'I believed that for years': 30+ funny fibs people were told by their parents when they were young

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 10, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

When you're young and too inquisitive, parents tend to deliver the occasional white lie. Sometimes, it's for good reason. Perhaps you're too young to know or it's too complicated to analyze fully at your age. Other times, these fibs are purely for laughs and for the enjoyment of the adults. However, you might internalize plenty of these white lies and take them as factual information all the way into adulthood, which of course can lead to embarrassing situations. Maybe you thought whales were responsible for making waves in the ocean or maybe you really thought eating a watermelon seed would cause an entire watermelon to grow in your stomach. Your parents could have been playing a trick on you or they wanted to frighten you into complying with the rules. No matter what the agenda was, you have only learned the truth behind the lie a million years later. Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad!

 

Keep scrolling below for this collection of 30+ funny fibs these Redditors believed to be true growing up. When you're finished, feel free to take a lot at this list of the top 20+ choosing beggars of the week and the top Karens of the week!

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  • 01
    Font - r/AskReddit. Posted by u/PrimalCarnivoreChick 20 hours ago What things were you told growing up that were just plain lies? 10.1k Comments + Award
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  • 02
    Font - rotatingruhnama - 21 hr. ago I need to behave in school because I have a "permanent record." Lol no. 12.4k Reply Share
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  • 03
    Rectangle - BudgetCoach 22 hr. ago That Moths were the Ghosts of Butterflies. Cheers for that one Dad. 12.3k Reply Share
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  • 04
    Font - InSight89 21 hr. ago I always thought adults were geniuses that knew everything. I once asked my dad how waves at the beach were made. He said "whales". I believed that for years. 11.3k Reply
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  • 05
    Font - JeffreyJWhitea. 22 hr. ago "Next year they're gonna be a lot harder on you about this". And "the rules only get more strict". Heard that at the end of every year in elementary school but by high school the rules are much less strict. 10.9k Reply Share
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  • 06
    Rectangle - Ralphroberts603 - 22 hr. ago . My math teacher telling me I wouldn't always have a calculator in my pocket. 8.8k Reply Share
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  • 07
    Font - KnittinAndBitchin. 22 hr. ago My Nana would say "you're getting so tall!" whenever she saw me. I'm 5'1", are you making fun of me Nana? Is that what's happening here? 8.6k Reply Share
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  • 08
    Rectangle - ReasonableObjection. 22 hr. ago Cracking your knuckles is bad for you... 5.8k Reply Share
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  • 09
    Rectangle - lamaga10 21 hr. ago . "We are almost there" ( during a long car journey) 4.4k Reply Share
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  • 10
    Font - Micholeon42 22 hr. ago "Only people who work hard get ahead in life." 4.0k Reply Share
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  • 11
    Font - sirreginaldfeatherb3. 21 hr. ago I was told in like 4th grade science that our blood was blue in our bodies on the way back to the lungs- that oxygen makes it red. 3.8k Reply Share
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  • 12
    Font - llcucf80 22 hr. ago If you keep making that face it'll freeze that way 3.5k Reply Share PrimalCarnivoreChick OP .22 hr. ago Or if you look cross eyes they'll get stuck that way lol 1.5k ↓ Reply Share
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  • 13
    Font - IllustriousBat2446. 22 hr. ago Just eat the crust, it'll make your hair curly!" My mom must have just been trying to make me appreciate those uneaten pizza corners. 3.3k Reply Share
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  • 14
    Font - MadMomma85 21 hr. ago That the boys tease you because they like you. No, they were bullies. 3.2k 3.2k Reply Share
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  • 15
    Rectangle - Macster_man 22 hr. ago if you work hard and are loyal to your job, you'll get promoted and paid more. 2.4k Reply Share
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  • 16
    Font - I_can_get_loud_too. 22 hr. ago That "some day my prince will come." Thanks Disney 2.1k Reply
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  • 17
    Font - Graciehedgie 22 hr. ago I was told in 2nd grade that I needed to know how to write in cursive because that's how everyone writes as an adult. Lies!!!! 2.0k Reply Share
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  • 18
    Font - Repulsive-Hedgehog19. 21 hr. ago This is going to sound silly, but I believed in the Sesame Street version of reality. It was really hard to reconcile the world as it actually is and the world as it "should be" if you side with the Sesame Street ethos. ↑ 1.7k ↓ Reply Share
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  • 19
    Font - chemto90 22 hr. ago My mom always told us it was illegal to have the lights on in the car 1.5k Reply Share
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  • 20
    Font - LemonaidSit 21 hr. ago That if I worked hard I would be able to afford a house, a car, and a yearly vacation. Jokes on me, LOL! 1.3k Reply Share
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  • 21
    Font - infecteduser 21 hr. ago I thought there would be more quicksand 1.1k Reply Share
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  • 22
    Font - Mashed Potatoes Dick. 22 hr. ago Swallowed gum takes seven years to digest. 952 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 23
    Font - Unlikely Pressure391. 22 hr. ago You'll understand when you are older. I'm almost 30 and still don't. 855 Reply Share
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  • 24
    Font - keepoffmedian. 22 hr. ago My grandpa told me he wouldn't swim with me at the beach because he's made of salt and he'll melt. I believed him. 845 Reply Share
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  • 25
    Font - Renanr_c 22 hr. ago Life is gonna be easier after school ends.. 721 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 26
    Font - Katnepz 22 hr. ago When I was between 4-7, my relatives used to tell me I was found in a garbage can. It really messed me up growing up. 348 Reply Share
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  • 27
    Font - Impossible-Hold-9467. 19 hr. ago The cold gives you a cold. 196 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 28
    Font - gonandogo 22 hr. ago Had a doctor tell little 7 or 8 year old me that I can't control my dreams. Here we are years later and everyone knows about Lucid Dreaming. ↑ 179 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 29
    Font - blondiebam29. 22 hr. ago I always wanted a cat but my dad was "allergic" to cats. Didn't discover it was a lie until adulthood! 171 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 30
    Font - PlanktonSharp879. 22 hr. ago The car won't start unless your seatbelt is on. I say this to my niece now. Lol. ↑ 137 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 31
    Font - lamaga10 21 hr. ago "We had to send the dog to a farm"
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FAILS school FAIL kids lies askreddit family reddit thread Reddit funny parents
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