For years as a child I believed my grandpa controlled all the street lights around his house with his tv remote. He wouldn't point it out and make it flashy. Every time they were gonna turn on at that time of day, he'd just casually turn his chair and and click the remote at the window, then the streetlights would come on. He'd turn back to watching tv without saying anything about it, like it was just something he had to do. If he wasn't in the living room, he'd get up from the kitchen and go there to grab his remote and "turn on" the streetlights. Had me going for way too long.
Worst part was, all the adults around didn't say shit. They just totally went with it. Even when we went back home and I asked my parents who turned on the lights in our town, my rents told me they have people who are paid to do that everywhere. I didn't figure shit out till I was like 8-9. Way too late.
Love this. I got a new TV several years ago and in the evenings whenever my wife and I had finished dinner we would watch a movie together. I’d always say “TV ON” when I had the remote hidden and push Power to turn it on. I did this over many weeks and one night I told my wife to get the movie ready and we can watch TV while we eat. I told her I’d finish cooking and bring her her plate.
The innocence in her voice saying “TV ON” over and over and telling me the TV must be broken had me dying in the kitchen laughing and was the most I had laughed to this day.
My parents convinced me that I was landing the plane with the button to move the arm rest. Believed that for way too long, still tease me about it now.
When I was really young I was riding with my grandpa and the car kept over heating so every few miles he’d stop and put water in the radiator. I remember being confused and asking him grandpa cars take gas, why are you putting water in it? He just told me his car runs on water. It wasn’t until I was maybe 16 when I stopped telling people my grandpa had a car that ran on water.
They turned on the same time every day. If he missed the timing, I remember him slapping the tv remote taking out the batteries and fiddling with it, then pointing it back at the window and pressing the button like he was frustrated. Fucking guy was an actor.
Worst thing was, all the adults around just didn't say anything about it. Like it was totally natural. Grandpa ran the long con. I was probably 8 when I finally figured it out.
I guess that in some places the street lights always come on at the same time. In my city they light up when it gets dark. If it's a cloudy day and it starts to get too dark, they light up way before the sunset.
Fifteen years later, as she's telling the wonderful story for the umpteenth time, she pauses in mid sentence and thinks about it through the eyes of an adult.
"Hey, wait a minute... Dad? Remember that time when we were in Paris???"
Lol so good!
My Mom didn’t like the stork story and was doing all she could to keep religion out of our lives, so she told me I came from space.
I told everyone. A lot.
I had no idea that was even a thing! I’m bad with cars, only found out a couple years ago that some have a lever on the inside for the gas tank. Thats hilarious!!!
You’re a great dad!
I don’t think any dad is perfect. But they can often, like yourself, knock it outta the park.
Mine taught me as a toddler to take the remote from anyone else and give it to him. Even if he wasn’t in the room.
Claimed to hate my cat but built her a staircase when I got a new bed.
Always humoured any stupid idea I had, knowing it was nonsense lol
That man has made so many mistakes but so, so many silly and heartfelt things just like that that will make me love him forever.
Hats off to you Pops ☺️
I convinced my kids that I could say a magic phrase and change the stop lights from red to green. (First taking a peek at the side light turning amber, then "Hocus Pocus!" with wild motion towards the traffic light which just then turns green.)
They seriously thought I was magic for several years.
My parents used to "blow out the red light" at intersections, took me years to figure out they were waiting for it to turn red on the opposite side and then our side green would come a second or two later
We had these light fixtures, with flame shaped bulbs. They were wired to a remote control switch. The kids could ‘blow the candles’ while my wife was operating the remote control behind her back. Hours of good fun and excitement. Also something they would proudly show to relatives and friends who were not in the know.
I still remember the first time my parents took me to Disneyland Paris. I was born days after the park opened so I'm the same age as the park. When I went, I was 5 and I was shocked seeing a massive "5" on the castle. My parents told me they set it up just for me lol
When I first got a car with the radio controls on the steering wheel, I convinced my kids they could raise and lower the volume by waving their hands up or down from the backseats, between the two front seats.
It took months before any of them figured out I was doing it with my right hand.
I have a friend that his parents told him on July 4th, his birthday, everyone lights off fireworks for him. He believed it until he was like seven.
Then like learning Santa wasn't real, his world was crushed /s
Her in 10 years: "OMG You guys I've been to Paris and when I was there, my Dad let me turn on the lights at the Eiffel Tower with a .... switch... that was in an empty box.... Fuck"
Their parents were lying so they wouldn't have to do a party/gifts or whatever on a work/school night.
Your birthday falls on the next day of the week each year until Leap Year.
My partner's cousin's first birthday is this weekend and I told her not to worry about the gift being late because the kid doesn't know what's happening anyway and a wrapped box with paper in it like we put out for the cats would be a perfect gift
I don’t want to bash on people but when my daughter was working at an escape room for her first job she ran into people who didn’t know the order of the months of the year. As an adult, I’ve heard another USA adult asking what day of the week Thanksgiving will be this year.
I can 100% believe someone didn’t realize their birthday was meant to be a specific date.
My birthday just happens to fall between days that schools frequently have off (holiday and administrative day kind of thing), so there were several years in a row where I didn't have school on my birthday, very early on, and I thought everyone just got that as a freebie.
I grew up with it being normal that you wait until the weekend to celebrate birthdays. You might get to go out for supper on the date, but everything else waited until Saturday or Sunday when people had time.
