Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

Toys That Really Should Have Killed You as a Kid

What toys did you play with as a child that now, as an adult, you look back on with disbelief?

I'll start: the "Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker Oven." It consisted of several bottles filled with vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals which one would pour into a favorite lead mold, perhaps that of a spider or a worm. Then you would carefully lift the mold & slide it into your waiting industrial oven. Next, you would wait for 10-15 minutes (I think) as petrochemical fumes would fill the room, causing your eyes to water and some pets to flee.

Then you'd use your special pliers to extract the superheated mold (so hot its edges glowed!), and place it somewhere safe, i.e. not on a floor or carpeting, or furniture, or any of the other surfaces accessible to playing children. After it cooled, you'd have nice, new toxic rubbery insects to taunt your sister with.

Nothing says fun like the potential for chemical poisoning, second degree burns from the molds, or accidentally starting a fire while the babysitter is downstairs making out with her boyfriend.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 238December 9, 2018 6:30 AM

The 1970 version of this sled.

Could've sliced a kid in two.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 1June 26, 2014 2:08 PM

Clackers. Two hard plexiglass balls that clacked together on a string. At some point, they would bang into your wrist, causing huge welts. They would also break and shatter. Kids were much hardier and sturdier back in the seventies.

by Anonymousreply 2June 26, 2014 2:12 PM

Jarts!

by Anonymousreply 3June 26, 2014 2:15 PM

Chemistry sets from the '50s!

by Anonymousreply 4June 26, 2014 2:18 PM

The evil Water Wiggle. I swear, that thing had a predatory mind of its own. Wham O, right in the face.

by Anonymousreply 5June 26, 2014 2:25 PM

Jarts, R3! How could I have forgotten about them? Wow!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 6June 26, 2014 2:27 PM

Actually, Clackers are a case of knock-offs ruining it for everyone else. The originals dis not shatter. It was the copies that were made of in inferior acrylic which shattered into very sharp shards.

Similarly, remember the octopus toys that one threw at the wall and they woulds slither down? The originals were made of a special plastic. The copies were just coated in oil and would stain the wall.

Two that haven't been mentioned are easy Bake ovens and cap guns. Actually, any of the various guns that we had. Some shot what were essential the pink eraser tops to pencils.

Also, the most dangerous "toy" is the rubber balloon. I don't consider it a toy, but it is responsible for the majority of deaths by plaything.

by Anonymousreply 7June 26, 2014 2:38 PM

Candy cigarettes - total gateway toy!

by Anonymousreply 8June 26, 2014 3:06 PM

I had a Creepy Crawlers set myself! I always thought the possibility of serious burns would've been worse than chemicals.

by Anonymousreply 9June 26, 2014 3:07 PM

[quote]Clackers. Two hard plexiglass balls that clacked together on a string. At some point, they would bang into your wrist, causing huge welts. They would also break and shatter. Kids were much hardier and sturdier back in the seventies.

I had Wacky Clackers. Jesus I loved that toy. And it was the type that had strings attached to the globes rather than the ones attached to the V shaped sticks that they had later. Part of the fun was learning how to swing them just right so they'd clack against each other.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 10June 26, 2014 3:12 PM

This list is hilarious - especially the early 50s "Boys Atomic Energy Lab" that contained real uranium ore!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 11June 26, 2014 3:16 PM

that Jeff Stryker Dildo

by Anonymousreply 12June 26, 2014 3:17 PM

Some kid in elementary school had one of these. And it was so easy to find the thermometers that had mercury in them, we'd break them open and play with the mercury.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 13June 26, 2014 3:22 PM

R11, that list kind of makes me angry. I hate when toy safety is exaggerated to make the reader feel good about him/her self or to make a previous generation look stupid.

Clackers were never made of glass.

Creepy Crawlers were a 1970s toy.

The Spark Gun (and the spark robot) could not set anything on fire. Trust me, my brother and I tried repeatedly.

The Kinder Surprise eggs are still available in Europe. I guess European children are just not a suicidal.

by Anonymousreply 14June 26, 2014 3:28 PM

OP: We had an earlier version of the “Thing Maker.” It wasn’t an oven, but sort of a hot-plate-like “cooker” that the mold just sat in. You could test the “goop” with a toothpick and when it was done, you used this tong-like apparatus and dropped it into a little tray of water that would practically evaporate from the heat of the mold. Good times!!

by Anonymousreply 15June 26, 2014 3:35 PM

I got a wood burning kit for Christmas in about 1972 that I still have... and used to solder a loose wire on a computer peripheral (that is so old, they don't even sell replacements parts for anymore).

My brother and sister and I had to share our creepy-crawly maker. Until we set the kitchen counter on fire and my aunt got so mad she took it outside and her big, burly boyfriend (at the time) smashed it with a hammer. Well he tried to... It just dented it. Hey, toys were built to last back then!

And I wanted an easy-bake oven so bad i begged for one, but my father would not let my mother buy one under any circumstances. So, when I turned 30 and my mother found one in an antique store, she couldn't resist. I baked my father a teeny-tiny cake with it and gave it to him as a gag gift, all decorated and fancy looking. He did not appreciate the humor in it when I told him I used a lightbulb to make his cake.

by Anonymousreply 16June 26, 2014 3:35 PM

Big Wheels. I had one and so did a few friends. We were always doing donuts in the street just like the kids in the commercials. The seventies were a wonderful time to be a child.

by Anonymousreply 17June 26, 2014 3:39 PM

I agree with you, r14.

Too many lawyers in the USA chasing those plaintiff's fees.

Fucking lawyers -- I hope they all get sued and BIG TASTE of their own medicine.

by Anonymousreply 18June 26, 2014 3:39 PM

My older siblings had the Creepy Crawlers thing. The toy's box clearly indicates it was gender stereotyped for boys, but actually in my family it belonged to two sisters.

by Anonymousreply 19June 26, 2014 3:43 PM

Riding a bike without a helmet--OMG!!

Riding a bike with your friend perched on the handlebars. -- Dangerous!!

*sarcasm*

...I will say those metal clamp-on roller skates must've twisted a few kids ankles, though. Glad I just missed that era.

by Anonymousreply 20June 26, 2014 3:49 PM

Clackers were originally pure glass but they'd shatter and splinters of glass would go into the kid's eyes.

by Anonymousreply 21June 26, 2014 3:49 PM

My brother had the Stretch Armstrong doll (circa 1981?), filled with some kind of chemical goo that made him flexible. He got a puncture in it and the goo oozed out and he had to go.

by Anonymousreply 22June 26, 2014 3:53 PM

God, I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven, too. And a Snoopy Sno Cone Machine. And a Big Wheel...

by Anonymousreply 23June 26, 2014 3:54 PM

My many siblings and I had a "Whirly Bird," a sort of kid-propelled merry-go-round with four seats that faced the center. Each seat had a combination foot and hand-operated handle. You pumped the handles and the thing spun around. It worked best with two or four kids. If you got it going fast enough (especially with an unbalanced load of three kids) the whole thing could tip over and send everyone flying - which was a desirable result for us, but presumably not for the manufacturer.

They must have been considered dangerous because it was the most fun group toy ever yet you don't see them any more.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 24June 26, 2014 3:55 PM

R24, you are reminding me of that playground apparatus that was a large spinning platform. A bunch of kids could run around, start it spinning, and jump on.

...Another one that was a blast but you can see potentially very dangerous.

You don't see those anymore!

by Anonymousreply 25June 26, 2014 3:58 PM

R18, Truly, the 1930s mother with barely a high school education who replaced the glass stickpin eyes on a teddy bear with two female snaps knew more about child safety than the executive mother of today.

While toy safety is nothing new, a German doll maker was sued in the 1880s for using lead paint, it really went overboard in the 1980s as a way to make working mothers who were spending far less time with their children, feel good about themselves.

by Anonymousreply 26June 26, 2014 3:58 PM

R21, as I posted earlier, that is not true. Clackers were always acrylic.

by Anonymousreply 27June 26, 2014 3:59 PM

R1, that looks like Rosebud.

Hope that's not a spoiler.

by Anonymousreply 28June 26, 2014 4:00 PM

Another dangerous toy was Hungry Hungry Hippos. The clattering noise from that game would set my mother into a stressed-out, migraine fit, and my life would be in danger.

by Anonymousreply 29June 26, 2014 4:00 PM

[quote]Clackers were originally pure glass but they'd shatter and splinters of glass would go into the kid's eyes.

