# World's most dangerous toys **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049 "2008-11-30T14:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/141 "2008-12-09T20:47:56Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Fun thread. The latest issue of _Make Magazine_ has a short article on some chemistry sets that came out in the early 20th century. One set from the 20’s included cyanide (yes, the secret-agent-slip-under-the-tongue cyanide.) Another set (same company) included chemicals for melting glass at 1600 degrees. To quote the magazine, “mind your fingers, kids!” (The article also mentions a chemistry set for girls that had no chemicals.) I’m guessing [this is the article](http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol16/?pg=40) but I don’t see the bit about a chemistry set for girls. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/142 "2008-12-09T22:02:52Z")
Maybe Hollandaise sauce is an acid-base reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/143 "2008-12-09T23:13:49Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I’m guessing [this is the article](http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol16/?pg=40) but I don’t see the bit about a chemistry set for girls. I can’t view the online article atm but the part about the girls’ chemistry set is a caption for one of the pictures on pg. 38 of the magazine. Quote: “Gilbert’s 1958 [Lab Technician set for Girls] was a nice gesture but had no chemicals.” Judging by the picture on the front of the box it had a microscope for viewing household cleaning agents up close. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/144 "2008-12-10T01:56:41Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I’m guessing [this is the article](http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol16/?pg=40) but I don’t see the bit about a chemistry set for girls. The quote about the girls’ chemistry set is in the teal box on the first page. Something else that I thought was funny about the article are the pictures of kids on the early chemistry sets: the boys are all wearing ties. Such a different world from casual America. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/145 "2008-12-10T16:55:42Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > The quote about the girls’ chemistry set is in the teal box on the first page. Ah. I was looking for something more substantial in the hopes that they’d explain the rationale behind “no chemicals”. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/146 "2008-12-10T17:22:28Z")
Another Jart accident person checking in. I reared back to throw it, but didn’t release it quick enough. Right through my foot it went. All the way through. I remember standing there looking at it going “Ow, that hurt”, but not immediately doing anything. When I pulled it out I had a nifty mini geyser of blood follow. My mom nigh on passed out. Ended up with two stitches on the top of my foot, one on the bottom. What’s the toy with the orb on a string - you hold it out in front of you and wind up the string? My nephews had one and BOTH whacked themselves in the faces. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/147 "2008-12-10T18:35:13Z")
Not really a Christmas toy, but does anyone remember tire swings? I mean old, nasty dirty tire swings over creek beds, rocky ravines, concrete… I got my first set of stiches at the age of 6 as the tire swing I was on broke and I feel into the creek bed. Next day somebody had taken the two broken peices of rope and tied them back together. You would have thought 7 stiches on my elbow would have stopped me, but I jumped right back on the damn thing… good ol’ times. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/148 "2008-12-10T18:43:49Z")
> [@Dob](#): > > Not really a Christmas toy, but does anyone remember tire swings? I mean old, nasty dirty tire swings over creek beds, rocky ravines, concrete… Dad put tires on our swing set. He’d clean them, cut off most of the tread so all that’s left was the sides and a seat, then hook 'em up. ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/149 "2008-12-11T14:42:53Z")
> [@masterofnone](#): > > [You can still buy them.](http://www.epartyunlimited.com/cap-bomb.html) omg i remember having one or 2 of those! 😃 speaking of fireworks, i used to shoot bottle rockets into the pool at night, they would explode underwater with a flash and splash. until the time i shot one too close to the filter box and it got sucked into the strainer and then exploded! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/150 "2008-12-11T21:11:30Z")
Of the ones mentioned here Creepy Crawlers bring back the fondest memories. And I too had more than one bad burn from them. I was (well and still am) fascinated with glow-in-the-dark stuff and one of my fondest memories was when my grandmother bought me glow-in-the-dark goop! She was quite poor and so I’m sure this was a bigger extravagance than I knew. (Although since we rarely got things other than birthdays or Christmas, I am sure I had some inkling.) The new and improved version is out there and out of nostalgia I damn near bought a set. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/151 "2008-12-14T22:18:48Z")
Not exactly dangerous, but the name of this game certainly sounds painful: [Ball Buster.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhl7f5IPoV8&eurl=http://failblog.org/page/2/&feature=player_embedded) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![jeffkaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@jeffkaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffkaron)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/152 "2008-12-15T19:35:01Z")
This thread has stimulated my memory. Anyway, pop guns were once very popular. I had a rather well-made metal one shaped like a pirate pistol. When you pulled the trigger, a string would pull a cork into the barrel, then as the trigger met the handle, the cork would pop out loudly. So I first cut the string and shot the cork at whatever. Then I got the idea of combining my rocketry experiments and chemistry set with the gun. I carefully poured a propellent mixture in the barrel, then stuck a lit wooden match in a metal prong (that had held the string). When I pulled the trigger, the zinc/sulphur mixture shot out in a cloud that met the match flame. Very pirate-like, I thought. I seem to have been a bit of a menace. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/153 "2008-12-15T19:57:48Z")