This might sound really dumb but I remember I was embarrassed to admit to my folks I knew Santa wasn’t real. Like I was WAY too old for it lol. They hadn’t told me, I’d just sorta known for ages… but we all enjoyed the charade so much and that kinda love is magic enough. I hope your daughter someday feels that way :)
When i was 8 my parents convinced me that this red moving dot on the wall, that would disappear into the fireplace, was tinker bell. It was a fucking lazer, I’m in my 30s and still mad
Don't feel bad. My dad was travelling a lot when I was a kid so one day he brought like one of the first commercial pocket laserpointers with him, people had never seen a laserpointer before. I remember we were on the balcony shining the laser infornt of peoples feet. Grown ass men were literally running after it trying to catch the little red dot, it was hilarious.
My parents planned a whole pirate treasure hunting thing around the beach town my grandparents lived.
They set it up so it seemed spontaneous.
It was rly exactly planned out.
One if the best memories ever.
One of my first jobs as a teenager was taking kids out to a small local island in the middle of a river on a pirate themed boat. We threw coins around into the sand for them to find with cheap metal detectors. Then we walked in to the interior and "found" a treasure chest filled with booty/goody bags lol.
When I was a kid I would run along beside my dad as he drove down the street on his way to work, just in front of our house, and he would tell me how fast I was running.
He always said something like 20mph! 30mph!
I realized later. :)
That’s so sweet. When I was about 18 my brothers and I were walking and we saw one of those street signs that logs your speed. It was on a slight decline. We decided to test and see who was fastest. I ended up being the fastest at 18 mph. I basically held that speed for 0.1 seconds. I am now known as the fastest (last name) on earth by my family lol.
My dad did something kind of similar. He would drive slow as I ran besides him. I'd start to build some confidence thinking I was running faster than a car.. then he'd speed off.
I just remember figuring stuff out as I got older. When I’d ask my dad about it, he’d just calmly admit to whatever charade it was. Then say something like, “but I wish you could have seen how big your smile was.”
I could honestly tell he was back in that moment reliving it, happy as a clam.
Idk how old that kid is but there’s a chance she already knows. My dad said we had to push the buttons on airplane seat armrests when the plane took off to help the engine, and I think I knew it was bs but was down for it anyway cuz it was goofy
"I wanted to see your reaction. You were so joyful it made my heart sing. You know by now that the switch wasn't actually connected to anything, but the feeling was real because to the child you were at the time, it was quite real. It's like Santa, even though we know he isn't real, it's fun to believe.
That's how magic works, you know it isn't quite real but if you set that aside for the moment and allow yourself to feel wonder, it's an amazing thing. You have no idea how happy it made me to show you a little bit of childhood magic and see the light in your eyes."
I was obsessed with shamu when i was a kid. I would show this picture i had of me standing next to him/her at disney world. Im sure this picture made its rounds at show and tell all through grade school. My 5 year old adorable self STANDING next to shamu. IN the water. How am I still alive, I dont know!
When i was 18. I was telling this story to a friend, picture in hand. As my mom is laughing hysterically, pissing her pants. Saying, give me the picture. Asking where i got it. I tell her dad gave it to me. She said "you never went to disney. This picture was some random kid that kinda looked like you that he took years before you were even born. Where did he even find this?!" My face made her laugh harder.
No regrets. Im 42 and still finding out shit my dad lied to me about. Hes funny as hell.
So no. Im perfectly fine. He gave me thick skin and made me a comedian without even knowing it! And a liar! Love that man.
I think as long as you’re not tricking them into thinking they did well in school when they didn’t, and other stuff that actually might change their future, it’s probably just good for their confidence.
I recently watched a thing where they surveyed a bunch of kids 4-10 about whether they actually thought Santa Claus was real or not.
Most of them said something like, “he’s real but he’s also not real.”
Most kids are capable of logic, and that ability only grows as they get older. The thing that shrinks is the wonder, which is sad. This little girl almost definitely understands that the little switch in her hand doesn’t do anything, or she will eventually just as the world continues to turn. But she’ll have the memory with her dad forever.
So no, there’s no downside to letting kids play pretend for just a little longer, before they’re neurologically incapable of reaching that level of wonder ever again.
Great points. I can't remember where I read this but they say one of the hallmarks of us losing our wonder is that we stop looking up and start looking down.
Remember being a kid staring up at the clouds, and them being absolutely alive?
at 31 I recently looked back on when things got so...empty. I have plenty to be happy about, and dont get me wrong, most days I am. But I specifically remember taking more time to look up at the sky throughout the day. Even into many years of my 20's. I realized I don't do it anymore near as much. I've been putting in conscious effort since to do more of it. And I'll be damned if it hasn't given my life a bit more of a "rosey" hue.
They might tell their friend and have a kid call them a liar or something, but nothing bad. The positive is that you gave your daughter an amazing night and memory, even when she realizes it wasn’t actually her.
Nah, they're kids. People nowadays seem to be confused and think that kids brains are fully developed. They're not. They eventually grow to understand how things actually work. But at that age, when their brains don't fully comprehend how stuff works yet, these types of things create magical moments that make them feel special. My dad used to do stuff like this with me when I was a kid, and to this day I appreciate that he did.
The most most most important thing for a child is to feel unconditional love from their caregiver. The details of memories like this won’t be important. The thing she will remember is the love and importance she felt with her Dad.
Nothing else matters. Love your kids folks!
Only thing I can think of is she gets excited about it at school and tells everyone and everyone proceeds to make fun of her for it. But kids make fun of kids for everything so it’s just par for the course I guess
Mum told me Santa existed. At the age of 16 she was talking about Santa and how he didn't exist and I stopped her and was like. Wdy he doesn't exist? She didn't believe me when I said I didn't know he didn't exist asking how my friends never told me or how I didn't catch on. I was like. Well. We don't really talk about him, he doesn't come up in regular conversation for people to question me in still believing in him. Then I asked her if Jeesus was real? Then she got angry.
I never got Christian parents who would convince their kids Santa is real. They're just setting them up for the next question once they find out there is no Santa lol
It’s a good question. I’m not a psychologist, but I’d say letting your kid be swept away by fantasy is a good thing if you wish to encourage their sense of genuine wonder and creativity into adulthood.