After the Clackers company went out of business they sold their inventory to the Carmex people because Carmex needed the ground glass for their product.

by Anonymousreply 30June 26, 2014 4:01 PM

R30, in case it isn't obvious, I worked in the toy industry. No that is not true. I think that your story is a joke. Carmex is a manufacturer of cutting tools, but there is also a lip balm named Carmex. The notion that glass would be need to make lip balm is the humor.

It is like the old story about a bustle that played "God Save The Queen" when one sat down. One has to stand while GStQ is being played; so, one could never sit down. It is a joke that an Victorian would understand.

by Anonymousreply 31June 26, 2014 4:10 PM

"Perfection" contributed to anxiety and heart attacks in young children.

by Anonymousreply 32June 26, 2014 4:13 PM

"Operation" games today no longer have the "bread box" and I believe the guy is clothed.

by Anonymousreply 33June 26, 2014 4:13 PM

I loved my chemistry set, too! My folks even sprung for some replacement chemicals - Gum Arabic, etc.

by Anonymousreply 34June 26, 2014 4:17 PM

[bold]Super Elastic Bubble Plastic[/bold] - Another example of toxic chemicals, but this time you would put them close to your mouth and blow up your own uniquely colored balloon-like-thingy. It had these noxious vapors that would back up into the straw. Just one whiff was enough to get high...sort of like a boys' introduction to poppers.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 35June 26, 2014 4:29 PM

r32, Perfection and Numbers Up used to make be break out it a sweat. Too much pressure. But I'd do it again and again.

My parents took away our Jarts when one impaled my brother's foot just below his big toe.

The playground at my elementary school featured a metal slide 12 feet off the ground on asphalt that would heat up to about 140 degrees in the sun, and metal monkey bars about 10 feet off the ground, also built on asphalt. We'd get the merry go round going as fast as it could and then jump off. And every recess period some poor kid would get bumped on the see-saw when the other kid would jump off, sending the other end slamming to the ground.

by Anonymousreply 36June 26, 2014 4:30 PM

My brother and I were given a chemistry set at too young an age and it was back when all sorts of chemicals were included, from mercury to powdered lead to heaven knows what. We were enamored of horror movies and mad scientists, and if we could produce something that bubbled or changed color, invariably we HAD to taste it.

I'm surprised to be still alive, and not have more chronic health disorders than I do.

by Anonymousreply 37June 26, 2014 4:33 PM

I had forgotten about "Whirly-Birds," r24.

There were some kids down the street who had "everything" and I remember they had one of these yard toys.

You are right, the big kids slinging off the little kids was a LOT of fun!

by Anonymousreply 38June 26, 2014 4:47 PM

Trampolines were big in my neighborhood for a couple years, and every single one of them that I remember was responsible for a trip to either the doctor or the dentist.

by Anonymousreply 39June 26, 2014 4:48 PM

It seemed like around July 4th of every year, my friends and I would each end up with a stash of M-80 firecrackers, smoke bombs, and bottle rockets. We used to fire bottle rockets horizontally and intentionally toward each other--how we weren't blinded, maimed, or sent to juvie hall for burning down buildings, I will never know.

by Anonymousreply 40June 26, 2014 4:51 PM

Creepy Crawlers/Thing Maker/Flower Power kits were awesome!

I'm not so convinced of all the "toxic chemical" hysteria so in vogue today, as it was probably determined that some kids would put the damn things in their mouths. Still that lead mold did heat up pretty hot, but I loved making my own rubbery toys! We would always buy big replacement bottles of the goop!

Oh, and I lived!

by Anonymousreply 41June 26, 2014 4:54 PM

Jarts! did kill multiple children.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 42June 26, 2014 5:18 PM

Candy cigarettes, which encouraged kids to pick up Mom and Dad's smoking habit.

by Anonymousreply 43June 26, 2014 5:28 PM

R35, my sister chewed that stuff like bubble gum.

by Anonymousreply 44June 26, 2014 5:41 PM

I did too, R44 and used to love blowing the balloons and then inhaling the noxious fumes.

by Anonymousreply 45June 26, 2014 5:48 PM

I remember those mercury maze toys R13 and those were sold up until the early 90s.

by Anonymousreply 46June 26, 2014 5:57 PM

Does anyone remember Slime (I think it may have also been sold as Goop, no relation to you-know-who) which was a viscous green substance sold in a miniature garbage can? I remember a cousin of mine dropped his on the carpeting at his home and his mother FREAKED because she couldn't get it cleaned up.

by Anonymousreply 47June 26, 2014 5:58 PM

FUN TOY BANNED BECAUSE OF THREE STUPID DEAD KIDS

from The Onion

WASHINGTON, DC–In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Wizco Toys of Montclair, NJ, recalled 245,000 Aqua Assault RoboFighters Monday after three dumb kids managed to kill themselves playing with the popular toy, ruining the fun for everybody else.

"The tragedy is inconceivable," Wizco president Alvin Cassidy said. "For years, countless children played with the Aqua Assault RoboFighter without incident. But then these three retards come along and somehow find a way to get themselves killed. So now we have to do a full recall and halt production on what was a really awesome toy. What a waste."

"My mom won't let me play with my RoboFighter because of those dumb kids who died," said 10-year-old Jeremy Daigle of Somerville, MA. "I used to set up army guys around the RoboFighter and have it run over them and conquer Earth for the Zardaxians. But now I'll never see it again, all because three stupid idiots had to go and wreck everything."

The Aqua Assault RoboFighter, an awesome toy children can no longer enjoy, thanks to stupid Weiller, Torres, and Krug.

Each of the deaths was determined to be the result of gross misuse of the toy, an incredibly cool device that could shoot both plastic missiles and long jets of water, as well as maneuver over the ground on retractable wheels.

The first death occurred June 22, when 7-year-old Isaac Weiller of Grand Junction, CO, died after deliberately firing one of the spring-loaded plastic missiles into his left nostril. The missile shot into his sinuses, shattering the roof of his nasal cavity and causing a massive brain hemorrhage.

Shortly before dying, Weiller told emergency medical personnel at St. Luke's Medical Center that he had shot the missile into his nose in the belief that it would travel through his body and out his belly button.

"I've heard some pretty stupid shit in my time, but that has to take the cake," said Dr. Anderson Hunt, the attending physician. "Why would any kid think he could fire plastic missiles up his nose and expect them to come out his belly button? There's no point in feeling bad about this child's demise, because the deck was obviously stacked against him from the start. What we should feel bad about is the fact that because of him, millions of other children will no longer get to fire the RoboFighter's super-cool Devastator Missiles or soak their friends with its FunFoam WaterBlasters."

Less than one month after Weiller's death, 5-year-old Danielle Krug fatally suffocated on fragments of the toy after repeatedly smashing it with a claw hammer in the garage of her parents' La Porte, IN, home.

"I'm not kidding," said Dianne Ensor, an emergency-room nurse at Our Lady Of Peace Hospital in La Porte, where Krug was pronounced dead. "She thought the broken shards were candy. That's what you'd assume after breaking a plastic, inedible toy, right? Absolutely un-fucking-believable."

Joshua Schatzeder of Grand Rapids, MI, is forced to play with a boring little fire truck as a result of the recall.

The third and arguably stupidest death occurred August 12, when 11-year-old dumbass Michael Torres held the RoboFighter above his head and jumped off the balcony of his family's third-story Torrance, CA, apartment, thinking he would be able to fly like Superman.

"A couple of my fellow emergency workers thought we should cut the kid some slack, because at least he wasn't trying to eat the toy or shove it up his nose," said paramedic Debra Lindfors, who tried in vain to revive Torres. "I considered this for a while, but then I decided no. No way. If you're 11 years old, you should know that it's impossible to fly. And poor Wizco's probably going to go bankrupt because of this shit."

