10 Moments That Made People Question Everything

As a child, it’s hard to differentiate between what’s real and what isn’t. But as we get older we might start thinking about our childhood memories again, and certain things might not be as simple as they appeared all those years ago. Here are 10 stories that made people rethink what it was they thought they knew.

• One day my parents had to leave to go somewhere. They told me they couldn’t tell me where they were going, how long they would be out for, or why they were going there in the first place. They told me if there was an emergency at home, to call the number on this piece of paper they gave me and ask for a Mr. Black. The big mystery was they apparently went to meet with a bankruptcy attorney and go to court. They didn’t want to tell me anything at the time since a 10/11-year-old obviously isn’t privy to their parents’ financial details, and she was super embarrassed about the whole thing. © H***_Slayer / Reddit

• There was this one old man in my street. Me, my friends and my cousins used to see him once every two or more weeks going across the street to the village center. He was really mysterious and literally no one who I asked knew anything about him, he just lived in his old house at the end of our street quietly. So whenever we’d see him we’d freak out and run away thinking he’s going to do something weird. Sadly, not long ago I found out he never had kids, his wife died a long time ago, and he barely had any money to live off of. Turns out he’s a very sweet and caring guy, but sadly life hasn’t been too generous for him. © twelveandten / Reddit

• When my grandpa (my dad’s dad) passed away, he gave me his ring. I was in grade school at the time. 13-year-old me thought putting it in my sock drawer was a good place to put it. One day I go to look for it, and it was not where I left it. I thought I lost it and it disappointed me. Years go by, and eventually I forgave myself for it. I am now in my last year of college, and my dad calls me to meet up with him at his work. I was kind of annoyed because I was on my way up, so I had to turn around to meet him. He brings me back to his office, and we were talking, and he goes into this box and pulls out the ring. He apparently took it from me when I was sleeping and never told me. Never in my life did I feel both anger and happiness at once. He told me he’d give it to me for my college graduation. Well, he kept his promise. He gave it to me on the day of my college graduation, and I have worn it every day since then. © PillsburyToasters / Reddit

• Who ate all the cherries in the cherry cake? I was blamed for this for years after someone picked out all of the cherries and ate them during a family Christmas party. 8 years later, my little sister confessed to me that it had been her. © TheAdminer / Reddit

• I had a beta fish that lived 5 years. From when I was in kindergarten until I was in 5th grade. When I was in the 6th grade, my dad told me that they were actually two fish, and that the first one died when I was still in kindergarten. So my dad got another one that was identical, when I was at school. © Ferretman155 / Reddit

• My Uncle “Nanu” and grandma “Nanu” weren’t actually named Nanu. My twin and I only called him that because we used to be obsessed with finding Nemo as kids and would watch it a lot when they babysat us. We couldn’t pronounce Nemo and have been calling them Grandma “Nanu” and Uncle “Nanu” © Unknown author / Reddit

• I realized that my dad wasn’t my real dad. He came into the picture when I was a few months old and raised me. Once I started school and realized my last name wasn’t the same as his, they convinced 5-year-old me that my last name had been switched with another student’s.
  I didn’t think about it again until I was in middle school and demanded the truth. Slightly traumatizing, but I took it well. © OnTheCouchBored / Reddit

• When I was a kid, we lived in some awful, crappy apartments. I remember several times dreaming that I was being tickled in the middle of the night. Several years later, I put 2 and 2 together and realized it wasn’t a dream. I actually was being tickled—by the roaches that infested the apartment, as they walked all over me. © FlexasState / Reddit

• When I was a kid, we would often drive to the next city over to visit family or go shopping. Funny thing though, sometimes the airport was there and sometimes it wasn’t. I was in my 20s before I realized that I fell asleep on the way to town almost every time. © loveslaughs / Reddit

• When I was little, my dad would sometimes yell “car burp” while driving, and it was almost immediately followed by a “car burp.” I never understood how my dad knew when the car was going to “burp” or why cars burped in the first place. As an adult, every time I go over textured pavement grooves and my car makes that noise, I say “car burp” in my head and smile a bit.
  © Unknown author / Reddit

Memories can be complex, especially when we’re trying to recall things from our childhood. But those aren’t the only kinds of childhood memories that can leave us stumped. There are some memories that we might never be able to decipher. This article includes some remarkable tales that might give you goosebumps.