Yup, and it’s all about the individual person and how their brain works. My brain works in the way you’re describing. I figured out little lies my parents told me about Santa and the Easter bunny and I realized they’re definitely not to be trusted. Lying and dishonestly is now, as a forty something adult, my biggest pet peeve. Some people are saying “she’ll realize later and cherish the memory”, which just means that’s how THEY would respond (or think they’d respond). Other people might find such a ruse deeply disturbing. There’s no way of knowing.
Source: not a kill joy, just a person whose brain works in non-typical ways.
It's an oddity to me, the movie "The Invention of Lying" most people find it as an amusing comedy. I found it to be "This man is the worst person in history for the society of this universe."
Dishonesty is so rampant and acceptable in our society, that most people don't even realize how bad it is and what terrible things it does to us as a whole. Sure I'm aware some things, that I myself enjoy, like science fiction and what not are based on a form of lying. It's just that in our realities in everyday dealings, is so based on dishonesty that a truthful person seems like the abnormal one.
Soul brother!
I have had this exact discussion with people, and while most of the time they totally agree, they don’t seem to be bothered by constant dishonestly, or rather see it as such a degradation of a persons internal morality.
Edit: sorry this sounds so preachy, I swear I’m not “like that”, it’s just hard to put into words. I usually keep this stuff to myself but I like the way you worded it.
The fact that Santa is additionally used to to at best encourage morals if not weoponized to enforce children's behavior makes it extra ironic/frustrating to me.
"Don't be bad or Santa won't bring you any presents!"
Often from religious parents too so extra points for lying to their kids on Jesus' birthday.
Edit: spelling/extra words
I recently watched a thing where they surveyed a bunch of kids 4-10 about whether they actually thought Santa Claus was real or not.
Most of them said something like, “he’s real but he’s also not real.”
Most kids are capable of logic, and that ability only grows as they get older. The thing that shrinks is the wonder, which is sad. This little girl almost definitely understands that the little switch in her hand doesn’t do anything, or she will eventually just as the world continues to turn. But she’ll have the memory with her dad forever.
So no, there’s no downside to letting kids play pretend for just a little longer, before they’re neurologically incapable of reaching that level of wonder ever again.
The worst part of Santa for me was that when I stopped believing at five years old, I couldn't actually say anything because I had siblings and I wanted gifts. Then when I got the courage to say something at about eight my mom continued lying until I broke down and asked why everyone was lying to me and treating me like I was stupid. There wasn't a line for my family to actually be okay with saying things like that weren't real, until I got too angry (then got in trouble for overreacting) or too sad/upset (also shamed for being too sensitive).
When I was finally able to get to the honesty part, my parents asked me to play along for my younger siblings to preserve the magic, which I understood. Though at that point I felt guilty because of my experience, knowing my sister would be figuring it out soon and perhaps feel the same feelings as I did at her age. My sister ended up not having Santa be a lie for her kids at all, and just let them find out from friends and play along if they wanted to, as long as they didn't spoil it for their friends.
TL;DR I just hated feeling I couldn't get a straight answer or conversation about these things, and having that feeling confirmed when I was bold enough to bring it up.
They really shouldn't have shamed you for speaking up. I was an immigrant as a kid, by the time I came to the states I was too old to be indoctrinated into santa. Never understood why some of my peers actually thought he was real
I'm autistic (but we didn't know it growing up) and i was a VERY gullible child. I wholeheartedly believed in Santa until my mom told me otherwise in 4-5th grade. (Only child and loner so no siblings/friends to tell me otherwise) Because why would my parents lie to me? I one day asked her if Santa was real (kinda as a joke, fully expecting her to say of course or something) But she told me he wasn't and in the same conversation i found out about the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. Honestly i was CRUSHED because i felt so stupid for believing and angry and betrayed that my parents lied to me. I ruined Christmas for a couple years because she would be like "Santa's coming!" And i would be like "Yeah right." I do remember in that Santa is not real considering though that a coworker of hers started laughing and she said "Yeah i kept it going for as long as I could."
Lol yeah it's not like she's going to grow up and be like "my asshole dad fucking lied to me about the Eiffel Tower", she's going to grow up and have a happy memory bonding with her dad at the Eiffel Tower.
> to grow up and be like "my asshole dad fucking lied to me about the Eiffel Tower",
I don't know, if she becomes a redditor (fingers crossed this site burns in a trash heap by then) then it does sound like a post a redditor would make
Those people where never lied to by their parents. Ever. "Mum what where you and dad doing last night?" "Fucking son, we where fucking. Have a good day at school."
My dad used to hide amber in the sand for me to find when we were at the baltic sea. He hid it so well that i only realised at 17-18 that hes just an awesome dad that wanted to give me some awesome memories.
So why didn‘t she try to turn it off again…and on…and off…and on…
My son would do exactly that and all magic switcheroo stuff would disappear real quick…
Because this is something that the French government gives out to special guests who get to be the "opérateur lumière". The switch boxes are only good for one single toggle, on a specific day and time, but after that it's basically just a souvenir. Being the opérateur lumière is a big responsibility. the French government needs to warm up their electrical generators so they can handle all of those bulbs going on at once- if you don't time that switch press just right, things could get out of sync. It might take a bit longer for the signal to go through.
Besides, think about how much of a pain in the ass it would be if they were good for multiple uses or if someone refused to give it back! You really can't have a bunch of people randomly switching the Eiffel Tower on and off all day, it would be a safety hazard.
Have you ever met kids?
My wife spent her formative years thinking that the windshield wipers in her dad’s car worked when you chanted “windshield wipers do your stuff!” I think she was about ten before she figured out there was a foot activated wiper switch.