As a result of the extreme idiocy of the three children, the CPSC was forced to order Wizco to stop making the toy and remove it from store shelves, as well as recommend that parents remove it from their homes.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 48June 26, 2014 6:01 PM

What were those things that used to explode in your mouth, were they called moon stones?

by Anonymousreply 49June 26, 2014 6:01 PM

I remember that Slime stuff and some schools banned it.

by Anonymousreply 50June 26, 2014 6:02 PM

(cont)

"I know the overwhelming majority of American kids who owned an Aqua Assault RoboFighter derived many hours of safe, responsible fun from it," CPSC commissioner Mary Sheila Gall said. "But, statistically speaking, three deaths stemming from contact with a particular toy constitutes an 'unreasonable risk.' Look, I'm really sorry about this. Honestly. But our agency's job is to protect the public from hazardous products, even if those who die are morons who deserved what they got."

by Anonymousreply 51June 26, 2014 6:02 PM

Trick Sticks -- essentially a plastic rod with a string and ball attached. You were supposed to jog along and jump over the string as you whirled it under your feet. Lame. We ended up using ours to torment the neighbors' elderly basset hound.

by Anonymousreply 52June 26, 2014 6:02 PM

R49 Pop Rocks?

by Anonymousreply 53June 26, 2014 6:02 PM

Pez dispensers used to terrify me and my seven year old fingers.

& what the fuck's a Pez Candy Shooter?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 54June 26, 2014 6:05 PM

Does anyone remember electric scissors?

by Anonymousreply 55June 26, 2014 6:09 PM

Barbie is responsible for countless cases of anorexia.

by Anonymousreply 56June 26, 2014 6:19 PM

Does anyone remember those huge pump-action bazookas. You would pump this lever back and forth as many times as you could, and then squeeze the trigger. When you did, the thing emitted this really loud BOOM! sound that the recipient would also feel as a blast of compressed air--at a quite a distance too. I never had one, but wanted the one that my best friend had very, very much!

by Anonymousreply 57June 26, 2014 6:31 PM

The Vac-u-Form. You made forms from melted plastic over metal molds. You could easily get third-degree burns. I had one. That thing got hot!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 58June 26, 2014 6:35 PM

OP, since I'm older, I remember having the Creeoy Crawler set where you placed the metal molds into a hot plate like thing seen in the link. The black square heated up and cooked the creepy crawlers.

I burned myself all the time playing with that thing and nobody thought twice about it,

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 59June 26, 2014 6:38 PM

Etch A Sketch. It actually waited until 2012 to kill me.

by Anonymousreply 60June 26, 2014 6:40 PM

Well OP, when you put it like that, you take all the fun out growing up in a toxic world. Look at all the fun those little yellow Chinese kids are having.

by Anonymousreply 61June 26, 2014 6:42 PM

[quote]Does anyone remember those huge pump-action bazookas. You would pump this lever back and forth as many times as you could, and then squeeze the trigger. When you did, the thing emitted this really loud BOOM! sound that the recipient would also feel as a blast of compressed air--at a quite a distance too. I never had one, but wanted the one that my best friend had very, very much!

Yes, I had one. My father brought it back from America for me. I didn't know what the fuck to do with it. It's etched on my mind as one of the great disappointments of my childhood...& I had many.

He also other times brought me great things. GI Joe with real fuzzy hair! & a GI Joe that talked when you pulled a string. All these things came out in America long before England.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 62June 26, 2014 7:08 PM

R62, my friends and I use to make launchers all the time. Take 4-5 tin cans and remove tops and bottom except on one leave botton on. Tape all together with duct tape. On the last can that still has a bottom make a small hole. Squirt lighter fluid in top of tube, put in a tennis ball and then light the hole. That sucker would fly big time.

by Anonymousreply 63June 26, 2014 7:20 PM

R62, he's cute.

by Anonymousreply 64June 26, 2014 7:21 PM

I remember that in nursery school (mid-70s), during arts and crafts time, we often used a syrupy, chemical mixture (the fumes smelled like turpentine).

We would first take a wire, twist it into a shape, and then dip it in and out of the chemical mixture; it would harden within less than a minute.

The most popular creations were twisting individual wires to look like flower petals, letting them dry, and then twisting them all together to look like an entire flower.

Damn, I wish I knew what that stuff was called. It was viewed as perfectly safe, but I'm sure it was carcinogenic. Can you imagine?

by Anonymousreply 65June 26, 2014 7:32 PM

Our school quickly banned it too R60.

by Anonymousreply 66June 26, 2014 7:32 PM

I remember those, R60.

I also remember the suncatchers you would make. You'd put colored pieces into a metal frame, bake it in the oven as them melted and formed beautiful colors.

All this stuff with ovens.

by Anonymousreply 67June 26, 2014 7:43 PM

[quote]R62, he's cute.

He looks like a Castro Street Clone of the 1970s.

by Anonymousreply 68June 26, 2014 8:27 PM

R60, were they really ovens or high wattage light bulbs like for those Easy Bake oven sets?

by Anonymousreply 69June 26, 2014 8:52 PM

If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke....

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 70June 26, 2014 9:02 PM

GI Joe is cute in that pic.

by Anonymousreply 71June 26, 2014 9:03 PM

Gangsta Bitch Barbie and her Baby's First Drive-by Kit.

by Anonymousreply 72June 26, 2014 9:08 PM

Someone gave my brother a bottle-cutting kit for Christmas one year. You could supposedly cut the tops off wine bottles to make glasses, etc. but it was nothing but a horrible accident waiting to happen. My father junked it.

by Anonymousreply 73June 26, 2014 10:27 PM

I grew up in a family with a lot of farmers, ranchers and hunters. And we all got guns from the age of 7 (considered "The Age of Reason") on.

Starting with learner pellet rifles (BB guns were considered too childlike), moving up to .22 and then to shotguns and the larger rifles (for deer and elk hunting at age 12, everyone in the family was out there ashootin'.

So with four of us, visiting my uncle with his five kids, and then being joined by an aunt with her three kids, and with the adults out, too, it's a miracle that (to date) only one uncle was shot to death and another shot in the stomach. Accidentally.

I didn't do it.

by Anonymousreply 74June 26, 2014 10:28 PM

plastic high-heeled cha-cha slippers held on with nothing but flimsy elastic bands. Doubly deadly when given to a child in the upper Midwest for Christmas and she *insists* on wearing them on the ice-covered front porch. Talk about throwing your legs to Jeezus!!!

by Anonymousreply 75June 26, 2014 10:29 PM

R66 why did your school ban Etch A Sketch?

by Anonymousreply 76June 26, 2014 10:47 PM

Sorry, R76, I was relating to R50's comment the Slime.

by Anonymousreply 77June 26, 2014 10:53 PM

I want cha cha heels. BLACK ONES!

by Anonymousreply 78June 26, 2014 11:00 PM

Johnny Bag-O-Glass

by Anonymousreply 79June 27, 2014 12:20 AM

Hilarious "wink-wink, nudge-nudge"-iness aside, pieces of this game flying out out into someone's eye seemed inevitable:

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 80June 27, 2014 12:24 AM

BB & pellet Rifles

That fucking Easy Bake Oven had a light bulb that could melt skin.

I actually created a real explosion with the chemistry set I got one year. It got trashed after that. The parentals were afraid I'd blow up the house.

by Anonymousreply 81June 27, 2014 12:27 AM

I haven't read the entire thread, OP, but I can tell you that the original Creepy Crawlers from the mid-1960s had an open hotplate that could burn the shit off you:

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 82June 27, 2014 12:32 AM

Lite Bright. What possibly could go wrong in poking shards of glass through a screen illuminated by a white hot bulb covered in flimsy plastic?

by Anonymousreply 83June 27, 2014 12:49 AM

Lite Brite!?

Gawd you're a scaredy cat.

Let me guess -- you mom wouldn't let you have a yo-yo either because they are too dangerous.

by Anonymousreply 84June 27, 2014 1:35 AM

I swear to god I can still smell that burning chemical scent of cooking Creepy Crawlers. It permeated my room for weeks on end.

by Anonymousreply 85June 27, 2014 1:48 AM

[quote]"Operation" games today no longer have the "bread box" and I believe the guy is clothed

They also airbrushed out the cigarette in the doctor's mouth. I had the original "Operation" back in the day and the smoking doctor was on the box lid.

Ah, yes...JARTS! I think they're even illegal to sell at garage sales, etc.

Those big wooden swings at the playground. We would hook the ones on the end to the frame, then spin the middle one like a propeller. Getting clonked in the head with one of them was no joke.

