The ten most dangerous toys of all time.

[sputnik]

Remember any of these toys? I survived four of them but I gotta admit that it was fun making them list-worthy. [:|]

http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/toys.php

[jacksonbart]

lawn darts rock

[Speedball]

Those Jarts were deadly and flew like small spears. Amusment sure has changed through the years.

[DrWho]

Screw the Jarts...that's what dad's screwdrivers were for [] And he wonders why they're all rusty - good thing he don't read the forum [H]

[oldtimer]

I had the Creepy Crawlies factory in the sixties. Fond memories of the smell of cooking plastigoop.....

[sputnik]

They forgot to mention the good ole clacker balls. Dangerous and annoying fun for a kid.

[oldtimer]

Good call Sputnik. I thought they were annoying when I was a kid, can't imagine what adults thought. It's essentially a bolo as used by gauchos. Think of the damage Jackie Chan could do with those!

[jacksonbart]

ball buster

[Guest Anonymous]

Them clacker ball were killers. I think I still have the bruises on my arms.

[Klipschguy]

That cap gun thing was a bunch of bull. I hope it was not the victim of some trumped up lawsuit. The lawn darts are a diferent story.

[oldtimer]

Yes and no. Compound bows are not off the market and are way more lethal. They just are not marketed as toys.

[Spongeworthy]

anyone remember Akroyd and the 'shards-o-glass' on SNL. Funny stuff.

[Mighty Favog]

Invisible Pedestrian!!

How about those guns that shot out a plastic disk about the size of a dime!

Ever step on a Lite-Brite peg or a Lego piece in your bare feet!?

Those Cleckers were marketed in my area as "Super Knockers"......always thought Tammy Robinson had that phrase adopted already[]

[khorn51]

KLIPSCHORNS any year!

The amount of spl's the can pump out can kill let alone deafen, with even a low watt amp.

[oscarsear]

Kids these days are soooo overprotected. The 1st time they leave the house w/o mommy their gonna git kilt cause they learnt no common sense from not play'n the lawn dart pain infliction game. And just think of how many scientists that urainium lab gave the USA. So what if they died from leukemia by age 30. And that dumb arse Cabbage Patch doll probably started the tatoo craze.

[oldenough]

Oh Man you are so right Oscar .But please think of all them do-gooders that would be out of work if your opinion was heeded.

[sputnik]

Baby boomers get a bad rap for being pampered and spoiled (it's true, we were). We were also lucky enough to be raised by the "Greatest Generation" but look at the stuff they gave us to play with (even the greatest make a few mistakes). I forgot where I got the following (probably some e-mail chain letter) but I saved it and it fits in with what you guys are saying.

"People over 35 should be dead...

Here's why ..........
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those
of us who were kids in the 40's,50's, 60's, or even
maybe the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored
lead-based paiint. We had no childproof lids on
medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, ... and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets.(Not to mention the
risks we took hitchhiking.)

As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts
or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a
warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a
bottle. Horrors!

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda
pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because
we were always outside playing. We shared one soft
drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one
actually died from this.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of
scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out
we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned
to solve the problem. We would leave home in the
morning and play all day, as long as we were back when
the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us
all day. NO CELL PHONES!!!! Unthinkable!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes,
no video games at all, no 999 channels on cable, video
tape movies,surround sound, personal cell
phones,personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends! We went outside and found them.We
played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would
really hurt. We fell out of trees, got cut and broke
bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these
accidents.They were accidents. No one was to blame but
us. Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black
and blue and learned to get over it. We made up games
with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and
although we were told it would happen, we did not put
out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us
forever. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home
and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just
walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the
team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with
disappointment. Some students weren't as smart as
others, so they failed a grade and were held back to
repeat the same grade. Horrors!
Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions
were our own. Consequences were expected.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law
was unheard of. They actually sided with the law.
Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best
risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation
and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned how to deal with it all."

[oldtimer]

That sums it up pretty nicely. When my son was growing up, I encouraged the same. Unfortunately none of the other parents in the neighborhood would go along. They would insist on having a parent go with them to the ballfield at the church right down the street. Of course it wouldn't be them going either. Come on! This was right in the neighborhood! It wasn't like they were going across town on their bikes without helmets like we used to. I for one am thankful I grew up when I did and not in today's world. BTW, my parents were not of the so-called greatest generation, but were 50's high school generation.

[pauln]

Thanks, Sputnik; that brought home a lot of childhood memories. I was born in '56 and I would spend all my free time outside playing with my friends in the woods. We would be gone for most of the day, cover many miles on foot or bikes... adventure seeking, making up our own games, and frequently getting into trouble of various sorts. Yet we all made it through in one peice and learned how to keep it that way.

Kids are not really allowed to be so independent and creative now days. So much of their time is organised as group activites under constant adult supervision, both in school and out of school. How can a kid really learn anything with so many adults around all the time?

In my part of the country it is de jure that all the family vans and SUVs have those obnoxious 'status badges' plastered all over the back window - the ones that have the kids' names and favorite activity (soccer, baseball, ballet, etc.). Funny, I haven't seen any yet for bedwetting, nose picking, or tantrums - give it a few more years...

[oscarsear]

Don't know how I made it thru childhood. I've got plenty of battle scars. Got skewered in the gut going over a chain link fence (you know, before they bent the top barbs over). We'd jump off the neighbors garage using a blanket tied to a hula hoop for a parachute. We never got many toys so we had had to do really stupid things all on our own. Brother put a claw hammer in his head (that explains much about his character). He really got the worst of the injuries. Broken leg, arm, nose plenty of stitches. I was either blessed, damn lucky or both. I got hit by a car on my bike....bent the wheel. Fell out of a tree many times...and bounced. Jumped off the pier, missed the ocean, hit the sand....and bounced. Now I'm ascared to go outside at night.