofed around with my plastic ninja sword.
Dad had a strict no-soda rule for me. After his friend left and he went inside to clean up the dishes, I noticed a 7 Up can on the outdoor table and dashed for it. I eagerly took a big slurp, only to realize they'd been stubbing their cigarettes in it.
It was horrific. I bolted inside and vomited. As my dad questioned, “What's wrong, what's wrong”?! I fibbed and told him I was okay. But he saw through it. Then, to dissuade me from ever sneaking soda again, he told me an ingenious lie: that all the soda he buys tastes like that, even when unopened.
I took his word for it until I was about nine.
49. Hot Dog!
My grandpa was a true outdoorsman, a lover of fishing, hunting, and blazing trails on four-wheelers. He also had a knack for spinning stories and would often let you believe his playful tall tales. When I was a kid, we'd visit our family retreat nestled deep in the countryside.
Once, I pointed out a cattail reed by the lake, asking its name. He replied nonchalantly, "What does it look like, kiddo? That's a hot dog tree"! We were in the habit of barbecuing our dinners there. One time, my mom and I were out shopping for provisions.
When she wondered aloud if we needed hot dogs, I confidently assured her that we had plenty back at our place. Upon our return, we started setting out the groceries. As grandpa stoked the barbeque, mom was sorting through our shopping and asked me where the hot dogs were.
I grabbed a pair of scissors and laced up my shoes.
My proclamation that I needed to "harvest" the hot dogs—under grandpa's guidance, of course—left her rather perplexed and mildly annoyed.
Pexels
50. His Story Didn’t Ring A Bell
When I was just five and my sister was nine, Dad convinced us that telephone poles were trees altered by power companies to grow straight, with small branches to hold wires. It was just one of his tall tales, usually told when Mom wasn't present.
One afternoon, he returned home early with my sister, explaining that the school principal had asked him to collect her. When asked about the reason, he told Mom a power company representative had visited my sister's class to discuss electricity line safety. The guest posed a question:
"Who knows how we make telephone poles"?
Eagerly, my sister shared Dad's fantastic story. The worker chuckled and said, "I believe your dad pulled your leg". My sister's comeback left him speechless. She retorted, "I think you're a LIAR". To date, her memorable line is our go-to phrase whenever we suspect someone's trying to kid us.
Shutterstock
Sources: Reddit