Those old wooden merry-go-rounds at the local park. The older kids would crawl under it, push it at warp speed and the littler kids would go flying off. We also used to go under them to smoke.

Metal slides. In the summer you would literally burn your ass and legs going down them.

by Anonymousreply 86June 27, 2014 1:55 AM

The original Mr. Potato Head toy included eyes, noses, mouths and accessories with deadly pointed spikes on the back to stick into real vegetables.

by Anonymousreply 87June 27, 2014 1:58 AM

R84, I grew up in the sixties/early seventies, and my parents were not particularly safety conscious. Most parents at that time were not.

Light Brite had a tendency to shock little hands, and the pegs could get hot. Not so great when you wanted to change the picture.

by Anonymousreply 88June 27, 2014 2:03 AM

Back in the sixties the Creepy Crawler kit produced rubbery scary creatures that were edible. In fact, they were called Incredible Edibles. I was thrilled to death to get one for Christmas - until I made and ate my first spider Edibles. They smelled like plastic, they felt like rubber, they tasted vile. Think of a mix of acetone and artificial grape/cherry/lime flavor. Uck!

by Anonymousreply 89June 27, 2014 2:06 AM

Bride of Chucky

by Anonymousreply 90June 27, 2014 2:07 AM

r88

I'm rolling my eyes at you.

by Anonymousreply 91June 27, 2014 2:09 AM

Anyone have Chip-Away? A mass of waxy plastic that encased a plastic figurine. It came with a kid-sized mallet and sharp chisel so you could pretend you were a sculptor as you chipped away at it.

This was the 70s, the era of other 'toys' like candle making kits. Letting kids heat wax and pour it into molds, what a great idea.

by Anonymousreply 92June 27, 2014 2:12 AM

Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

by Anonymousreply 93June 27, 2014 2:14 AM

@2 I remember clackers! They were finally banned but I believe it took a few kids dying from being hit in the head.

by Anonymousreply 94June 27, 2014 2:18 AM

Well Slime if you swallow. FYI it was reusable.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 95June 27, 2014 2:22 AM

There was a bicycle in England in the '70s called The Chopper, which was lethal. It was so heavy, if you fell off and it fell on top of you, you'd had it.

Also the gear shift was in a very dangerous place, pointing right at your crotch.

But, I loved them.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 96June 27, 2014 2:22 AM

I remember a lot of these toys.No parental supervision with the hot plates,clackers, caps that you stepped on etc.... and we survived.Can't even ride a bike without a helmet. I still have scars on my legs from childhood but we had a lot of fun.

by Anonymousreply 97June 27, 2014 2:32 AM

R65, I had that toy. I loved it. Made flowers and shapes and things with it.

I also had Chip Away! It was ridiculously fun! I don't remember it as plastic, though. I remember it as more like plaster.

by Anonymousreply 98June 27, 2014 2:37 AM

Who else thinks R31 specialized in humorless educational toys?

by Anonymousreply 99June 27, 2014 2:40 AM

Shakespeare's play Henry VI, kill all the lawyers.

by Anonymousreply 100June 27, 2014 2:44 AM

R65, I remember that stuff too! Baby sitter made a mobile out of it. Can't remember the name either, went to the art store and they just looked at me with a blank face.

by Anonymousreply 101June 27, 2014 2:44 AM

I was born in 1960 and had a host of toys from this thread: clackers; Creepy Crawlers; a chemistry set heavy on explosive and noxious things (I passed out once from sulfur fumes); a vial of mercury that I tossed from one hand to another; a Shrink Machine; cap guns; Lite Brite; a bottle cutting kit; Jarts; a pyrography kit...

The best toys involved something getting hot as a brick kiln, or something that would impale or poke an eye out.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 102June 27, 2014 2:48 AM

Clackers beat the hell out of your wrist and arms until the movements were learned.

One of the playground piece of equipment called the Miracle Sputnik was placed in our park for one summer. You sat in the seats and walked inside the circle. These circles then rotated about 20 feet into the air. There were broken arms and the city had to lock it at night. Some idiots tried walking and holding onto the outside of the circle rather than sitting. Fun while it lasted but can't be found anywhere.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 103June 27, 2014 2:57 AM

I had a horrid printing thing that never worked. Sort of handle and roller, that's all I remember. I had a friend over who cut himself on it and he fainted from the sight of his own blood.

by Anonymousreply 104June 27, 2014 3:02 AM

Actually, that could be another thread. "Toys you could never get to work". Walkie Talkies spring to mind.

by Anonymousreply 105June 27, 2014 3:06 AM

Dip It Fantasy Film, r65

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 106June 27, 2014 3:16 AM

I had something similar, R52.

Except mine had a plastic loop you would put on your ankle and the other end had a lemon that made a rattling sound as it went round and round.

by Anonymousreply 107June 27, 2014 3:18 AM

Miracle Sputnik photo at link. Wow.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 108June 27, 2014 3:23 AM

Those flower pot type stilts were lethal - fell over repeatedly but it didn't stop me playing with them.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 109June 27, 2014 3:40 AM

Witch's hats were on their way to being banned from playgrounds in the 1970's but man, they were fun!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 110June 27, 2014 3:42 AM

We heard about a kid who lost his mind staring at a Spirograph design.

by Anonymousreply 111June 27, 2014 3:43 AM

Tinker Toys owns this thread; so many little wooden sticks to poke your eye out/crucify yourself with!

You can still buy them from Vermont Country Store (of course). Love that the only warning they give is the "choking hazard":

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 112June 27, 2014 3:48 AM

Silly Putty. We used to eat it.

by Anonymousreply 113June 27, 2014 3:51 AM

[quote]Someone gave my brother a bottle-cutting kit for Christmas one year. You could supposedly cut the tops off wine bottles to make glasses, etc. but it was nothing but a horrible accident waiting to happen. My father junked it.

My God, yes, the cut edges were razor sharp, and that's if you managed to cut the necks off the bottles cleanly (not an easy thing). Then you were supposed to sand them smooth, and that took what seemed like hours.

Truth be told, I think my Mother just bought us one of the kits so she would have en excuse to drink a whole lot of wine for a couple weeks.

Thinking back, what's amazing is that so many of the toys like creepy crawlers and the e-z bake oven assumed that very young children were perfectly fine dealing with 110 volt current unsupervised. Of course, by and large we were, but can you imagine an "ages 6 and up" toy today using line voltage?

by Anonymousreply 114June 27, 2014 3:54 AM

Kids today are pussies.

by Anonymousreply 115June 27, 2014 3:56 AM

We had this thing that would melt this plastic-like, waxy stuff into Matchbox cars. It was bitchin. I can still smell that stuff as it melted. Anyway, we got it for Christmas '78 and my brother & I had burns and blisters all over our fingers until April '79. I still have 2 scars on my left wrist from this thing when I had to reach in to dislodge a car that was stuck and burning up. Loved it!

by Anonymousreply 116June 27, 2014 4:01 AM

Sanding glass? so you're inhaling glass dust the whole time?

by Anonymousreply 117June 27, 2014 4:19 AM

[quote]can you imagine an "ages 6 and up" toy today using line voltage?

I once saw a beautiful toy train set from about 1910 where the electrical cord was connected directly to the tracks, no transformer or anything, just household current. The speed control was on the locomotive. Junior touches both rails at the same time, and he's shaking hands with Jesus.

What made it even more frightening was that the thing was made in England, so it was designed for 220 volt operation. I can't imagine how many kids that killed, and let's not even think about family dogs and cats.

by Anonymousreply 118June 27, 2014 4:33 AM

R67 The little glass rods placed in metal shapes to make suncathers were called Makit & Bakit.

by Anonymousreply 119June 27, 2014 7:44 AM

"Footsie yeah, everybody's havin' fun, Footsie yeah, I'm gonna get me one".

'Footsie' was a contraption that you would hook up around your ankle so you could hop over it. I remember kids playing with it would sometimes end up with it wrapped around BOTH ankles and they'd fall flat on their faces.

Oh God, Clackers were SO stupid and dangerous but we loved them as kids and they came in all kinds of pretty colors.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 120June 27, 2014 9:05 AM

Anyone remember Sticky Finger?