I had a Thingmaker, a woodburning set and an Easy Bake Oven. I spent a good part of my childhood burning the shit out of myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/154 "2008-12-15T21:24:43Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Got kids? > 🙂 He’s got an average family: 2.5 children. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/155 "2008-12-15T23:35:28Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Over in the Game Room, one of the Daily Feuds was about toys. Lawn Darts was the number one most dangerous toy. According to [Radar’s most dangerous toys](http://www.radaronline.com/features/2006/12/toys.php) they’re only number 2. Those Chinese GHB ladened decorative dots wins the day. > > The most dangerous toy I’ve ever played with didn’t make either list. [I loved my click clacks.](http://www.retroland.com/pages/retropedia/toys/item/6204/) They were pretty and loud and I could get them flying. I shattered two pair before they could no longer be found made of glass. The plastic ones that replaced the glass sucked. > > Not only did the shatter, they were also hard as a, well, solid glass ball. I suffered the bruises without comment. It was part of the game. Have you ever put your life on the line in order to have fun as a kid? > > P.S. I can’t believe the nuclear lab set wasn’t placed much higher. My sister and I used to put the clackers around our necks so the balls would fit into our little training bras. 😉 We were the perkiest little girls in junior high, ---
**Author:** ![the\_keek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@the\_keek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_keek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/156 "2008-12-16T05:17:40Z")
Remember the resin grapes that were popular table decorations in the '60’s? Well my mom set up a little business making those for people and she also made clackers! We had dozens in every color, she sold them to the neighborhood kids for fifty cents. I think I remember that she had to mix the resin just right or they would shatter. I loved the fragil glass molds. I used to plant things in them and use them for ladybug holders. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Diane > My sister and I used to put the clackers around our necks so the balls would fit into our little training bras. We were the perkiest little girls in junior high, My little brother could not remember the word _clackers_ and would call them **KNOCKERS** everytime! ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/157 "2008-12-16T14:42:25Z")
I seem to remember a gun that shot little yellow round rubber BBs at high velocity, they stung like hell. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/158 "2008-12-16T14:48:45Z")
Had a Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker. Also Incredible Edibles. BB Gun. Chemistry Set. Wrist rocket. Lawn Darts. Clackers. Pretty much every toy mentioned, in fact. Yet the only “toy” with which I ever seriously hurt myself was Flexible Flier sled. I had to have my scalp stitched shut and my nose reconstructed. I haven’t been on a sled again since. Couple years ago, a kid I know got one of the new thingmakers for Xmas. It sucked. The lightbulb doesn’t provide enough heat to properly solidify the goop. ---
**Author:** ![4everkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/76d3ee/32.png) [@4everkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4everkid)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/159 "2008-12-16T17:26:44Z")
This thread would not be complete without mention of the **Wham-O Superball** , made of amazing Zectron… especially the original 2 inch ones of 1965. What’s more fun than 50,000 lbs. of compressed energy? You could take a persons eye out 5 blocks away with these little powerhouses. I launched more superballs into space attempting to test the claim that they could leap a 3-story building. It was true! Most of mine never came back, and are probably still circling the planet. I remember playing with a toy that consisted of a tube of toxic goo with noxious fumes and a straw. It may have been called **Super Elastic Bubble Plastic**. You put a blob of goo on the straw and blow your own toxic balloons. Then when you are done, you can wad it up into a small gum-like blob. Dangerous by todays standards on so many levels! Todays kids would chew the toxic gum. We knew better. Click Clacks… We called them “ **Clackers** ” around here. I remember in Jr. High, the boys made them in shop class and sold them to the other kids. Teachers hated them. The school halls were filled with the sound of hundreds of clackers going at once. According to Wikipedia: [Clackers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clackers) Clackers were eventually discontinued after children got injured whilst playing with them: besides being fairly heavy and fast-moving, the spheres, being made of hard acrylic plastic, could shatter upon striking each other, presenting a safety hazard. There is a recurring **urban legend that the clacker spheres were made of glass** , although no one has ever produced an actual glass set. The confusion may have arisen because many sets were made of transparent colored acrylic which resembled glass. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049/160 "2008-12-16T18:10:13Z")
> [@4everkid](#): > > This thread would not be complete without mention of the **Wham-O Superball** , made of amazing Zectron… especially the original 2 inch ones of 1965. What’s more fun than 50,000 lbs. of compressed energy? You could take a persons eye out 5 blocks away with these little powerhouses. I launched more superballs into space attempting to test the claim that they could leap a 3-story building. It was true! Most of mine never came back, and are probably still circling the planet. When my father was working at Cape Canaveral in the mid-60s, he and a co-worker managed to toss a Superball off the top of the VAB. Unfortunately, they lost track of them on the way down, so they didn’t know how high the balls bounced. They wanted to try inside, but knew that would be a Bad Idea[sup]TM[/sup]. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-dangerous-toys/475049.md?page=9)