10 most dangerous toys of all time

[Jem'hadar]

The 10 most dangerous toys of all time
http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/toys.php

[Phoenix]

I want #2 for myself, every would be world conqueror should have one of those babies. (might have even helped N. Korea)

[REG]

Whew! I'm just glad that Bag O' Nails and Bag O' Glass are not on the Worst 10 Toys list.

I still think Nerf should be on the list for choking hazards.

[First of Two]

What, no Happy Fun Ball?

Now, as a full-on UberDarwinist, I don't believe in banning things which can only be fatal if the user is a moron, but some of these toys go way beyond that.

[JALU3]

Why no BB Guns . . . I use to, instead of only using that one BB in the chamber, ram in several down the barrell . . . and pump it up way above recommended, and see the fire pattern. Fun times, had by all.

Of course, even in the backyard, you mantain proper range ettiquete. Never hand a loaded weapon off . . . . barrel always down range. Never fire down range when live persons on the range. target is placed in front of a burm . . . yadda yadda yadda.

[Cybrludite]

Now the Air Force is the only ones who get to play with the Lawn Dart.

[REG]

Now the Air Force is the only ones who get to play with the Lawn Dart.

Yeah, I know there is an air force joke for that statement. I chose to exercise my right to remain silent.

[Jem'hadar]

Why no BB Guns

Actually, the article stated that BB guns & their ilk were intentionally omitted as items designed to obviously cause harm. I think they focused on toys that were supposed to be only for play but could easily cause harm to a toddler or young child.

Still, some of the toys listed there sounded cool to have as an adult.:-)

[First of Two]

I still have the lawn dart set I had as a kid... and I'm gonna teach the neighbor kids how to play, too.

That'll get 'em for messing up my yard... *THOCK!!!*

[Owen E Oulton]

Feh. The single most dangerous toy you can give a kid is a pencil and a pad of paper - more kids should be given this dangerous toy. (And that doesn't even include poked-out eyes and papercuts!)

[Cybrludite]

Yeah, I know there is an air force joke for that statement. I chose to exercise my right to remain silent.

Actually, the plane I prefer is also an Air Force type. I just can't help making an F-16 reference when lawn darts are mentioned.

[spyone]

From my point of view, Lawn Darts going off the market was the beginning of the end.

Yes, they are a medeval throwing weapon. However, the fact that they are dangerous should be obvious to any adult, and anybody who lacks the presence of mind to keep their children and pets under control while people are throwing weapons around deserves what they get (although I do have sympathy for the poor children and pets).
Instead, to protect themselves from lawsuits the manufacturers remove from the market a product that is perfectly safe (and frankly lots of fun) for the 98% of us who aren't too stupid to live.

#2. Okay, in retrospect giving kids a radiation source may not seem like the brightest idea. But it's fairly easy to kill yourself with a home chemistry kit, too. And it doesn't seem more dangerous that the things real scientists were routinely exposing themselves to as they did research for several decades before that. Only as we gained more experience with radiation did we start to go, "You know, we really should have been taking better safety precautions. I'm not sure observing radiation with the naked eye was ever a good idea. And handling radioactive metals can lead to poisoning. And given the amount of fallout from our airburst testing, I'm not sure anybody needs more radiation in their environment. In fact, living in Vermont should noticably reduce your lifespan (granite is ever so slightly radioactive)."

#3. I've been entangled in a hammock. I have trouble imagining how it could get bad enough to lead to death. Unless you were very small, which leads to the question of what you were doing unsupervised in a hammock in the first place.

#6 Again, sustaining serious burns from a cap gun says far more about the burnee than the burner. It doesn't look partuculary prone to explode, and it's not as dangerous as sticking your cap gun down your pants (which every kid on earth has done if they had access to a cap gun), so .... Standing too close to the camp fire? Wouldn't this be adequately covered by one of those (now ubiquitous) warning labels that says "Warning: don't use this product int eh way we clearly meant for you to use it. Someone might get hurt. And if someone does get hurt, don't say we didn't warn you."

#7 my brothers had Creepy Crawlers, and we searched for years for a set to give their kids for Christmas. What loon decided that everything in a child's world has to be absolutely harmless? Walking? You might trip. Beverages? You might choke, or drown. Let's just wrap our kids in little cocoons and only let them out at 21. And then watch them immediately get serious burns because they have never touched anything that might be hot and don't know how to tell if it is too hot to touch.

#8, #9 I'm also pretty sure that's what killed the Shogun Warriors line, too.
Prospecive parents, here's what you need to do:
1) teach your kids to respect the feelings of others. Not in the extreme way of modern political correctness, but to the extent that they realize that hurting others is not fun. If they have not yet learned this lesson, you must watch them every minute. Not because they are a danger to others (they are), but as your punishment for being an inadequate parent.
2) Convince your children that you will fall on them like the wrath of a vengeful God if you ever hear of them pointing a spring-loaded ANYTHING at anothe living being.
If you have accomplished #1 and #2 above, then your kids can play safely with any spring-loaded cannons or missile launchers you might choose to buy.


#10. I really don't think a manufacturing defect makes for a Bad Toy. It's not like the throttle was supposed to get stuck in the on position.


But, of course, that's just my opinion, and I could be wrong. But I'm not.

[REG]

From my point of view, Lawn Darts going off the market was the beginning of the end.

Yes, they are a medeval throwing weapon.

Looks more like siangham.

[REG]

Feh. The single most dangerous toy you can give a kid is a pencil and a pad of paper - more kids should be given this dangerous toy. (And that doesn't even include poked-out eyes and papercuts!)

Why is it everytime someone mention "papercut" I get tingling sensations from old barely visible wounds on my fingers?



Or is it a sign for something worse.

Nope, no tingling sensation traveling up my arm. Whew!

[Cybrludite]

#2. Okay, in retrospect giving kids a radiation source may not seem like the brightest idea. But it's fairly easy to kill yourself with a home chemistry kit, too. And it doesn't seem more dangerous that the things real scientists were routinely exposing themselves to as they did research for several decades before that. Only as we gained more experience with radiation did we start to go, "You know, we really should have been taking better safety precautions. I'm not sure observing radiation with the naked eye was ever a good idea. And handling radioactive metals can lead to poisoning. And given the amount of fallout from our airburst testing, I'm not sure anybody needs more radiation in their environment. In fact, living in Vermont should noticably reduce your lifespan (granite is ever so slightly radioactive)."

Actually, the gizmo for watching atoms split is still around. (A great website for your aspiring Mad Scientist, BTW)