[UA] I Used To Believe

[Robert Hopt]

Just found this wonderful site for potential UA lore: I Used To Believe. 
People writing in stuff they used to believe as kids. At the top of the page 
there is a link that gives you ten random stories:

http://iusedtobelieve.com/random.php


Robert Hopt
hauptkov at hotmail.com


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When our kids were little, I used to drive an old Rover 2600 that had a 
low-oil warning light on the dashboard. This thing was huge for what it was, 
about the size of an adult man's thumb nail. The electrics in that old car 
were pretty bad, and this light stayed half-on all the time in a soft ruddy 
glow.
We were all returning home one evening and this glow was just becoming 
visible in the gathering gloom, and one of the kids asked what it was.
Of course, we told them it was the Sunset Meter that told us it was getting 
dark enough to put the main lights on...

Biggles (from transport : cars)


I used to believe there were small men who lived in the traffic lights and 
made them change color. Sorta like the rice crispy fellas.

Dustin Roberts (from transport : traffic lights)


That if you ate the pips out of oranges a orange tree would sprout out of 
you.

FIL1 (from food : dangerous food)


As a kid, my brother, sisters and I were told that for a letter to arrive at 
its destination, we had to say the name of the city and state aloud into the 
mailbox. Why? Because a very small man waited inside the mailbox to collect 
and sort the mail, and he needed to know which pile to put it on.

Although I never believed this story, my younger sister did until she was 
almost 10. My brother and I caught her in the act one afternoon--but she 
realized she'd been duped when she heard us laughing hyterically. The truth 
can be cruel.

Shylda Odell (from neighbourhood : in the street)


As I child growing up in the seventies in south east London I would see NF 
sprayed everywhere. I used to wonder why there were so many Nottingham 
Forrest supporters in London. I think my mum must have told me that's what 
it meant as it really stands National Front which was an obnoxious far-right 
political party.

Zoe (from the world : sport)


I used to watch all the old monster movies way back when...so obviously I 
thought there was a creature waiting to get you if you ever let your guard 
down. Until I fell asleep, I used to strain to hear if Godzilla was coming 
to step on my apartment building. I also used to fall asleep with my arms 
crossed over my chest to act as a crucifix, just in case a vampire ever 
found its way into my bedroom....

RAM (from make-believe : monsters)


my brother and i shared a bedroom when we were little. one night when he 
wanted me go to sleep he told me that if i didnt the wardrobe would come 
alive and get me. i had no memory of this until i mentioned years later i 
had a dream about getting eaten by a wardrobe. his story had warped my 
little mind!

dale (from body functions : sleeping)


When I was about 6 or 7 in around 1977 I always thought that everyone over 
the age of 20 had been involved in the Second World War and would often ask 
my parent's friends if they had ever killed a German.

Richard M (from the past : wars)


My grandfather was missing his thumb on the right hand due to an accident 
that happened when he used to work in the oil fields. Even though we had 
been very close from the time I was born, I never noticed this until I was 5 
years old, so well had he adapted to using his maimed hand. I noticed it 
suddenly one day while watching him use a typewriter in his office. The very 
next day, he had to leave the upper plate of his dentures overnight at his 
dentist's for repair. I decided that the thumb also was removeable and that 
this was a normal part of becoming an adult; your body parts would be 
replaced by larger, detachable ones.

carson (from grown-ups : getting older)


One day our neighbour was walking his 4 year old son to school. Along the 
way the little boy spotted a bird in the gutter, so he gave it a nudge with 
his toe. When it didn't move he asked his father why it didn't fly away. His 
father explained that the bird was broken (i.e. dead). Instead of getting 
upset the little boy said firmly "It's alright Dad, the man will fix it." No 
matter how hard his Dad tried to tell him that the bird couldn't be fixed 
the little boy was adamant. The next day when they walked the route to 
school again the bird was gone so the boy turned to his dad and said "See! 
The man fixed it" and smiled smuggly.

Jeremy (from death : animals)

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