What company originally made Jarts (I think the trade name of lawn darts was Jarts) and what has happened to them since their product went, er, nosedown? Have any of them given explanations as to why they marketed a product to children that was used in a sport that involved throwing a large, metal-tipped spear at the opposing team? Are they still out there, selling toys that ‘seem like a good idea at the time’? Is it true that Jarts are now illegal to own?
Have not seen any Jarts (or clones) on the market for the last decade. Prior to that I still encountered them on those rare excursions to various sporting goods establishments.
I followed the demise of Jarts with some interest. In 1968 I suffered a nearly fatal accident with the product. (A skull bullseye!) My folks, being somewhat less than informed and none to prone to transfer blame, missed out on the product liability suit of a lifetime.
I recovered fully (at lerst i thumk tho) but have been amazed that a product as such lasted as long as it did. Any other dopers out there with parallels?
Jarts (at least the ones I own) were made by a company called Regent. Jarts are, hands down, the coolest outdoor game ever made. The fact that they were made illegal is kind of sad; they were never intended for small children, and they shouldn’t be illegal any more than regular darts should. (The goal is not to throw them “at” the other team, of course.)
I myself own two sets of them, but they are definitely no longer available in stores (at least not in the U.S., as far as I can tell). I got set #1 about 4 years ago from a guy I knew who happened to still have them in his shed from when they were first popular. They were getting a bit worn, so 2-3 years ago I bought a set off of eBay. Now, if you go to eBay, you will get search results if you type in “Jarts,” but you will be told that the items are no longer available. I am glad I got mine when I could, but if and when the ones I have become too cracked to use, I guess I’ll have to just duct tape them.
I forgot to add…
I am not sure if they are illegal to OWN now, just that you can’t buy them new (and eBay doesn’t carry them any longer either). Pathetic–I can just imagine the cops coming to my house as my wife and I play a nice, leisurely game of Jarts:
“Drop the Jarts! Now!”
(You’ll get my Jarts when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.)
ISTR that a more “politically correct” incarnation of Jarts entered the marketplace a few years after the originals were banned. Instead of points, they had rounded, bowl-like, weighted bottoms. Instead of sticking into the ground they would land and not bounce.
Or maybe I’m delusional…
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- Yea, but they suck. They just don’t have that special something that comes with toying with serious injury. (Sorry 'bout yer noggin margorp, but it’s a lower-class rite of passage to put a hole in some car’s bodywork with a lawn dart) Lawn darts were a great trailer park game because as hazardous as they were, they had absolutely no other reason for existence except for entertainment - you don’t get amy more white trash than that. Firearms you could claim were meant for home defense, kiddy bows and arrows you could say were part of our Native American heritage, but Jarts was just a stupid game. A stupid game that could kill you.
~ The unpointed lawn darts are just as bad as those damned plastic-tipped poolroom dart sets, where the tips are long, flexible and break every five minutes, and the target is a plastic honeycombed affair that it seems like the darts should always stick into, but 20 or 25% of the time they don’t, bouncing backwards and falling to the floor. And half the time they bounce off, the tip breaks. Whoop-dee-f******-do. They’re likely non-toxic plastic in case some idiot eats one, too. They’re positively un-tavern-like. - MC
- Yea, but they suck. They just don’t have that special something that comes with toying with serious injury. (Sorry 'bout yer noggin margorp, but it’s a lower-class rite of passage to put a hole in some car’s bodywork with a lawn dart) Lawn darts were a great trailer park game because as hazardous as they were, they had absolutely no other reason for existence except for entertainment - you don’t get amy more white trash than that. Firearms you could claim were meant for home defense, kiddy bows and arrows you could say were part of our Native American heritage, but Jarts was just a stupid game. A stupid game that could kill you.
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I STILL don’t get the big to-do about Jarts being so dangerous. I have a few other issues here:
- The appeal of the game of Jarts(sorry, MC) is not that they are dangerous. They’re just fun; it’s a game of skill and a good way to get some fresh air.
- How on earth would you possibly put a hole in a car’s bodywork with a Jart? (I see how physically, but are people parking their cars right on the playing field? Or are the players that bad?)
- Far more injuries are incurred by accidents with baseballs, hockey pucks, darts, billiard balls, golf balls, volleyballs, etc., and those aren’t outlawed. Harumph.
- Given the fact that they are indeed pointy metal objects, young children (or anyone not paying attention) should not be in the area. I’m always baffled by the injury reports–care should be taken and children should be watched if there are potentially dangerous items flying around. The area should essentially be cordoned off from everyone else except those playing. I don’t throw a baseball when there are children around, nor would I throw a Jart. This is called common sense.
- Why are people constantly saying phrases like “white trash,” “trailer park,” and “lower-class” when it comes to Jarts? We are college-educated, suburban folks here.
Damn. Sorry, I just get so emotionally worked up over Jarts. Hee hee.
