{"id":338488,"date":"2026-06-16T15:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/338488\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:30:13","slug":"childhood-fears-in-1990s-lubbock-tornadoes-and-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/338488\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood Fears In 1990s Lubbock: Tornadoes And Myths"},"content":{"rendered":"

I learned some really important life lessons about danger growing up in Lubbock. It’s basically everywhere. Some threats are real. Some are massively exaggerated. Others are just silly.<\/p>\n

Whether you were afraid of quicksand swallowing you alive or a piece of gum living in your stomach for 7 years, here’s a list of things that totally freaked out Lubbock kids in the 90s.<\/p>\n

1. Tornadoes\"PhotoGreg Johnson on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”4240″ height=”2832″\/>Photo by Greg Johnson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Greg Johnson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a big-time number-one in Lubbock. We were all totally certain a tornado would scoop us up and carry us away. It was probably the only real fear we needed to worry about out of this entire list, truthfully. But, yes, Lubbock kids thought tornadoes were coming for them sooner or later.<\/p>\n

2. Quicksand\"PhotoJonathan Borba on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”5472″ height=”3648″\/>Photo by Jonathan Borba<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Jonathan Borba<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Really thought this one was going to be a bigger issue when I grew up. Turns out, you run into quicksand relatively few times in your life, if ever at all. Bummer. No dramatic rescues happening in your future.<\/p>\n

3. Swallowing Gum\"PhotoHunter Newton on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”3916″ height=”4895″\/>Photo by Hunter Newton<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Hunter Newton<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Someone’s brother’s friend told you that if you swallowed gum, it would live in your stomach for 7 years…or forever. For some of us, this was a big stressor. According to science, all of that was BS. You can rest easy, but probably shouldn’t swallow any gum…just to be safe.<\/p>\n

4. The Bermuda Triangle\"PhotoAnne Nyg\u00e5rd on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”5184″ height=”3456″\/>Photo by Anne Nyg\u00e5rd<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Anne Nyg\u00e5rd<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Nothing was more fascinating or terrifying to a 4th grader than hearing about the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. Why were we so worried, though? We live in West Texas. We were all little idiots.<\/p>\n

I’m still a little concerned. Whatever.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0Rediscovering Nostalgic Comfort Foods For Gloomy Lubbock Weather<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Razor Blades and Drugs in Halloween Candy\"PhotoSebbi Strauch on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”3936″ height=”2624″\/>Photo by Sebbi Strauch<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Sebbi Strauch<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Dumb. This one was the silliest of them all. If you’re still afraid of this, you’re a certified suckaaaa.<\/p>\n

6. Piranhas\"PhotoSofia Rotaru on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”5184″ height=”3456″\/>Photo by Sofia Rotaru<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Sofia Rotaru<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes. In Buffalo Lake. In our above-ground pool. Wherever they might be lurking. You never knew when one was going to get a taste for your toes.<\/p>\n

7. Lightning\"PhotoDavid Moum on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”3744″ height=”5616″\/>Photo by David Moum<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by David Moum<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

It was quite scary in Lubbock, so I think this fear is valid.<\/p>\n

8. The Chupacabra\"PhotoAndy Li on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”6000″ height=”4000″\/>Photo by Andy Li<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Andy Li<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of my friends swore they were real. I’ve never seen one…but there’s still time.<\/p>\n

9. Spontaneous Combustion\"PhotoTobias Rademacher on Unsplash<\/a>” loading=”lazy” onload=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘frame-loaded’);” onerror=”this.parentNode.parentNode.classList.add(‘broken-image’);” fetchpriority=”low” width=”4480″ height=”6720″\/>Photo by Tobias Rademacher<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>Photo by Tobias Rademacher<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Hey, it could happen…<\/p>\n

Looking back, it’s funny how much time we spent worrying over silly things that probably would never happen. I mean, the tornadoes definitely could have. But, I’m pretty sure the Bermuda Triangle isn’t to blame if anyone goes missing in Lubbock.<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling for other silly fun in the galleries below…<\/p>\n

Southern Comfort Food: Best Places In Lubbock To Get Banana Pudding <\/p>\n

Banana pudding out of a box is okay if you’re desperate, but if you are looking for real, delicious banana pudding in Lubbock, you don’t have to look far.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven<\/p>\n

806 Delicious: The Best Of Local Lubbock Food In Pictures <\/p>\n

I asked a group of serious Lubbock foodies, “what’s the best meal you’ve had recently in Lubbock” and they answered in pictures. WARNING: you will get very hungry looking at these photos! <\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I learned some really important life lessons about danger growing up in Lubbock. It’s basically everywhere. Some threats…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169,223],"class_list":["post-338488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}