Funny Misconceptions You Had As A Child About The US (houses, movies)

[ohazco]

When learning about them in 6th grade I always thought the entire constitution & bill of rights were actually respected and enforced.

[soug]

Growing up in South Jersey, I was so confused the first time I heard non-locals (aka North Jersey/New York people) refer to Manhattan as "the city." To me, the city was always and still is Philly.

[iNviNciBL3]

I used to think the Statue of Liberty was in St Paul, MN for some reason.
I also used to think St Paul was a suburb of Chicago.
I know i wasnt the brightest kid around

[jtur88]

I thought George Washington really chopped down a cherry tree. And that Andrew Jackson must have been an alright guy, since his picture is on money. And that Hawaiians really wanted to be a US territory and freely chose to be. And that the Ten Commandments were actually in the Constitution or codified into US law,which were laws other countries don't have, making America more morally upright than other countries.
And that Columbus actually saw what is now the USA. And that the US had been a free sovereign nation since 1776, and the Pilgrims were the first Europeans to settle here. And that it never rains in southern California. And crime doesn't pay. And if the guys at the top didn't know what they're doing, they wouldn't be there.

[Dport7674]

I was 7 or so when Reagan got shot, I flipped out cuz I thought it meant the Russians could just come right into the U.S.

[annie_himself]

I also grew up near the Mississippi river, I laugh at some of the waterways people call rivers, they are so narrow in comparison. Growing up never seeing mountains I thought most cities were all flat too, and I thought all people ate crawfish, red beans, white beans, etouffee, boiled shrimp, and boiled crabs.

[cBach]

I thought that each state spoke a different language. When I visited relatives in MA (I lived in Louisiana), I said "Why do y'all speak English?"

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by cBach

I thought that each state spoke a different language. When I visited relatives in MA (I lived in Louisiana), I said "Why do y'all speak English?"

That is funny.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

I've met people (grown up, adults) who thought New Mexico was part of Mexico and that you needed a passport to visit and had to change your dollars into pesos. These were people that lived in Texas, a state that borders New Mexico.

My husband still thinks this -well, he did until I about fell over laughing
and asked what kind of school he went to as a child!

[jayp1188]

I had no grasp on the size of the US as a child. I knew Hawaii and Alaska were far away (I thought Hawaii was as far as Australia and I thought Alaska was uninhabited), but I always thought everywhere else in the US was within reasonable driving distance of my home in New York. It didn't really hit me until I was 12 and my family took a road trip one summer from NY to California and visited relatives, National Parks, cities, and sites along the way. That's when I realized that this country is just gigantic, and also incredibly different region to region.