Things We Swore Were True But Weren't

We hang on to weird little truths until somebody rips off the Band-Aid and we realize we were wrong. Some are innocent childhood mix-ups, others are full-on family cover stories. People on Reddit confessed the long-running lies they believed, and the answers are equal parts jaw-dropping and hilarious.

The Potato Masher That Was 'Mine'

One kid begged for a potato masher at the store and their mom handed it over so they wouldn’t feel left out. For years the family treated that masher like the child’s special possession, borrowing it only after asking nicely. The kid jealously guarded the tool, convinced it was theirs forever. Later they found out the whole thing was staged so no one would cry in the aisle.

Pretty Woman and the Redhead Excuse

A fan of Pretty Woman was told the lead got bad treatment simply because she was a redhead, and that explanation stuck. Years later, at 22, they rewatched the movie and had a loud, sudden realization about what the character actually did for money. The shock came with laughter and a little embarrassment. What seemed plausible as a kid looked very different through adult eyes.

Dad’s Fake Blink Quota Rule

One dad convinced his child that humans only get a set number of blinks in a lifetime, and if you used them up your eyes would dry out and fall out. The kid started blinking oddly and stayed paranoid for years. They only learned the truth as a teen and now laugh at how ridiculous it was. Classic parenting: terrifying but memorable.

The Parakeet That Changed Color

A child’s yellow parakeet one day came back blue and terrified, and the mom said frightened birds can turn color. The kid accepted that explanation and felt guilty about scaring the bird. Years later the parents admitted the cat had killed the original and they’d bought a wrong-color replacement. The kid realized their rescue story had been a gentle cover-up.

Lizard Lie

U/LadyFeen: "My cat brought a lizard into the house. It was still alive. I decided to build it a terrarium and nurse it back to health. I did so and then released it back into the wild a few days later. My Mum told me that the cat immediately went outside and ate the lizard after I had released it when I was eighteen. She and my Dad knew I'd be devastated so they lied by omission and didn't tell me. The way she sat me down to tell me scared the s--- out of me, I thought she was going to tell me something dreadful. I thought I saved that lizard for years 😂"

Age Realization

U/ScorpioQueen_png: "Before I was 18 I wanted to read R-rated fanfiction. But when you clicked into one, it'd ask if you were 18 and I'd always click no. Finally, maybe when I was 16 I was like...how would they know that I wasn't 18???, and so I clicked yes. When nothing happened I was like, 'what other things can I get away with???'"

Horse Tale

U/ZubLor: "That our uncle died after being kicked by a horse. In reality he died of cirrhosis in prison after being caught counterfeiting checks. I don't know why they didn't just tell us 'cirrhosis' and leave it at that. We wouldn't have known (this was before Google). As it was we thought the horse story was cool and spread it throughout the neighborhood, lol. All puns unintended..."

Quota of Blinks

U/yao7645ruka: "When I was a child, I had a bad habit of crazily blinking at strangers, so my dad told me that the number of times a person can blink in their lifetime is limited. If I kept blinking on purpose, I would use up my 'quota of blinks' before the end of my life, then I would painfully die from not being able to blink, my eyeballs will dry out completely and fall out. Now my bad habit is subconsciously not blinking for a long time. Thanks dad"

Pumpkin Pie Confusion

U/caffeinex2: "You know that Brenda Lee song 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree'? There's the part where she says 'Maybe we'll get some pumpkin pie' and I always, ALWAYS thought she said 'maybe we'll get some f------ pie' - And my older brother indulged me and said that was allowed on the radio because it was a Christmas classic. I think I was like 12 when I finally figured it out."

Santa's Sacrifice

U/Temptingtrinity: "That Santa was real, and even when I was told he wasn’t. I still didn’t want to believe it. I feel bad now knowing how hard my mom struggled to make sure we had presents, even with no money. She would crochet baby doll clothes for me. She would go to a dollar store and get so many dollar store toys. Kids were so different then. I was so excited for those toys, I had no clue they were cheap."

Tattoo Mystery

U/Pockets408: "Not necessarily lies but: My uncle on my father's side is named Craig. Thus for years until about junior high school I believed he either owned or ran Craigslist. I was four or five when I first saw someone with a tattoo. I asked my mother once how people got tattoos and she said they got it by getting hurt. I wondered until I saw a tattoo needle/gun how people 'got hurt' in such intricate patterns and even letters."

Numbing Mistake

U/Huge-Possibility-249: "That the alcohol wipe they do before giving a vaccine is not in fact numbing solution. Nobody 'lied' to me about that but I did say something along the lines of 'thank God for this numbing stuff' when I was a kid and nobody corrected me. Learned at 17 years old when a blood drive came to my school that I was an i---- 🙃"

American Idol

U/AngelxxLove: "My Dad took me to Family Video and I wanted to go to the adult section part (I didn’t know what was in that back room by the bathrooms.) I just had realized the store was bigger than what I thought and I was genuinely curious what was back there. he told me I wasn’t allowed in because American Idol was being filmed back there and I totally believed it for YEARS."

Headache Myth

U/RustyButterKn1fe: "That I didn’t suffer from migraines growing up. Mom told me that I was just being overdramatic while growing and I didn’t question it. Found out at 18 during a conversation with a friend about headaches and I mentioned 'yeah, don’t you just hate it when you get a headache and you get all nauseous and your vision gets blurry?' Found out that day that my experience is not universal."