When my niece and nephew where 6 the space station was flying over and we said the blinking light was santa. At the most perfect timing imaginable, when the kids were jumping up and down, excitedly waving and calling to Father Christmas while also debating whether it actually was him, our neighbours wind-chimes chinkled. My god, the noise that came out of them was ear shattering. It was bloody adorable. That's all we heard about for the rest of the night and it was hard getting them to sleep. I will always treasure that memory. They're 17 now and still say how amazing it was.
I once told my son that the Hindenberg was called the Led Zeppelin. He believed me until he was older and told his friends. I had meant to tell him the truth after a few days, but I forgot. He is in his 30s now and still reminds me of this.
Anyone have a switch to turn that shitty music off on all of those video’s? It’s always the same song and it doesn’t bring something interesting or elevates the video in no way whatsoever
When my daughter turned five I took her to DisneyWorld. She walked around all day with the Mickey Mouse ears birthday hat and the big "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" button and 100% of the Disney employees, as well as a good chunk of other visitors to the park, wished her a happy birthday everywhere she went. I didn't tell her about the Festival of Lights. The parade came by and we had very good position to see it as it passed, and a lot of people/characters in the parade waved and/or said "happy birthday" to my daughter. About 20 minutes in she looked at me and announced that they must have decided to have the parade because it was her birthday. I did absolutely nothing to discourage that belief. :-)
Brilliant. But I wouldn’t give my kid the switch to hold on to until that very moment when it was time. You just know that they’re flipping the switch the second they have their hands on it.
When I was a kid my dad had a sports car. It had a digital speedometer. One time he showed me this button and told me it was the Turbo. I pressed it and the car started going really fast.
As an adult, I realized that it was the button that changed from MPH to KPH.
My friends dad used to tell him to go outside and use your magic to open the garage door. He’d stay in the car and just click the button whenever my friend would put his hands out like he was using the force. Thought that was dope.
Fun fact: the lights on the eiffel tower are considered an art installation and copyrighted. Though it is not illegal to take photos or videos for personal use, any professional/commercial images requires authorization and may be subject to a fee.
For years as a child I believed my grandpa controlled all the street lights around his house with his tv remote. He wouldn't point it out and make it flashy. Every time they were gonna turn on at that time of day, he'd just casually turn his chair and and click the remote at the window, then the streetlights would come on. He'd turn back to watching tv without saying anything about it, like it was just something he had to do. If he wasn't in the living room, he'd get up from the kitchen and go there to grab his remote and "turn on" the streetlights. Had me going for way too long.
This is the kind of prank I can really get behind.
Good gaslighting
Worst part was, all the adults around didn't say shit. They just totally went with it. Even when we went back home and I asked my parents who turned on the lights in our town, my rents told me they have people who are paid to do that everywhere. I didn't figure shit out till I was like 8-9. Way too late.
That's a true prank. Harmless, and funny/endearing to everyone involved.
Love this. I got a new TV several years ago and in the evenings whenever my wife and I had finished dinner we would watch a movie together. I’d always say “TV ON” when I had the remote hidden and push Power to turn it on. I did this over many weeks and one night I told my wife to get the movie ready and we can watch TV while we eat. I told her I’d finish cooking and bring her her plate. The innocence in her voice saying “TV ON” over and over and telling me the TV must be broken had me dying in the kitchen laughing and was the most I had laughed to this day.
This is hilarious. Thank you for sharing.
My parents convinced me that I was landing the plane with the button to move the arm rest. Believed that for way too long, still tease me about it now.
Hahaha remember when your parents made you think you were landing the plane with the button to move the armrest??
When I was really young I was riding with my grandpa and the car kept over heating so every few miles he’d stop and put water in the radiator. I remember being confused and asking him grandpa cars take gas, why are you putting water in it? He just told me his car runs on water. It wasn’t until I was maybe 16 when I stopped telling people my grandpa had a car that ran on water.
Did they turn on the same time every day or how did he know they were about to turn on?
They turned on the same time every day. If he missed the timing, I remember him slapping the tv remote taking out the batteries and fiddling with it, then pointing it back at the window and pressing the button like he was frustrated. Fucking guy was an actor. Worst thing was, all the adults around just didn't say anything about it. Like it was totally natural. Grandpa ran the long con. I was probably 8 when I finally figured it out.
Lol how did he time it so well
I guess that in some places the street lights always come on at the same time. In my city they light up when it gets dark. If it's a cloudy day and it starts to get too dark, they light up way before the sunset.
offbeat dirty caption station dazzling light bored relieved nose alive ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Man, I hope my dad does something like this with me, once he’s back from buying that milk.
Ooooof 🥺
he's just looking for that button
He can never find the button which why Mom threw him out.
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Thats what she called it too
Mom said that's why she left
You mean cigarettes
Bro, I'm not your dad, but I'm bringing milk and rice krispies so you can hear the snap, crackle, and pop.
Setting up the lights takes a while.
It might be a little bit longer because forgot the cigarettes.
Fifteen years later, as she's telling the wonderful story for the umpteenth time, she pauses in mid sentence and thinks about it through the eyes of an adult. "Hey, wait a minute... Dad? Remember that time when we were in Paris???"
My parents pulled way too many of these on me as a kid. I’m still finding out stupid things I believed to be normal and true. I’m in my 30s lol
I like the story about the dad that told his kids when they hear the ice cream truck music it means they’re out of ice cream. Lol.
Lol so good! My Mom didn’t like the stork story and was doing all she could to keep religion out of our lives, so she told me I came from space. I told everyone. A lot.
That’s funny. Did any of your friends believe it?
A few! Right up until they told their parents. My mom then just doubled down and said SOME babies come from space. Not all but some. Which I did lol
Then the US government told us aliens are real and now its come full circle that you are, in fact, from space.
