25 Childhood Lies We Believed Were True in Texas

In Wichita Falls, Texas, childhood memories run deep – and so do the tales our parents and grandparents once spun to keep us in line, behaving well, or just a little bit mystified. But sometimes those stories turned out to be nothing more than charming fabrications. As kids, they guided us, reassured us, or even freaked us out a little.

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Now, as adults, many locals are revisiting these myths with the humor and disbelief that only hindsight can bring.

Take the classic threat of swallowing gum: “It’ll stay in your stomach for seven years,” parents warned. No matter where you grew up, this one was almost guaranteed to haunt you every time you accidentally gulped down a stick of Juicy Fruit. Science, though, came to the rescue – turns out, gum passes through just like anything else. So much for seven years of worry!

We asked what's something you believed as a kid that turned out to be completely false on the 102.3 the Bull Facebook page. Scroll down to see a gallery of their top 25 answers.

These stories shaped childhoods, gave us cautionary tales, and provided memorable laughs. While the truth behind these legends might have cracked over time, the memories – and the smiles – are here to stay.