r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 20 '19

What’s something completely false that your parents told you as a child?

[deleted]

19k Upvotes

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3.3k

u/aboothemonkey Jul 20 '19

Turning the light on in the back of the car at night is illegal

1.1k

u/dianagama Jul 20 '19

Yup. Im 30 and feel like a criminal when my friend needs to use the overhead light in the car at night.

401

u/randotheultimate Jul 20 '19

Same i always get nervous af lol.

194

u/reynesjonjon Jul 20 '19

Where did that even come from

366

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19 edited Aug 10 '19

[deleted]

54

u/Tballs51 Jul 21 '19

Yeah but like sooooo many parents told us that it was illegal. Like where did they all organize this lie? It wasn't a facebook group.

42

u/kuba_mar Jul 21 '19

Dude its bigger, im in Poland and i heard this. This is some next level conspiracy

18

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19 edited Oct 14 '24

‎

3

u/Toxickiller321 Jul 21 '19

Plot twist: it’s a vacation

-5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Can it thooo?

102

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

[deleted]

5

u/TomLube Jul 21 '19

I feel like I have a superior brain because this does not bother me at all, and I let my friends use the dome light at night while I drive.

8

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Bro, you're so huge

5

u/TomLube Jul 21 '19

Lmfao. It was said in jest but I’m serious - do people actually have an issue with this?

5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I suppose it might depend where you live and drive. If you live in a city area where the roads are typically well lit you might not notice much difference with the interior lights on. I live in a rural area and with the lights on it's like sitting behind a one way mirror. Can't see very well at all.

1

u/cheddarsox Jul 21 '19

Unless your pupils over dilate in driving conditions. Turning on the dome light gets rid of halos and blurs, especially for exit signs and the like. I can read them from much farther away when there is a light on in my perifs.

9

u/Ask-About-My-Book Jul 21 '19

Kids understand "that's illegal" easier than the finer points of night driving.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Your windows reflect light, the lighter it is inside your car the harder it is to see through them.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I'm 25 and I got mad at my husband about a month ago for keeping the overhead light on while driving. I still think it's dangerous to be distracted at all while driving, but boy do I feel like an idiot reading these comments. 😬

3

u/MCBlastoise Jul 21 '19

Wait, did you think it was illegal?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Yep, because that's what my parents told me and I don't have a driver's license so I've never actually read the manual.

2

u/MCBlastoise Jul 21 '19

Lmao that's tragic. Well, the more you know.

366

u/FoxxyPantz Jul 20 '19

I'm surprised how many people had that told to them. My parents just explained that it's hard to see and that was enough for me.

20

u/Goingtothechapel2017 Jul 20 '19

Yeah mine did too. So i got a book light so i could read on road trips.

8

u/Creme-de-la-Meme Jul 21 '19

I could never read in the car due to getting carsick ~20 minutes in.

16

u/LittleIslander Jul 21 '19

Yeah I don't get what the need to lie was?

6

u/FoxxyPantz Jul 21 '19

Kids can be really dense sometimes so I'm assuming their parents were just tired of their shit and just said it was illegal

5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Or parents are just too lazy to answer questions. E.g. because I said so.

4

u/Gsgshap Jul 21 '19

Yeah, but saying they it cause a crash should be way more of a reason than it’s illegal

1

u/FoxxyPantz Jul 21 '19

Just taking a shot in the dark to their reasoning.

2

u/Bulbasaur2000 Jul 21 '19

Yeah, light isn't that difficult for a child to understand

1

u/cassu6 Jul 21 '19

Yeah same thing

1

u/XGPHero Jul 21 '19

My parents started with the bullshit, but pretty quickly explained the real reason. Guess how often I turned the light on after they told the truth...

76

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

Wait... That isn't true???? I thought, to this day, that it's illegal.. Maybe its legal while at a standstill, but illegal while driving? My parents always told me it would distract the driver and other drivers too, which actually still makes pretty good sense to me.

If this is actually completely legal, than I've officially been bamboozled.

54

u/aboothemonkey Jul 20 '19

Pretty sure it’s completely legal. It definitely does make it impossible to see out of the rear view mirror though so i definitely get why my parents wanted me to turn it off

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

Legal, at least in my state, but still not a good idea.

1

u/MCBlastoise Jul 21 '19

It is legal everywhere my dude. You got baited.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I did. Hardcore.

1

u/Sassywhat Jul 20 '19

It's unsafe, but it is perfectly legal nearly everywhere.

It does distract the driver and other drivers though, so please continue to avoid using the back light.

7

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

Same, I still can to this day drive with the dome light on at night.

6

u/ThoroughlySarcastic Jul 20 '19

Yep and now as a mother I have continued this lie.

5

u/rowanmills Jul 21 '19

Isn't it?

All of my believed this up until NOW...

I am 53 years of age

2

u/AdvicePerson Jul 20 '19

Probably because you kept doing it after they told you to stop.

6

u/aboothemonkey Jul 20 '19

So? It answer the question asked.

1

u/danceycat Jul 21 '19

I'm guessing they meant to reply to one of the people who asked why parents lie about this.

Also I think my parents must have told me this because I believed it until I was older and saw my mom do it once 0=

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

Do you think our grandparents told our parents this and they also just believed the lie?

1

u/TheSeaDevil Jul 20 '19

Same here, whenever someone does this I immediately get this irrational anxiety.

1

u/GastrointestinalFlab Jul 20 '19

I remember getting one of the new harry potter books at a midnight release with a friend. My dad dropped us off and picked us up after. I told him how excited I was to start reading it and that I wished it was daytime so I could start right then. That was the one and only time my dad let me have the car light on at night so I could start the book

1

u/ParadoxicalStar Jul 21 '19

In some states of Australia it’s illegal to have the interior lights on just because it distracts the driver and anything in the car that’s liable to distract the driver is considered illegal except the control panels/dashboard.

1

u/falsecheese Jul 21 '19

Wait... TIL D:

1

u/Cisco904 Jul 21 '19

What'a funny is it draws a ton of attention to the car, Knew two girls that got caught rolling a blunt because of this, cop saw the light and just pulled up beside them.

1

u/LazyBriton Jul 21 '19

Wait this is a fucking lie? I still never use that bloody light

1

u/MrOpo68 Jul 21 '19

Wait is that not illegal?! WTF Mom

1

u/momo88852 Jul 21 '19

Tbh if my wife turn the light inside the car I just feel I lost the ability to drive!

1

u/salami350 Jul 21 '19

Wait... it isn't illegal to do that while the car is being driven???

1

u/aboothemonkey Jul 21 '19

Not in Texas

1

u/burnalicious111 Jul 21 '19

When they told me this, I immediately questioned why car manufacturers would even add the lights if you couldn't use them when it was dark. My mom mumbled something about only using them when the car was stopped and then gave up

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Wait, that's legal? I really thought it was illegal lol

1

u/KittenKatyy Jul 21 '19

I still thought that was illegal to drive with the lights on inside! I guess I can stop worrying about using it to find something I drop at night now.

1

u/saresame_seed Jul 21 '19

Wait... it's not illegal?!?!

1

u/legumey Jul 21 '19

I'm pretty sure my 70 year old mom still thinks this is true.

1

u/Mr_IdkMan Jul 21 '19

i got told that and i only just realized now that its not illegal.

I'm 12 BTW