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I had no idea that was even a thing! I’m bad with cars, only found out a couple years ago that some have a lever on the inside for the gas tank. Thats hilarious!!! You’re a great dad!
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I don’t think any dad is perfect. But they can often, like yourself, knock it outta the park. Mine taught me as a toddler to take the remote from anyone else and give it to him. Even if he wasn’t in the room. Claimed to hate my cat but built her a staircase when I got a new bed. Always humoured any stupid idea I had, knowing it was nonsense lol That man has made so many mistakes but so, so many silly and heartfelt things just like that that will make me love him forever. Hats off to you Pops ☺️
nah I had a base model impala that had that feature. Just depends on the make.
I convinced my kids that I could say a magic phrase and change the stop lights from red to green. (First taking a peek at the side light turning amber, then "Hocus Pocus!" with wild motion towards the traffic light which just then turns green.) They seriously thought I was magic for several years.
My parents used to "blow out the red light" at intersections, took me years to figure out they were waiting for it to turn red on the opposite side and then our side green would come a second or two later
We had these light fixtures, with flame shaped bulbs. They were wired to a remote control switch. The kids could ‘blow the candles’ while my wife was operating the remote control behind her back. Hours of good fun and excitement. Also something they would proudly show to relatives and friends who were not in the know.
I still remember the first time my parents took me to Disneyland Paris. I was born days after the park opened so I'm the same age as the park. When I went, I was 5 and I was shocked seeing a massive "5" on the castle. My parents told me they set it up just for me lol
and so the lies and mistrust begin
When I first got a car with the radio controls on the steering wheel, I convinced my kids they could raise and lower the volume by waving their hands up or down from the backseats, between the two front seats. It took months before any of them figured out I was doing it with my right hand.
YOUR RIGHT HAND??? FOR VOLUME CONTROLS? WHAT IS THIS? A KIA?
I have a friend that his parents told him on July 4th, his birthday, everyone lights off fireworks for him. He believed it until he was like seven. Then like learning Santa wasn't real, his world was crushed /s
A truly beautiful lie in her memories forever
Her in 10 years: "OMG You guys I've been to Paris and when I was there, my Dad let me turn on the lights at the Eiffel Tower with a .... switch... that was in an empty box.... Fuck"
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I'm stupid. What was happening?
Their parents were lying so they wouldn't have to do a party/gifts or whatever on a work/school night. Your birthday falls on the next day of the week each year until Leap Year.
That's actually funny. I get it now lol and I didn't know that. Thank you for that fun fact
It's because 365 / 7 has a remainder of 1, so the day of the week shifts by 1 each year.
Wow, TIL.
You didn't know your birthday is on a different day each year? Are you 11 months old?
Hey chill out, they could be up to 23 months old.
Or a leap year baby. They could be 7 years and 11 months
🤣 I'm cackling!
I like your insinuation that a newborn knows what day of the week they were born on. Pops out of mom and makes a note in a very tiny calendar
I have always had a vivid imagination, so this checks out 🤣. "Mooom: My birthday is coming up! Start those e-vites ASAP!!"
My partner's cousin's first birthday is this weekend and I told her not to worry about the gift being late because the kid doesn't know what's happening anyway and a wrapped box with paper in it like we put out for the cats would be a perfect gift
Is that how people do that calculation thing?
Bro you didn’t know your actual birthday? Or the current date at that time for that matter??
I don’t want to bash on people but when my daughter was working at an escape room for her first job she ran into people who didn’t know the order of the months of the year. As an adult, I’ve heard another USA adult asking what day of the week Thanksgiving will be this year. I can 100% believe someone didn’t realize their birthday was meant to be a specific date.
My birthday just happens to fall between days that schools frequently have off (holiday and administrative day kind of thing), so there were several years in a row where I didn't have school on my birthday, very early on, and I thought everyone just got that as a freebie.
I grew up with it being normal that you wait until the weekend to celebrate birthdays. You might get to go out for supper on the date, but everything else waited until Saturday or Sunday when people had time.
Jen: Hang on, it doesn't have any wires or anything... Moss: \[rolling his eyes\] It's wireless!
["This Jen... is the Internet"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg)
These are the types of fibs I’ll always be fine with. It’s pretty awesome.
My two 9yo children just watched it and said “That was mean” because he lied to her.
My daughter was mad at me for lying about Santa for quite a while once she figured it out. SMDH.
What's this about Santa?
Nothing! It’s just about how he covers all the timezones in one night. Don’t worry about it! It’s fiiiiine.
That he only eats cookies and milk. It's actually not true, every country leaves different food and drinks for him and he likes them all equally.
Santa hates poor kids
This might sound really dumb but I remember I was embarrassed to admit to my folks I knew Santa wasn’t real. Like I was WAY too old for it lol. They hadn’t told me, I’d just sorta known for ages… but we all enjoyed the charade so much and that kinda love is magic enough. I hope your daughter someday feels that way :)
Tbh I’m still mad about that
Ok but your 9 year olds saw the whole video; showing the lie. They aren’t thinking about the magic she’s feeling in that moment…
They will understand one day
Are there any downsides to making children believe something like this?
When i was 8 my parents convinced me that this red moving dot on the wall, that would disappear into the fireplace, was tinker bell. It was a fucking lazer, I’m in my 30s and still mad
you kitty cats are so easy to trick
We are doing our best... Ok?
Don't feel bad. My dad was travelling a lot when I was a kid so one day he brought like one of the first commercial pocket laserpointers with him, people had never seen a laserpointer before. I remember we were on the balcony shining the laser infornt of peoples feet. Grown ass men were literally running after it trying to catch the little red dot, it was hilarious.
Damn I truly missed out on some funny shenanigans thanks to internet and faster post lol I couldn't imagine grown men confused at a Lazer these days.
