As kids, we did some truly bizarre things without ever stopping to question them.
Pretending the floor was lava
One second, you were sitting on the couch, minding your own business. The next second, the ground randomly turned into lava. You’d leap over couch cushions, chairs, and tables like your life depended on it. Kids everywhere seemed to just know the rules. No one ever taught them.
Holding your breath when passing a cemetery
Some kids were actually convinced they needed to hold their breath while driving past a cemetery. Depending on where they lived, that might have been to avoid ghosts, save your soul, or just because another kid said to.
Trying to dig a hole to the other side of the world
With just a small shovel and giant attitude, many kids felt like they could make it to China or whatever country they learned was on the opposite side of the world. Nobody seemed discouraged by how little six inches of hole went down.
Running upstairs after turning off the lights
Turning off the downstairs lights somehow changed an ordinary staircase into a dangerous escape mission. You’d race upstairs as quickly as possible, thinking that something imaginary was following close behind.
Avoiding cracks in the sidewalk
“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back” scared children into watching where they stepped for decades. There was no rational relationship between the sidewalk and their mother’s spine, but cracks could feel threatening nonetheless.
Talking to stuffed animals like they were real
Stuffed animals didn’t just adorn children’s rooms. They were individuals with names and quirks and friendships (and occasionally traumatic backstories). Plenty of kids agonized that picking a favorite would offend the others, and treated them all equally as a result.
Eating food according to strange personal rules
Perhaps you always ate your crusts first, or saved your favorite food for last, or refused to allow certain foods to touch on your plate. Or maybe you ate your candies according to color. Back then, these rituals made perfect sense, although they may not have made sense to adults.
Believing toys came alive when you left the room
Even before Toy Story, many kids thought their dolls, action figures, or stuffed animals might move around when they weren’t looking. In fact, some kids even peeked out of a room and quickly ran back to see if their toys were alive in the dark.
Making wishes on completely random things
Birthday candles weren’t magical enough. Kids made wishes on shooting stars, eyelashes, dandelions, wishbones, coins tossed into fountains, and occasionally specific times on the clock. The rules changed drastically depending on who told you the method, but if you told someone your wish, it would never come true.
Creating imaginary competitions while riding in the car
Road trips were a thousand times more fun when you pretended someone was running beside your car, leaping over fences, rooftops, signs, and trees. Other children made up games about passing cars, telephone poles, or road signs right there in their imagination.
Thinking swallowing a seed would grow a plant inside you
Sometimes kids who swallowed watermelon, apple, or orange seeds really believed that they would sprout inside their stomachs. Parents would laughingly perpetuate the tale, which made it a lot more credible to a five-year-old.
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