What was a serious event or issue that you misunderstood as a child?

I was in the first grade during 9/11 and I didn't know what happened until the next day when my parents told me. I live in Mississippi and didn't know much about New York. All I knew about the World Trade Center was that it was two big building and they weren't there any more. My teacher told us that the school was starting up a penny fund raiser that would help recover victims of the attack. The class that collected the most pennies got a pizza party. I was in the first grade so she didn't want to tell us that they died and I didn't know that the pennies weren't to save victims simply trapped under rubble they were to help finance the finding and identifying of remains. I thought they were still alive and depending on my pennies to save them. I also though that the reason we were collecting pennies was because there was a search robot that ran on pennies. One penny would let it run for a minute to search for the victims and save them. I collected my pennies by telling each adult I met about the robot that would help save victims. None of them wanted to tell me the victims were killed in the collapse so they just told me it was a noble thing that I was doing and they would give me their spare change. I would tell other students about the robot and they would start up their own robot fund raiser's as well. Although our class didn't win the party I raised the most of any student and the teacher and students applauded me as I handed her my jar of pennies for the fundraiser. I never told my teacher about the robot, but several of the other students thought I was a hero who had raised enough money for the robot to save everyone trapped. I learned the truth watching a T.V. special about search a rescue crews during 9/11. There weren't any robots on the crews.