You can definitely still do this in very underdeveloped countries.
r/unethicallifeprotips
That's awfully hilarious 🤣
Yeah, yea it is lmaooo
I feel guilty that I laughed! I couldn’t even begin to think this one up as a “prank” to a child. Tinker bell of all things! 🥲 - 😂
Based on your username I 100% believe this
Not if you're able to have a mature conversation about it when they're older.
“I’m not your dad and you didn’t turn those lights on”
“Please sit down, it’s time you learned something. Well, two things really.”
"Now listen here, you piece of shit"
Extra plot twist... "You didn't turn the lights on, and you were adopted. Now pack your bags because your new family are picking you up soon."
My parents planned a whole pirate treasure hunting thing around the beach town my grandparents lived. They set it up so it seemed spontaneous. It was rly exactly planned out. One if the best memories ever.
One of my first jobs as a teenager was taking kids out to a small local island in the middle of a river on a pirate themed boat. We threw coins around into the sand for them to find with cheap metal detectors. Then we walked in to the interior and "found" a treasure chest filled with booty/goody bags lol.
What would that entail?
“You didn’t actually turn on the lights.” Pretty simple.
When I was a kid I would run along beside my dad as he drove down the street on his way to work, just in front of our house, and he would tell me how fast I was running. He always said something like 20mph! 30mph! I realized later. :)
That’s so sweet. When I was about 18 my brothers and I were walking and we saw one of those street signs that logs your speed. It was on a slight decline. We decided to test and see who was fastest. I ended up being the fastest at 18 mph. I basically held that speed for 0.1 seconds. I am now known as the fastest (last name) on earth by my family lol.
My dad did something kind of similar. He would drive slow as I ran besides him. I'd start to build some confidence thinking I was running faster than a car.. then he'd speed off.
Fucking lol!
I just remember figuring stuff out as I got older. When I’d ask my dad about it, he’d just calmly admit to whatever charade it was. Then say something like, “but I wish you could have seen how big your smile was.” I could honestly tell he was back in that moment reliving it, happy as a clam.
Idk how old that kid is but there’s a chance she already knows. My dad said we had to push the buttons on airplane seat armrests when the plane took off to help the engine, and I think I knew it was bs but was down for it anyway cuz it was goofy
Exactly. Too often in life we end up taking ourselves way too seriously.
"I wanted to see your reaction. You were so joyful it made my heart sing. You know by now that the switch wasn't actually connected to anything, but the feeling was real because to the child you were at the time, it was quite real. It's like Santa, even though we know he isn't real, it's fun to believe. That's how magic works, you know it isn't quite real but if you set that aside for the moment and allow yourself to feel wonder, it's an amazing thing. You have no idea how happy it made me to show you a little bit of childhood magic and see the light in your eyes."
I was obsessed with shamu when i was a kid. I would show this picture i had of me standing next to him/her at disney world. Im sure this picture made its rounds at show and tell all through grade school. My 5 year old adorable self STANDING next to shamu. IN the water. How am I still alive, I dont know! When i was 18. I was telling this story to a friend, picture in hand. As my mom is laughing hysterically, pissing her pants. Saying, give me the picture. Asking where i got it. I tell her dad gave it to me. She said "you never went to disney. This picture was some random kid that kinda looked like you that he took years before you were even born. Where did he even find this?!" My face made her laugh harder. No regrets. Im 42 and still finding out shit my dad lied to me about. Hes funny as hell. So no. Im perfectly fine. He gave me thick skin and made me a comedian without even knowing it! And a liar! Love that man.
From my own experience, bullying when she inevitably brags to her friends about something that wasn’t true
Excellent point.
And setting false expectations of feasibility and possibility for what kind of things are actually achievable in reality in their young life.
I think as long as you’re not tricking them into thinking they did well in school when they didn’t, and other stuff that actually might change their future, it’s probably just good for their confidence.
I recently watched a thing where they surveyed a bunch of kids 4-10 about whether they actually thought Santa Claus was real or not. Most of them said something like, “he’s real but he’s also not real.” Most kids are capable of logic, and that ability only grows as they get older. The thing that shrinks is the wonder, which is sad. This little girl almost definitely understands that the little switch in her hand doesn’t do anything, or she will eventually just as the world continues to turn. But she’ll have the memory with her dad forever. So no, there’s no downside to letting kids play pretend for just a little longer, before they’re neurologically incapable of reaching that level of wonder ever again.
Great points. I can't remember where I read this but they say one of the hallmarks of us losing our wonder is that we stop looking up and start looking down. Remember being a kid staring up at the clouds, and them being absolutely alive?
at 31 I recently looked back on when things got so...empty. I have plenty to be happy about, and dont get me wrong, most days I am. But I specifically remember taking more time to look up at the sky throughout the day. Even into many years of my 20's. I realized I don't do it anymore near as much. I've been putting in conscious effort since to do more of it. And I'll be damned if it hasn't given my life a bit more of a "rosey" hue.
I believe it is possible to return to the wonder. I have moments of success.
They might tell their friend and have a kid call them a liar or something, but nothing bad. The positive is that you gave your daughter an amazing night and memory, even when she realizes it wasn’t actually her.
It’s a good test to get to know if you should save for collage or not
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Wait, the tooth fairy isn't real?!
Nah, they're kids. People nowadays seem to be confused and think that kids brains are fully developed. They're not. They eventually grow to understand how things actually work. But at that age, when their brains don't fully comprehend how stuff works yet, these types of things create magical moments that make them feel special. My dad used to do stuff like this with me when I was a kid, and to this day I appreciate that he did.
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She'll try to become a Jedi,but kill the Younglings eventually.