Bird Color

U/Fluffy-Pineapple8830: "I had a yellow parakeet named Tweety as a kid. She was super friendly and I would hold her all the time. One day I came out to see she had turned blue. She also was terrified of me. I asked my mom and she said that Tweety got out of her cage and my cat had spooked her. She said when parakeets got scared they turned blue! Oh okay. That’s why she is so scared. The cat spooked her. Years later they told me the cat had eaten Tweety and my dad went to the pet store and grabbed the wrong color replacement bird."

One Kidney

U/SatelliteArray: "I was born with one kidney and my mom told me it was a common thing, like some people just have one kidney others have two. Like how some people of curly hair and others have straight hair, or some people are tall and others are short. In retrospect, props to her for making sure I felt normal about it. Good parenting right there. But I believed it until I was like 16."

Fish Pain

U/L0k1L1zard420: "One time I went fishing with my dad when I was a kid. I was worried about hurting the fishes so he told me that fish didn't feel pain. Fast forward to UNIVERSITY biology. We're dissecting fish and the diagram says 'pain receptors'. I was genuinely confused and asked my lab partner 'wait.... I thought fish didn't feel pain???' He looked at me like I was an i---- (rightfully so) My dad now denies ever telling me that 😂"

Truck Smoke

U/crispytaytortot: "I remember in 5th grade we had a guest speaker talk to us about the environment. The speaker told us that the heavy black smoke that large trucks output was great for the environment because it was a big, healthy meal for all the nearby trees. He told us the darker and thicker the smoke, the better the trees would grow. I believed it at the time and only recently in my 30s remembered that day and realized how much BS it was."

Candy Phone

U/so_much_bush: "Babysitter (female) was on the phone with her friend or sister (also female). They somehow convinced my 5 year old self that girls were able to pass candy through the phone to each other. One second she has a starburst in her hand, then the next she doesn't. Give it another few seconds and bam, new starburst. Technically never found out the exact sleight of hand mechanics used, but I still think about that whenever someone is eating/on the phone"

Long Story Short

We all grew up on a diet of small untruths that somehow made childhood workable. Potato mashers as prized possessions, blinking quotas, fish that felt no pain, Santa who worked overtime no matter the budget. Some lies were kind, some were plain silly, and some were petty clever covers for awkward truths. Either way, they stuck with people long enough to become memorable stories, as these Redditors show.

Why Parents Bend The Truth

Most of these 'lies' came from a place of protection or pure convenience. Moms and dads dodge hard explanations about money, grief, or pet deaths because it's easier in the moment, or because they want you to feel normal, as one commenter did about being born with one kidney. That doesn't excuse the deception, but it does explain why so many family myths are harmless storytelling dressed up as fact.

Small Lies, Big Memories

What surprises people isn't just the lie itself, but how those tales shaped their imagination. The horse-that-kicked-an-uncle became neighborhood lore, the phone-passing-candy trick felt like real magic, and Craigslist ownership was a believable family myth for years for one kid. These stories become part of who we were as kids, and later they make excellent 'remember when' fodder.

When The Truth Hits, It Stings

Finding out you were misled often comes with awkward feelings. Embarrassment, a little betrayal, and then usually a laugh when you realize how elaborate the fiction was, like the parakeet swap or the vacuuming-up-the-lizard cover story. Some revelations are more serious, like being told you 'didn't have migraines' only to learn otherwise, and those cut deeper than a silly mix-up.

What To Do With These Tales

Laugh about them, tell the story back, and maybe don't keep repeating the blink quota lie to the next generation. If a lie was meant to protect, consider letting the intent stand while owning the truth when the time is right. Share the stories, thank the people for trying their best, and then make a better, simpler truth for the kids you know.

Long Story Short

We grew up on small white lies that made messy grown-up stuff easier to swallow. Some were goofy, like a potato masher being someone's special tool, and some were protective, like stories about Santa or a replaced parakeet. Those little fictions stuck because they soothed, distracted or just saved a tense conversation. Looking back, they are part of the weird glue of childhood memories.

Why Parents Tell Tall Tales

Most of these fibs came from fatigue or love. Telling a simpler story is easier than explaining bills, grief or why a pet is gone. That does not excuse lying, but it explains why so many families invent tiny myths. People do it to protect, to normalize, or just to keep the peace for a few years.

How Those Stories Shape Us

These tales feed imagination in strange ways. A horse-that-kicked-an-uncle becomes neighborhood legend, a blink quota becomes a weird lifelong habit, and a kid can believe they own part of Craigslist. Those myths get woven into who we were as kids and then become the best 'remember when' material as adults.

When The Truth Hurts More Than It Helps

Not every fib is harmless. Being told you 'don't have migraines' or being shielded from a pet's death can leave real scars. Those moments sting because they mix shame with confusion and delay help or closure. When the truth finally comes out, it can be an awkward relief more than a simple laugh.

Takeaway For Telling The Next Generation

Tell simple truths when you can, and keep the small kindnesses without creating bad habits. Laugh with your kids about the silly stuff, own up to the awkward bits, and give explanations that match a child's age. Thank the people who tried their best, then try to do a little better for the next kid in your life.