What about those toys with the magnet and the shards of fine metal under a sealed plastic screen? You moved the magnet to move around the shards of metal, to draw on hair, a beard etc on the face under the plastic screen. That seemed kind of dangerous.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 121June 27, 2014 9:33 AM

I was searching for Clackers, the really LOUD and dangerous hard plastic balls on a rope, and came up with this vid of 15...yes 15 of the worst.

My sadistic older brother had the #1 toy, and presumably all us irradiated younger sibs are still mildly radioactive.

BONUS: Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots in amusing poses.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 122June 27, 2014 12:49 PM

R107, I was thinking of that, too.

It was the Lemon Twist.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 123June 27, 2014 1:13 PM

R121, The link you included is indeed a finger, but what you described made me think of Wooly Willy.

Using magnetic wand to move iron shavings to add facial hair designs.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 124June 27, 2014 1:16 PM

R111, I was going to say I lost my mind trying to actually complete a Spirograph design without the pen skipping on the teeth of the "gear" things.

by Anonymousreply 125June 27, 2014 1:19 PM

I wanted The Strange Change Machine but never got it.

My friend's sister broke her arm playing Green Ghost, she tripped over something in a darkened room.

by Anonymousreply 126June 27, 2014 1:33 PM

I still have my Clackers.

My brother had a miniature cannon with live ammo when we were kids. He'd shoot this cannon off in the backyard. I kid you not!

by Anonymousreply 127June 27, 2014 1:45 PM

Lawn darts!

by Anonymousreply 128June 27, 2014 1:55 PM

Playgrounds used to have those metal slides that would heat up to the boiling point, producing leg burns. Those things got HOT!

by Anonymousreply 129June 27, 2014 2:00 PM

Anybody remember "Kerplunk?" I used to stab my sister with those plastic skewers!

by Anonymousreply 130June 27, 2014 2:21 PM

Stare at this awhile, r125!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 131June 27, 2014 2:45 PM

R65, I remember that as well. We used to twist the metal into petals and make flowers. We had a purple "dip". My sister spilled it once, all over the cement floor in a food pantry, and on her orange halter top and matching orange jean shorts. It left a stain on the cement, and my sister was devastated at losing her orange halter.

by Anonymousreply 132June 27, 2014 3:23 PM

Wizard Tops weren't supposed to be dangerous but we found out otherwise when my cousin revved one up and put it in my sister's hair. What a mess. It took HOURS to remove it.

by Anonymousreply 133June 27, 2014 4:23 PM

As R133 proves, anything can be dangerous is it is misused. The problem with many of these toys and craft materials is that they require adult supervision. A wood burning set isn't something you hand a child and say "stay out of my hair for a while." It is interesting that the Easy Bake Oven has been around since the 1960s, but the major recall was in 2007. Really, the parents should be charged with child abuse or neglect for not properly supervising the children.

by Anonymousreply 134June 27, 2014 5:11 PM

R134 Mary!

by Anonymousreply 135June 27, 2014 5:13 PM

[quote]The link you included is indeed a finger, but what you described made me think of Wooly Willy.

Yes, the link was Sticky Finger, which was a toy with a large suction at the end which you'd use to catch and throw a ball, it was a weird concept. I do remember kids hitting each other with the large Sticky Finger.

I actually still have a Wooly Willy. I came across it while going through some old toys still stored at my parents. My mom's a bit of a hoarder, it's great that she's never disposed of my old toys. I've been bringing them over to my house little by little. I want to keep some, the others I'll sell on eBay. One man's junk is another's treasure.

by Anonymousreply 136June 27, 2014 5:30 PM

My grandparents got me "Baby's First Meth Lab".

by Anonymousreply 137June 27, 2014 5:45 PM

r114, when I was a kid I thought my record player could double as a potters wheel and I nearly got electrocuted handling wet clay on it.

by Anonymousreply 138June 27, 2014 5:59 PM

This:

Carving tool, Glue, hair, laquer, wires, pins and you did it over a bare light bulb.

One of my favorite toys when I was a kid. Along with Spirograph and Shrinky Dinks

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 139June 27, 2014 11:08 PM

My most longed for toy when I was a kid (in the late 80s) was a Mr Frosty slushie maker, basically a load of razor blades embedded in plastic that you were supposed to put ice cubes in to crush. When I eventually got it I wasn't strong enough - was any kid strong enough to crush ice cubes with a few razor blades? So I just drank the syrup packets neat.

Okay so it wasn't that dangerous, the only risk was cutting your fingers, but still...

by Anonymousreply 140June 28, 2014 12:21 AM

We would just go to construction sites and stand on rusty nails, cut our feet on corrugated iron or break our arms jumping off the scaffolding. Playgrounds were for pussies in New Zealand. Plus it took years for these toys to make their way to us.

by Anonymousreply 141June 28, 2014 3:04 AM

INCREDIBLE EDIBLES a toy sold by Mattel in the 1960s. It was a series of circular metal molds into which Gooble De-Goop, a candy-like gel, was squeezed. The form was then placed in a small oven and baked into a rubbery soft candy in the shape of worms and insects.

by Anonymousreply 142June 28, 2014 5:29 AM

R134-

People here hate guns, and posts like yours make them feel bad about their choice to be a victim.

It wounds.

by Anonymousreply 143June 28, 2014 5:30 AM

So many memories -- I'd like to add the humble pogo stick - I would pogo until I fell off every time. It's a miracle nothing really bad happened.

by Anonymousreply 144June 28, 2014 5:55 AM

Shrink Dinks, fresh fom a hot oven, especially the Christmas editions. They're still making these today.

by Anonymousreply 145June 28, 2014 4:59 PM

R144 My friend's dad made her a pair of stilts. She was the most popular kid in the neighborhood until a couple of falls resulted in a broken arm and wrist.

I do indeed remember the pogo stick. I loved it, but it didn't particularly love me. I was always the tallest kid in the neighborhood,and it did nothing for my sense of balance.

by Anonymousreply 146June 28, 2014 5:04 PM

Oops, make R145 SHRINKY DINKS

by Anonymousreply 147June 28, 2014 5:06 PM

Super Elastic Bubble Plastic. That stuff got everywhere. The smell was so overpowering. I don't know how my mom let us play with that, being Asthmatics and all.

by Anonymousreply 148June 28, 2014 6:50 PM

My Johnny One Man Army shot white plastic pellets at anyone I suspected was a Nazi or Communist.

Why I wasn't beaten to death by enraged passerby, since I would call out my suspicions before shooting them, remains a mystery

by Anonymousreply 149June 29, 2014 5:25 PM

LOL! R141

by Anonymousreply 150June 29, 2014 5:32 PM

Sea Monkeys

They would eventually outgrow the jars and bowls in which they were placed. There were reports in the 70s of sea monkeys climbing out of their containers at night and ripping innocent children to pieces as they slept in their beds.

by Anonymousreply 151June 29, 2014 5:40 PM

read

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 152June 29, 2014 5:43 PM

Oh, we had fun with Creepy Crawlers - my btothers and I ruined several pillowcases, hiding the bugs under each other's pillows to scare them. Nobody ever found them until after they had melted into the sheets.

There were some ridiculous springy things - "Kangaroo Shoes?" "Moon Boots?" - which promised hours of bouncy fun, but only delivered sprained ankles.

One Christmas morning, my brother got so excited over my Hippity-Hop he swung it over his head and smashed a chandelier in our entrance hall. He had been pretending that we were on the Titanic, and was making the chandelier swing as he shouted, "We're going down!"

by Anonymousreply 153June 29, 2014 7:02 PM

Heh!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 154June 29, 2014 8:51 PM

Heh, back!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 155June 30, 2014 6:55 PM

"Baby's First Plutonium Weapon"

by Anonymousreply 156November 24, 2014 12:27 AM

Hobby horses. Those death traps had no restraints; you would just bob up and down & around wildly. My cousin pulled me off of mine as a kid. I still have a huge scar on my forehead.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 157November 24, 2014 12:39 AM

OMG, R24 - you took me BACK with that thing. We had the same exact one and loved it.

by Anonymousreply 158November 24, 2014 1:25 AM

I remember being very little and seeing a TV show about the girl whose father got lawn darts banned. It included a very graphic description of her injury and death, along with x-rays showing the lawn dart embedded in her skull. Traumatizing.

Like an earlier poster, I had a screenprinting set I could never get to work properly. It wasn't dangerous, but it was really disappointing.