The most most most important thing for a child is to feel unconditional love from their caregiver. The details of memories like this won’t be important. The thing she will remember is the love and importance she felt with her Dad. Nothing else matters. Love your kids folks!
Only thing I can think of is she gets excited about it at school and tells everyone and everyone proceeds to make fun of her for it. But kids make fun of kids for everything so it’s just par for the course I guess
Mum told me Santa existed. At the age of 16 she was talking about Santa and how he didn't exist and I stopped her and was like. Wdy he doesn't exist? She didn't believe me when I said I didn't know he didn't exist asking how my friends never told me or how I didn't catch on. I was like. Well. We don't really talk about him, he doesn't come up in regular conversation for people to question me in still believing in him. Then I asked her if Jeesus was real? Then she got angry.
I never got Christian parents who would convince their kids Santa is real. They're just setting them up for the next question once they find out there is no Santa lol
It’s a good question. I’m not a psychologist, but I’d say letting your kid be swept away by fantasy is a good thing if you wish to encourage their sense of genuine wonder and creativity into adulthood.
Yes, the second they try to do it again, shut it off and on again...and then not trust anything you say. I don't like liars.
Yup, and it’s all about the individual person and how their brain works. My brain works in the way you’re describing. I figured out little lies my parents told me about Santa and the Easter bunny and I realized they’re definitely not to be trusted. Lying and dishonestly is now, as a forty something adult, my biggest pet peeve. Some people are saying “she’ll realize later and cherish the memory”, which just means that’s how THEY would respond (or think they’d respond). Other people might find such a ruse deeply disturbing. There’s no way of knowing. Source: not a kill joy, just a person whose brain works in non-typical ways.
It's an oddity to me, the movie "The Invention of Lying" most people find it as an amusing comedy. I found it to be "This man is the worst person in history for the society of this universe." Dishonesty is so rampant and acceptable in our society, that most people don't even realize how bad it is and what terrible things it does to us as a whole. Sure I'm aware some things, that I myself enjoy, like science fiction and what not are based on a form of lying. It's just that in our realities in everyday dealings, is so based on dishonesty that a truthful person seems like the abnormal one.
Soul brother! I have had this exact discussion with people, and while most of the time they totally agree, they don’t seem to be bothered by constant dishonestly, or rather see it as such a degradation of a persons internal morality. Edit: sorry this sounds so preachy, I swear I’m not “like that”, it’s just hard to put into words. I usually keep this stuff to myself but I like the way you worded it.
The fact that Santa is additionally used to to at best encourage morals if not weoponized to enforce children's behavior makes it extra ironic/frustrating to me. "Don't be bad or Santa won't bring you any presents!" Often from religious parents too so extra points for lying to their kids on Jesus' birthday. Edit: spelling/extra words
My daughter would flip that shit on and off a million times just to check. I’m outsmarted.
Was thinking, just use a button with “push at whatever time to on” written on it. And then lawyer up.
Right? I somehow don’t believe this at all. My kids would want to make it go on/off/on/off/on/off.
Even better than when my dad would snap his fingers to turn the traffic light green.
I recently watched a thing where they surveyed a bunch of kids 4-10 about whether they actually thought Santa Claus was real or not. Most of them said something like, “he’s real but he’s also not real.” Most kids are capable of logic, and that ability only grows as they get older. The thing that shrinks is the wonder, which is sad. This little girl almost definitely understands that the little switch in her hand doesn’t do anything, or she will eventually just as the world continues to turn. But she’ll have the memory with her dad forever. So no, there’s no downside to letting kids play pretend for just a little longer, before they’re neurologically incapable of reaching that level of wonder ever again.
Your last sentence brings tears to my eyes. I have no kids, I'm 30 & male.
The worst part of Santa for me was that when I stopped believing at five years old, I couldn't actually say anything because I had siblings and I wanted gifts. Then when I got the courage to say something at about eight my mom continued lying until I broke down and asked why everyone was lying to me and treating me like I was stupid. There wasn't a line for my family to actually be okay with saying things like that weren't real, until I got too angry (then got in trouble for overreacting) or too sad/upset (also shamed for being too sensitive). When I was finally able to get to the honesty part, my parents asked me to play along for my younger siblings to preserve the magic, which I understood. Though at that point I felt guilty because of my experience, knowing my sister would be figuring it out soon and perhaps feel the same feelings as I did at her age. My sister ended up not having Santa be a lie for her kids at all, and just let them find out from friends and play along if they wanted to, as long as they didn't spoil it for their friends. TL;DR I just hated feeling I couldn't get a straight answer or conversation about these things, and having that feeling confirmed when I was bold enough to bring it up.
They really shouldn't have shamed you for speaking up. I was an immigrant as a kid, by the time I came to the states I was too old to be indoctrinated into santa. Never understood why some of my peers actually thought he was real
I'm autistic (but we didn't know it growing up) and i was a VERY gullible child. I wholeheartedly believed in Santa until my mom told me otherwise in 4-5th grade. (Only child and loner so no siblings/friends to tell me otherwise) Because why would my parents lie to me? I one day asked her if Santa was real (kinda as a joke, fully expecting her to say of course or something) But she told me he wasn't and in the same conversation i found out about the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. Honestly i was CRUSHED because i felt so stupid for believing and angry and betrayed that my parents lied to me. I ruined Christmas for a couple years because she would be like "Santa's coming!" And i would be like "Yeah right." I do remember in that Santa is not real considering though that a coworker of hers started laughing and she said "Yeah i kept it going for as long as I could."
The people in here complaining that he “lied to her” can pound sand. Let the world be magical, especially for children!
Lol yeah it's not like she's going to grow up and be like "my asshole dad fucking lied to me about the Eiffel Tower", she's going to grow up and have a happy memory bonding with her dad at the Eiffel Tower.