However, my mom was terrible at them and managed to put more than one dent in the hood of the car. She also once managed to land one on the roof of the house. Needless to say, we quickly learned to GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY when she was playing and common sense said GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY when anyone else was playing also. Perhaps Jart injuries fall under the category of “natural selection.” (just kidding)
Count me in as one of those who don’t understand why Jarts were banned. Horseshoes are still on the market, after all.
People could get easily killed with Jarts. Several kids nearly did, if I remember correctly.
Never count on toy makers of the past for common sense, because certain things were just never considered, like lead in paint, razor edges on pressed metal things like those old gas stations Dads put together for kids, flammable stuffing in stuffed animals, unclean water in teething rings and so on.
You can still buy a pump air gun which, when fully charged, can fire a BB with the velocity of a .22 round for a few yards, or a lead pellet. At close range, those things can penetrate a human skull. BB guns, the one’s you cock, are safer.
Those popular lead melting toys were available at the same time, where one filled an electric caldron with lead, melted it, positioned a cast mold underneath, pulled up a pin in a pour hole and led hot lead pour out. I had one that cast Civil War soldiers and I used it to cast fishing weights, wet sand molds and so on. When I ran out of lead, I got more. I burned the crap out of my fingers many a time.
No one considered how dangerous those things were, nor the inherent danger in the lead itself.
Jarts were just a thing of the times.
Heck, they sold kids bows and arrows with pointed metal tips. They stuck in things.
Ever since they banned those things, we’ve been forced to fall back on ringing anvils here in Missouri. (you know, where you stack two anvils on top of the each other with black powder between, and when the fuse burns down, the top anvil goes about 200 feet up, ringing like a banshee.) Only problem is, we have not yet figured out how to do it competitively. I bet it would put a real nice hole in an automobile, though.
My family had Jarts when I was a young lad. They sat in the garage for years because Jarts is a boring game. One day, when I was about thirteen, my older brother figured out a way to make Jarts interesting. We then proceeded to play catch with Jarts. I took this game with me to college where it was modified slightly and turned into a drinking game. Now that is exciting.
In retrospect, this probably wasn’t the smartest thing in the world. In fact, everything I did from the age of thirteen until the age of twenty three was probably a bad idea.
I have nothing useful to add on the subject of jarts (I played with them when I was a kid, and it was one of the safer things I did ), but I wanted to say 1) this thread is one of the funnier things I’ve read today, and 2) Fishhead, can I come over? I’ll bring the beer, and we can try to figure out the rules to ringing anvils…
I wonder if you fan still get Jarts in Mexico. Everything’s allowed in Mexico … it’s the American way!
Oh, for crying out loud…
People could get killed with steak knives. Let’s outlaw steak knives! Oh, what’s that you say? Let’s keep the steak knives out of the reach of children? And in the hands of those who can responsibly handle them? What a brilliant concept!
Outlawing toys, for Christ’s sake. Because some freaking parents can’t control their kids enough to keep them from getting a jart in the skull. Yes, I KNOW they are dangerous, but EVERYTHING is dangerous if not used properly. A pencil? I could poke your eye out with it. A shoe? I could throw it at you.
Jarts are a great game, but a few negligent folks had to spoil the fun for the rest of us. Oh well.
We played jarts all the time when I was a kid and no one had a jart-related injury. Maybe because my parents actually supervised the kids. What a concept.
Wasn’t the most well-known fatality caused by a dumbass father throwing one over a house and hitting his son?
Nineiron is right, irresponsible people ruined the fun for everyone else. Same thing happened with fireworks in Ohio.
Bashere - You bring the beer, we’ve got the black powder and anvils. Only rules we have so far are run like hell and watch the sky.
Now fireworks, there’s another good one. You get another perspective after spending a few years in Central America. The grand finale of a fireworks show in Costa Rica consists of a 6 foot wicker ball loaded with rockets. Some of the rockets are attached to the ball in such a way as to make the ball roll or spin (depending on the orientation of the ball when they go off). The smaller rockets are set to shoot out of the ball in random directions at random intervals. All of these are wired to one fuse. You set the thing loose in soccer field and everyone in front of the ball runs away and everyone behind it runs after it. If you are really macho, you get close enough to kick the ball and send it in a new direction - sometimes there are even teams within the crowd that try to move it toward opposite goals, although this is not mandatory. It looks like a bizarre nighttime rugby match, but has the feel of the running of the bulls. Afterward, the lucky show off their burns. I was never too crazy to actually take part in one of these, but I’ve watched a few, same as bull running or mass amateur bullfights (another costa rica specialty). Makes lawn darts seem so tame you wonder why we ever outlawed them.
Just wanted to add another responsible pparent of young chilluns who possesses 2 sets of Jarts. You’ll get my Jarts when you pry them from my cold dead fingers.
Of course, I’ve played mumblety peg with mu kids since they were 6 or so, and the 11 year old has had air rifle and bow and arrow for quite a few years.
Jarts are a useful device for thinning the herd.