When I think of dangerous toys, playground equipment comes to mind - super high slides, swings, and merry-go-rounds you'd spin by running around them, before hopping on. Really fun, but non-existent today. And playground surfaces weren't made from the rubber mats or wood chips they use now - it was always grass or asphalt.

by Anonymousreply 159November 24, 2014 2:14 AM

(My) JOHNNY, 'Human Torch' costume

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 160November 24, 2014 2:22 AM

Mom was cleaning out the attic and found my old BB-gun from the '70. Painted black, it looks EXACTLY like a .45. Perfect for the kid who wants suicide by cop.

by Anonymousreply 161November 24, 2014 2:52 AM

Those spin around things at playgrounds, where you stand on them and hold on to the metal bars while someone else spins it around. We used to get those going so fast that everyone on it was clinging on to the bars for their dear lives, some got launched off it and hurt.

Those giant slides at festivals that you went down with burlap sacks. I lost track how many times I fell off the sack and got severe burns from the track, which was scalding hot from the sun.

Magnifying glasses - lord knows how much shit we lit on fire with these.

Pop gun caps on paper rolls, we used to hit the whole roll with a hammer and explode them all at once - they would also catch on fire.

Pogo Balls - I could never keep my balance on these damn things and was always falling over into crap.

by Anonymousreply 162November 24, 2014 3:46 AM

Wrist Slingshots - seriously, who thought these were a good idea for kids?! Lord knows how many bruises and welts I had on me from my idiot friends shooting me with those glass balls.

Sunglasses with the red glowing led lights in the center - like those seen in the Blondie video for Rapture. They looked cool wearing them but you couldn't see shit when you had them on.

Slip N Slide - I lost track how many times I slid into one of those damn metal spikes, or got mauled by rocks and other sharp objects in the grass that poked through the vinyl track.

Older model dirt bikes - My earliest dirt bikes were pretty heavy and had metal spikes on the pedals. Any time I fell off or wrecked my bike, those spikes would tear into my legs.

Honda Scooters - OK, so not really a "toy" but these were all the rage in the 80's, and my older sister had one which we would sneak and go ride with when she was away at work/school. We wrecked that thing many times, lol.

by Anonymousreply 163November 24, 2014 3:57 AM

[quote] "Nothing says fun like the potential for chemical poisoning, second degree burns from the molds, or accidentally starting a fire while the babysitter is downstairs making out with her boyfriend."

I should have known something was amiss from the slimy feel of her skin, the wiggly antennae, and the tremulous pinchers poking me In all of my ticklish places. Oh, she tried to explain that her petrochemical scent was just the "Jean Naté After-Bath Splash," but I didn't buy it. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

by Anonymousreply 164November 24, 2014 4:03 AM

R162 we were on a class field trip & a girl almost got her leg cut off by a stray piece of metal sticking out from one of those spinning things. The teacher took her to the hospital, her parents picked her up and that was it. The entire school system would have been sued by some helicopter parents if that happened today.

by Anonymousreply 165November 24, 2014 4:04 AM

In the 50's the Steeplechase Ride at Coney Island. Very dangerous .

Using those aluminum saucers to sled .

We used to knock people down on golf courses ...and laugh like fools after doing this.

Also never a thought to what our spines would be like after making a little ski lift on the hill next to our house and flying off it for hours landing with a thud in the snow.

Mind you we did have a mother at home and not once did she ever come outside and warn us of the dangers.

No helicopter parenting from her.

by Anonymousreply 166November 24, 2014 4:38 AM

This was not dangerous, just in poor taste.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 167November 24, 2014 8:01 AM

I had a chemistry set that didn't do anything. In fact, one of the many bottles of "chemicals" was labelled Balsa Wood Chips.

But I used to take my old lead fishing sinkers, put them in a spoon that came with the chemistry set, put the spoon over the lighted alcohol burner and melt the lead in the spoon.

It would smoke and smoke and smoke and I'd be over it inhaling lead fumes while marvelling at the drossy skin that would form over the liquid lead.

But I'm fine now. No learning problems at all, knock on balsa wood.

by Anonymousreply 168November 24, 2014 8:18 AM

Liquid mercury

Probably a lot more

by Anonymousreply 169November 24, 2014 8:28 AM

My brother loved Evel Knievel and got some of his toys. I was coming home with my Mom from swimming lessons at the YMCA and there was a ramp on our driveway and my brother bike lying by it. The neighbor's husband ran over, they took my brother to the hospital because he got a concussion trying to do an Evel Knievel stunt.

by Anonymousreply 170November 24, 2014 8:29 AM

On the off-chance R65 comes back, this link is for you. It's still around!

Flying saucer sleds don't seem very dangerous when used the normal way, but when summer rolls around and a steep hardwood staircase fills in for a snowy slope while the mummies are outside, oblivious, having their afternoon G&T hour, it's a different story.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 171November 24, 2014 8:34 AM

r169 - oh man, liquid mercury. I remember rolling mercury from a broken thermometer in my bare hands and even bringing it to my 5th grade class in the 70's, and when my science teacher cautioned me about the potential dangers of mercury, I thought he was a complete dumbass. What did he know.

by Anonymousreply 172November 24, 2014 8:36 AM

R169, this R168 again. Your comment made me recall a 6th grade science class episode.

A friend brought in LIQUID MERCURY (from where? I don't know, maybe one of those old time thermometers) and he marvelled us by pouring from hand into another hand and back again. We were transfixed by the little gray balls that formed and reformed and then went back into the original shape.

Something happened. All the mercury dropped onto the floor and scattered into a billion little mercury balls. We never told anyone. We had no idea it was so toxic, no idea at all. We just thought it was a happy gray fun ball.

That shit is probably all over that school by now.

by Anonymousreply 173November 24, 2014 8:36 AM

In the late 50s, 60s, the drive-in theatre in our town in Connecticut would provide a man at the ticket booth with an industrial mosquito fogger and he'd fog the inside of your car with you and the kids in it. (This was before the EPA, few chemicals, if any at all, had been banned.)

My mother would say, "Hey kids! Is that chocolate, strawberry or vanilla fog?"

And we'd scream, "Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!"

Mom died of kidney cancer. Both my grandparents died of pancreatic cancer. My brother and two sisters and dealing with cancer now. The clock is ticking for me, no doubt

by Anonymousreply 174November 24, 2014 8:43 AM

My dad was born in 1950. He says that his middle school physics teacher hatched an interesting lesson plan: instead of fleeing for cover with their little legs, a "homemade" bomb would be safely detonated in the air while speeding away on a weather balloon into the atmosphere.

The bomb went off in the classroom. The teacher lost some flesh, but not his job. My dad is still hard of hearing in one ear.

R169

by Anonymousreply 175November 24, 2014 9:13 AM

I am going way back, like 62 years way back. There was this small device that you would lay on your tongue and if you had it placed just right, you could make sounds like a duck. We all had them and we all "quacked" at the same time. Some of us learned to talk with them in place. Very irritating.

They came to an end when several of us inhaled at the wrong time and got them stuck in our throats for a brief time before expelling them. I thought I was going to die right then and there.

At one point there was a small craze for very long, skinny, white balloons. It didn't last long because they also tended to get stuck in throats and I heard our local grocery/candy store owner tell my Mother, sotto voce, that they looked too much like "rubbers" and being a good catholic, he would not sell them to kids.

by Anonymousreply 176November 24, 2014 10:00 AM

[quote]The evil Water Wiggle. I swear, that thing had a predatory mind of its own. Wham O, right in the face.

The nozzle was solid steel and bent into a hook...

by Anonymousreply 177November 24, 2014 8:48 PM

Atom Bomb Kit from Mattel. Took out two square blocks of Detroit in the 1960s. During the riots so I got away with it. Parents moved us to LA immediately.

by Anonymousreply 178November 24, 2014 9:03 PM

My favorite toy was DDT.

by Anonymousreply 179November 24, 2014 10:08 PM

I did it to them before they could do it to me.

by Anonymousreply 180November 24, 2014 10:34 PM

OP here. I did not know my thread had been revived. Thanks, all, your posts have brought me many laughs!

by Anonymousreply 181November 24, 2014 11:49 PM

The fat girl on our street ended up wit stitches in her ass when she sat on my brother's Inchworm and cracked it.

by Anonymousreply 182November 25, 2014 12:05 AM

My best friend in my grade school years had a toy I practically drooled over: it was a brilliant red, highly polished, miniature fire engine which you could drive by getting in and pedaling furiously. It had a string on it that ran through rings up to the front of it where a bell was mounted, and which you would ring by pulling. The steering wheel and the pedals were a bright white plastic which contrasted nicely with the shiny red metal.