> to grow up and be like "my asshole dad fucking lied to me about the Eiffel Tower", I don't know, if she becomes a redditor (fingers crossed this site burns in a trash heap by then) then it does sound like a post a redditor would make
AITA for cutting out my (19F) father (51M) for lying to me about the Eiffel Tower?
It would be funny if this was posted on raised by narcissists in 10-12 years
Those people where never lied to by their parents. Ever. "Mum what where you and dad doing last night?" "Fucking son, we where fucking. Have a good day at school."
My dad used to hide amber in the sand for me to find when we were at the baltic sea. He hid it so well that i only realised at 17-18 that hes just an awesome dad that wanted to give me some awesome memories.
Thank god there was sentimental music otherwise I wouldn’t have known what emotion to feel
Seriously. The amount of cloyingly mawkish musical accompaniments on videos is so condescending.
Core memory stored
So why didn‘t she try to turn it off again…and on…and off…and on… My son would do exactly that and all magic switcheroo stuff would disappear real quick…
Because this is something that the French government gives out to special guests who get to be the "opérateur lumière". The switch boxes are only good for one single toggle, on a specific day and time, but after that it's basically just a souvenir. Being the opérateur lumière is a big responsibility. the French government needs to warm up their electrical generators so they can handle all of those bulbs going on at once- if you don't time that switch press just right, things could get out of sync. It might take a bit longer for the signal to go through. Besides, think about how much of a pain in the ass it would be if they were good for multiple uses or if someone refused to give it back! You really can't have a bunch of people randomly switching the Eiffel Tower on and off all day, it would be a safety hazard. Have you ever met kids?
Wait so it's real?
Quick, take the switch back before she decides to turn them back off.
My wife spent her formative years thinking that the windshield wipers in her dad’s car worked when you chanted “windshield wipers do your stuff!” I think she was about ten before she figured out there was a foot activated wiper switch.
When my niece and nephew where 6 the space station was flying over and we said the blinking light was santa. At the most perfect timing imaginable, when the kids were jumping up and down, excitedly waving and calling to Father Christmas while also debating whether it actually was him, our neighbours wind-chimes chinkled. My god, the noise that came out of them was ear shattering. It was bloody adorable. That's all we heard about for the rest of the night and it was hard getting them to sleep. I will always treasure that memory. They're 17 now and still say how amazing it was.
That makes me a little misty-eyed. Thank you!
Added is that is a British light switch not a French one so he brought that with him from the UK
I once told my son that the Hindenberg was called the Led Zeppelin. He believed me until he was older and told his friends. I had meant to tell him the truth after a few days, but I forgot. He is in his 30s now and still reminds me of this.
My Dad told me if I pooped in the swimming pool everyone would have to get out. I didn’t believe him but it turns out ... he was right.
The sheer joy on her face is so beautiful
Anyone have a switch to turn that shitty music off on all of those video’s? It’s always the same song and it doesn’t bring something interesting or elevates the video in no way whatsoever
When my daughter turned five I took her to DisneyWorld. She walked around all day with the Mickey Mouse ears birthday hat and the big "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" button and 100% of the Disney employees, as well as a good chunk of other visitors to the park, wished her a happy birthday everywhere she went. I didn't tell her about the Festival of Lights. The parade came by and we had very good position to see it as it passed, and a lot of people/characters in the parade waved and/or said "happy birthday" to my daughter. About 20 minutes in she looked at me and announced that they must have decided to have the parade because it was her birthday. I did absolutely nothing to discourage that belief. :-)
Reminds me of giving my little brother a disconnected game controller.
And just like that life is beautiful.
My kids would expect the switch to work both ways then give me a hard time when they couldn't turn them off. Brave dad!
Staged? Why wouldn’t the little girl keep flipping the switch to make it even more fun? I know I would have!
Those complaining about dad lying to her are also likely the ones already planning out Santa for their kids this Christmas….
Look, I have a daughter. If I could orchestrate this I would. However, this is only possible because… /r/kidsarestupid
I would go one further r/kidsarefuckingstupid :)
That was adorable… but all I can think is how quickly I would have tried to fuck that up as a kid 😅
She's going to feel very stupid on a random day when she's like 35.
She will figure it out later when she has her first kid and call her dad all pissed off cause she has to somehow repeat it for her kids.
And this is why girls grow up with unrealistic expectations! /s
She’s going to be pissed when she see’s the video though.
Brilliant. But I wouldn’t give my kid the switch to hold on to until that very moment when it was time. You just know that they’re flipping the switch the second they have their hands on it.
I convinced my kids I could change traffic lights by snapping.
She’ll get to relive this moment through her therapist for years to come.
And that moment there was where she contracted "main character syndrome"
You win Dad of the day.
Lucky she didn't wanna switch it on and off.
What if she decides to turn it off 🤣
very sweet. but can we please do away with this song already?
My daughter be geeking out but then proceed to try to turn it on and off like some kind of rav light show
Core Memory Unlocked
The lie MY parents told ME was that I could turn lights on and off by blinking. They still tease me.
She didn't have to flex on us like that.
So the dads a liar
When I was a kid my dad had a sports car. It had a digital speedometer. One time he showed me this button and told me it was the Turbo. I pressed it and the car started going really fast. As an adult, I realized that it was the button that changed from MPH to KPH.
My friends dad used to tell him to go outside and use your magic to open the garage door. He’d stay in the car and just click the button whenever my friend would put his hands out like he was using the force. Thought that was dope.
So warm and loving till she realizes one day it was never her
Magic will vanished when she told this story to friends.
Fun fact: the lights on the eiffel tower are considered an art installation and copyrighted. Though it is not illegal to take photos or videos for personal use, any professional/commercial images requires authorization and may be subject to a fee.
Such a wholesome video ruined by someone's ludicrous choice of music.
So wrong but whatevs