I miss insanely dangerous Christmas toys.

[monadnocky]

Yes, this is one of those "when I was a kid" threads. But that wasn't too long ago - mostly the late 70's into the 80's.

I miss Jarts. I miss how insanely, completely, over-the-top dangerous they were but nobody really realized it at the time. I mean my friend Ryan and I did put one through his sister's foot once, but hey, she shouldn't have been in that spot in the first place.

I miss my old chemistry set. I distinctly remember the instructions had me making gunpowder. I loved the smell of sulphur. I wonder how lame chemistry sets are now. I didn't learn anything about chemistry, really, but I learned a lot about what happens in the experiment I called "let's mix all of this crap together and/or try to light it on fire and see what happens."

I remember buying caps, meticulously ripping each one open, collecting the gunpowder or whatever it was, and then seeing what happens when you whack it with a hammer. What happens is that it explodes quite impressively and you get some of it in your eye but you don't tell your parents for fear of being murdered by them. I don't know if you can buy caps anymore, but if not, the world is a sadder place without them.

I had a Stretch Armstrong once. What happens when you stretch Stretch too far? Some purple liquid comes dribbling out and actually burns the crap out of any skin it comes in contact with. I have no idea what this stuff was, but knowing what I know now, I'd guess some type of highly radioactive very low pH acid.

Now toys are kind of plastic and generic and very safe I am sure. That's a shame.

[MarkC]

Johnny Switchblade Adventure Punk

[boxerboxer]

Relevant:

jarts.jpg

[steve garro]

Well, there's always fire.

- Garro.

[boxerboxer]

I think it's mostly marketing, right? You can still find plenty of dangerous shit to give someone for Christmas, just not in the toy section at Sears.

[steve garro]

You can still find plenty of dangerous shit to give someone for Christmas

5lb bags of candy left & right!

- Garro.

[robin3mj]

Don't forget about a good ol bag of glass.

irwin.jpg

[Philster]

What I love is not the danger of the toys themselves but all the crazy things kids find to do with them. What if Darwinism has robbed us of our most creative minds?

[steve garro]

Don't forget about a good ol bag of glass.

My friends little girl (shit, she's 20 now) once asks what we were going to give her……..we told her a Salt Lick.

"What a salt lick?"

It's a big block of salt that all the cows lick, it's about this big - hands about a foot apart.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo! I DON"T WANT A SAAAAAALT LICK!!!"

Man, she FREAKED!

- Garro.

[bigbill]

My grandmother (the cool single one that chain smoked) bought me some cap pistols and what had to be every strip of caps available in the state of Texas. Thousands of caps. That is when I learned that you could put a roll of caps on the sidewalk and hit it with a hammer. My ears still ring every time I think about it. We used to make pipe bombs too before we knew they were pipe bombs.

[jjmstang]

Toys have to be safe these days. Parents just want to throw their kids in a room and let them play. If they get hurt by a toy they just sue the manufacturer due to their own negligence of not supervising the kids.

[Too Tall]

Thread of the day. Read the title and thought "Jarts".

[Peter B]

fun with firecrackers

[ZenNMotion]

Yes, this is one of those "when I was a kid" threads. But that wasn't too long ago - mostly the late 70's into the 80's.

I miss Jarts. I miss how insanely, completely, over-the-top dangerous they were but nobody really realized it at the time. I mean my friend Ryan and I did put one through his sister's foot once, but hey, she shouldn't have been in that spot in the first place.

I miss my old chemistry set. I distinctly remember the instructions had me making gunpowder. I loved the smell of sulphur. I wonder how lame chemistry sets are now. I didn't learn anything about chemistry, really, but I learned a lot about what happens in the experiment I called "let's mix all of this crap together and/or try to light it on fire and see what happens."

I remember buying caps, meticulously ripping each one open, collecting the gunpowder or whatever it was, and then seeing what happens when you whack it with a hammer. What happens is that it explodes quite impressively and you get some of it in your eye but you don't tell your parents for fear of being murdered by them. I don't know if you can buy caps anymore, but if not, the world is a sadder place without them.

I had a Stretch Armstrong once. What happens when you stretch Stretch too far? Some purple liquid comes dribbling out and actually burns the crap out of any skin it comes in contact with. I have no idea what this stuff was, but knowing what I know now, I'd guess some type of highly radioactive very low pH acid.

Now toys are kind of plastic and generic and very safe I am sure. That's a shame.

I learned how to make gunpowder- and fireworks (!) from a book that I had checked out for nearly a year from my Junior High school library. As I recall, given the number of date stamps, that it was a very popular book. After about my third visit to my small town local pharmacy buying sulphur powder and potassium nitrate, the pharmacist finally came out to the counter to ask why a skinny 12 year old would need so much saltpeter. I will be ready for the revolution...

[rwsaunders]

Drones are the new Jarts.

[rydesteel]

Local hobby store sold real fuse that would burn under water, Dad never missed the occasional shotgun shell or 2 that went missing. We also used it to set off Estes Rockets or sometimes just the engines. My brother still has a round scar on his leg, he thought he could move faster than a falling Jart. We kept it wrapped cause we knew if dad found out he'd take em away.

[boxerboxer]

Don't forget about a good ol bag of glass.

irwin.jpg

This is Kentucky Fried Movie?

[fiveller]

Wood burning kit: guaranteed to burn skin, carpet and drapes.

Annoyingly slow at burning wood.

[rowdyhillrambler]

When I was nine, my uncle bought me my first circular saw. I collected, and still do, antique tools. It was on old Sears craftsman model 207. The chrome job with zero safety precautions. It was, still is, a truly awesome pice.

Next year was a 3 wheeler.!!

[joosttx]

When I was 6 my granddad gave me a 4-10 double barreled shotgun for Christmas.

I remember my sister getting this easy bake oven? About three weeks into January it caught on fire. Man she could bake a awesome chocolate cake with it.