The thing was extraordinarily heavy as it was made entirely of steel in some industrial process which cut out the sheet metal, bent it into the correct shape, and then attached the hardware. The lip of the child's seat was bent at the end so that there were no sharp edges when getting into the thing. Once you were in the damn thing, it was another story...as I found out. I remember one time when I quickly extended my arm upward and towards the bell as I had a pretend fire to extinguish, and speed was of the essence.

However, this forward movement of my 5 year old arm ran against the razor sharp, inwardly bent metal edge, slicing it open like a hotdog. I remember being shocked at the pain and the blood, but then I just worked through the pain and pedaled quickly to our pretend fire where my friend was screaming to be rescued. I know, such devotion to public service! It wasn't until my friend's dad came home from work and immediately came to examine my bloody arm that I started crying and wailing. I received 10 stitches (I think) that evening.

by Anonymousreply 183November 25, 2014 12:21 AM

In addition to a Thingmaker in the 60s, I had a Vac-U-Form, which had the same heating element as the Thingmaker. The Vac-U-Form let you heat plastic sheets and then press them down on molds. You'd press a lever that formed a vacuum between the plastic and the mold, so you could make plastic cars, jewelry, etc.

The great thing about the Vac-U-Form was that if you let the plastic bake too long, it would melt down on the heating element and possibly cause a fire.

And, like the Thingmaker, it introduced us to smells that we would only later recognize as "toxic."

Another (truly) fun toy was the Erector Set. My friend had one with a genuine plug-into-the-wall electric motor. I imagine it had the torque to cut off a finger.

Too bad that, as a society, we've become so obsessed with quashing natural selection.

by Anonymousreply 184November 25, 2014 1:19 AM

Sit 'N' Spin.

by Anonymousreply 185November 26, 2014 3:19 AM

My one year older brother and I were very serious about blowing things up, using successively more powerful fireworks until we finally got our hands on some blasting caps another kid stole from a construction site. If one of our friends hadn't come running to tell us about another kid who lost an eye and part of a hand, we probably would have gotten hurt.

We talked it over and decided we had to get our father involved so we went to him and told him what we had. He took the caps and we never saw them again, nor did we ever hear another word about it.

I had nightmares for some time after that.

by Anonymousreply 186November 26, 2014 3:51 AM

R36, I think you and I played at the same playground! But instead of asphalt, ours was covered with pebbles and the hard crinkly ashes that were a byproduct of the school's coal heating system. They also covered our baseball infield with the ash. Try sliding into second base on that! It's just a flesh wound.

A few years ago I saw a product similar to Super Elastic Bubble Plastic in a toy store in Paris and of course bought a few of them as gifts for my siblings. I wonder if it still gives the inhaled chemical high?

I also bought a bunch of caps online a few years ago as stocking stuffers for my siblings. We all had a great time showing the nieces and nephews how to set them off with a magnifying glass. Good times!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 187November 26, 2014 12:46 PM

[quote]I practically drooled over: it was a brilliant red, highly polished, miniature fire engine which you could drive by getting in and pedaling furiously

That was an episode of the Little Rascals.

Are you Waldo or Dickie Moore?

by Anonymousreply 188November 26, 2014 6:11 PM

Nice try. The "Little Rascals" were all shot in black & white.

by Anonymousreply 189November 26, 2014 8:13 PM

I got stabbed in the neck by a lawn dart when I was four, received many first degree burns from metal creepy crawler trays from age 10-12, got shot in the eye with a pea shooter and had to wear an eyepatch at age seven, and also got burned pretty badly by one of those wood burning kit wands when I was 8 (anybody remember them? I can still remember the seared flesh smell).

But the worst injuries i received were from bikes and skateboards. I had a great childhood and wouldn't change a thing!

by Anonymousreply 190November 26, 2014 8:59 PM

Holy shit, R190! Glad you survived.

by Anonymousreply 191November 26, 2014 11:09 PM

My siblings and I had lots of the same dangerous stuff mentioned here-- the wood burning and glass cutting kits, clackers, molding sets that involved cooking nasty plastics...and we survived okay.

The playground in the neighborhood (where we were allowed to go without an adult once I, as the oldest, reached age 7 or so) had monkey bars, a spinning carousel thing, a metal slide and swing set made of heavy steel poles and chains, and a teeter-totter with splintery wood and finger-pinching joints. The only time I remember seeing grownups at the park was if they brought "little kids," which was probably toddlers.

In elementary school we could go to the town pool on our own, as did most other kids. The thinking was that the lifeguards were there for a reason, I guess. ( Climbing the fence and swimming in the middle of night came later. Skinny dipping with my best friend on certain memorable nights even later still.)

I remember being allowed to play with the science kit by myself in first grade if I asked nicely. The mercury was the most fun.

We could ride our bikes anywhere without helmets, summers were all ours and seemed to last years. Being late for dinner was a no-no, but otherwise we were free to roam, and we did, along with everybody else our age.

Our parents weren't neglectful, as they'd be called today. It was how we all lived and learned.

Suburban seventies childhood--wouldn't trade it for the world, scars on my knees, hands and feet and all.

by Anonymousreply 192November 26, 2014 11:42 PM

I loved my science kit! Never even came close to any problems.

iPad-addicted spawn of today's helicopter parents are Just Plain SAD.

by Anonymousreply 193December 14, 2014 6:16 PM

We'd ride our bikes for hours when we could. I just got my training wheels off when I sliced my knee open skidding off of my bike. My mom almost fainted she saw it. My older sister talked to me all the way home, saying "don't look down, don't look down." Gravel is still embedded in my left knee, which is fine by the way.

As a kid, my dad was pretending to be Evel Kenevil. He flew over his bike handles into a poison oak patch.

Everyone had a story like this, and everyone lived.

Everyone had a story like this.

by Anonymousreply 194December 14, 2014 8:51 PM

Victim cultures, with their penchant for litigation and investing in insurance companies, broke our country.

We will remember what you did.

by Anonymousreply 195December 15, 2014 2:33 AM

The Gas-Powered Sharp Thing

by Anonymousreply 196December 15, 2014 3:06 AM

pixie sticks

by Anonymousreply 197December 15, 2014 3:26 AM

Canada has always had Kinder Eggs. Guess we're smarter than American kids.

by Anonymousreply 198January 11, 2018 3:31 PM

The Happy Fun Ball was always my favorite

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 199January 11, 2018 3:40 PM

R16: Yeah good on you using a wood burning iron to solder stuff. Me I went a different way - my great grandfather taught me how to use a soldering iron when I was six years old. A skill I never lost.

Now I roll with a bit more of a rugged soldering station.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 200January 11, 2018 3:41 PM

AIDS diet candy

by Anonymousreply 201January 11, 2018 3:47 PM

The original Weeble Wobbles from the 70's were weighted with lead.

by Anonymousreply 202January 11, 2018 4:29 PM

We had every toy imaginable, and were still always bored. But as soon as a refrigerator or washing machine was delivered, we were the happiest kids on the block. A big ass box was the best toy ever. I always wondered why no one ever just sold toy boxes. We would play with a huge box until it fell apart; rolling down hills inside was a favorite activity.

Also, give some kids a huge mound of dirt and fun and danger ensued.

And every kid should grow up near a creek. If you didn't you don't know what you missed.

by Anonymousreply 203January 11, 2018 5:10 PM

One of my fave SNL sketches from the Dan Ackroyd era. Candice Bergen looks gorgeous.

"CONSUMER PROBE: IRWIN MAINWAY In a review of holiday gifts, toy company president Irwin Mainway (Dan Aykroyd) defends his company's products, Bag O' Glass and a teddy bear with a built-in chainsaw, then claims traditional toys are extremely dangerous. [Season 2, 1976]"

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 204January 11, 2018 5:27 PM

Lots of small kids who grew up in urban areas were always outside alone, there was no parental supervision whatsoever. No one was molested or kidnapped.

by Anonymousreply 205January 11, 2018 5:30 PM

What a great thread.

When I was a kid growing up in the UK we would visit my aunt and uncle in Cleveland, Ohio for summer holidays. End of the 60s. I had something that worked along the same principles as Creepy Crawlers but it was called something like ‘The Lost World’ or ‘Time Machine’ or something. You placed these coloured blocks of plastic in the Time Machine, which was basically a hot plate/heater and they would heat up and expand into little dinosaur figurines. Then you could play with them on a sort of plastic island. When you finished you placed them in the Time Machine again, heated them up and then put them in a press that compressed them back into a block shape.

The Time Machine heater thing got red hot and, bizarrely, the cover on it was plastic. Accident waiting to happen.

Also remember my brother having a junior version of a Raleigh Chopper, a Chipper, and only discovering how low the pedals were when he took a corner at the bottom of the hill fast and a pedal caught on the tarmac. The subsequent spill left him with two chunks out of his arm down to the bone. You could see the bloodied fat and everything. Needless to say we were fascinated and grossed out at the same time. Needless to say he was howling.

by Anonymousreply 206January 11, 2018 6:26 PM

Oh I made my own 'toys'. Figure out that a 9V battery across a relay setup in a feedback loop would generate nice spiky bits of electrical current. I use to freak my mom out - I'd disassemble old TV's for parts and would use a screwdriver to short the big old capacitors. Welded that screwdriver to one cap that still had a good kick in it.

by Anonymousreply 207February 5, 2018 12:48 AM

R20, Haha! I did all of that! We skated down wonky concrete sidewalks, with the only way to stop's being rolling onto somebody's lawn and falling down!

by Anonymousreply 208February 5, 2018 1:02 AM

Also had the chemistry set; the electric wood-burner (to make designs on wood objects); a sled with sharp metal runners for hills; and playgrounds without supervision, with swing sets, seesaws, and monkey bars. We gulped down our gum, too!

Good times!

by Anonymousreply 209February 5, 2018 1:08 AM

R203, Yes to the creek! We have one straight through my idyllic hometown. It also flows underneath our gigantic (I do not exaggerate) public pool, so we kids would take swimming breaks to look for guppies and snails!

It is home to trout, also.

by Anonymousreply 210February 5, 2018 1:16 AM

Lite brites- I used to love putting them in my mouth. My cousins always played with marbles, and felt cool when I showed them I had my own swirly and colored marbles and yup, I also liked putting a few in my mouth and feel them on my tongue lol

by Anonymousreply 211February 5, 2018 10:04 PM

[quote]The playground at my elementary school featured a metal slide 12 feet off the ground on asphalt that would heat up to about 140 degrees in the sun, and metal monkey bars about 10 feet off the ground, also built on asphalt. We'd get the merry go round going as fast as it could and then jump off. And every recess period some poor kid would get bumped on the see-saw when the other kid would jump off, sending the other end slamming to the ground.

Yes - every part of this post describes my school playground in the 70's as well. I had forgotten about how hot the slide would get (it did not help that those were the days when shorts were mid thigh or short -- black vinyl car seats -- all too common where also a bit treacherous.

When we would get big snow banks in the parking lot, we would also do King of the Hill where you would basically be pushing people off the tall snow bank onto the concrete parking lot.

My brother had a mineral kit that included a hunk of asbestos.

Not dangerous, but he also had a book on dinosaurs that described how cold blooded and slow they were.

by Anonymousreply 212February 6, 2018 2:03 AM

R22, the goo in Stretch Armstrong was Corn Syrup.

by Anonymousreply 213February 6, 2018 2:18 AM

Bump

by Anonymousreply 214December 5, 2018 10:08 PM

Somehow we never burned ourselves on Creepy Crawlers, Rings and Things, Easybake, and candle making. We were always making fucking candles.

Here's another one - not really a toy - we went down to the Hudson and hung ropes on trees over the cliffs, swung out, and dropped into the River. I remember we paid a bit of attention as to the tide (Hudson has a tide) but the river is still flowing over the tide.

by Anonymousreply 215December 5, 2018 10:18 PM

I had a Sit N Spin when I was little and it was fun but God help you if you ever accidently stepped on it trying to step over it.

by Anonymousreply 216December 5, 2018 10:31 PM

I always had arm bruises from those clackers, they can really hurt.

by Anonymousreply 217December 5, 2018 10:38 PM

Trailer looks good, when can I see it?

by Anonymousreply 218December 5, 2018 10:42 PM

I still have my clackers - and yes to the "time machine" or whatever it was called. Kids, hotplates, hot plastic, what could go wrong?

We used to buy caps in the corner store. Of course, me and my brothers being the destructive buggers we were, simply hitting them with rocks or getting them to go off with magnifying glasses got boring real quick. We lived near an old railway line that had these huge nuts and bolts. Put a bunch of caps in, gently screw it tight, throw it and explosive fun ensues.

Until one goes off while you're prepping it in your desk at school. Scared the shit out of everyone (this was before school shootings were de-rigueur) I still have visions of smoke and thousands of pieces of paper fluttering around me as what was essentially a miniature bomb went off in my hands in my desk. Didn't even get a detention. lol

by Anonymousreply 219December 5, 2018 10:53 PM

Anyone remember the Yo-Ball, it was a spring driven yo yo type contraption that was guarenteed to always come back...and maybe smack you in the face when it did.

by Anonymousreply 220December 6, 2018 1:50 AM

R114- K-Tel used to do commercials about the bottle cutter.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 221December 6, 2018 2:32 AM

Bag o' Glass

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 222December 6, 2018 5:28 AM

Pogo sticks, stilts, pop-guns, sling-shots. I remember adults constantly saying "don't point that at the eyes." This is a fun thread.

by Anonymousreply 223December 6, 2018 6:03 AM

The metal jacks hurt like hell if you stepped on them.

by Anonymousreply 224December 6, 2018 6:49 AM

You can buy a Vac-u-Form on ebay, I just checked.

by Anonymousreply 225December 6, 2018 10:37 AM

Lots of toys back then were dangerous, they had sharp metal parts and some were miniatures, such as the Disneykins small figurines.

How about the Barbie accessories? My older sister had those amazing Barbie clothes and accessories which were Made in Japan, meticulously sewn and were expensive. Not the cheap Made in China and Made in Vietnam crap Mattel sells today.

Even as a child, I did comment that very small children could swallow those tiny Barbie accessories.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 226December 7, 2018 9:30 PM

Rainbow Brite Ammo Loader Kit

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 227December 7, 2018 9:42 PM

I had a Vac-u-form and played with it a lot. I never got burned, but to this day I can still recall the awful toxic smell of the melted plastic.

by Anonymousreply 228December 7, 2018 9:54 PM

Lots of today's toys are just as dangerous. A few years ago, I remember hearing about a recall of basic plastic superhero figurines from China, they used toxic paint. Quelle surprise!

by Anonymousreply 229December 8, 2018 11:42 PM

When I was 8 or 9 (over 40 years ago) my dad brought one of these home from a yard sale. Never could get the hang of it but had lots of road rash from trying!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 230December 9, 2018 12:18 AM

R206...Mattel's Strange Change Time Machine:

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 231December 9, 2018 6:09 AM

Creepy Crawlers continued to be manufactured by various companies with some changes to the process. I believe Jakks Pacific made the last sets around 2012 or so...you can still buy the goop today.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 232December 9, 2018 6:12 AM

You could also make flowers with the Thingmaker:

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 233December 9, 2018 6:15 AM

I had the Fighting Men set as a kit, and yes, I did get burned...but so worth it! It came with metal wire armatures that you would put in the soldier mold before adding the goop and baking. Open the mold and Presto!...instant poseable action figure. The set also came with paint so you could paint his face and hands (caucasian only I believe...). The woman who found these sets in incredibly fortunate to have them so complete and in such great shape...

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 234December 9, 2018 6:21 AM

Also available...Tarzan...

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 235December 9, 2018 6:23 AM

My favorite, Superman...

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 236December 9, 2018 6:24 AM

Batman...

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 237December 9, 2018 6:27 AM

And the Green Hornet, altough unfortunately like the Batman set you don't actually get a figure of the actual character.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 238December 9, 2018 6:30 AM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!