At one time kids lived on the edge with excitement and danger in their xmas boxes.
Not anymore (just no fun these days!!)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ddisabatino/8-banned-kid-toys-from-yesteryear-6sel
(it's a bit of a busy page so may take a moment to load.)
That cabbage patch seems like a fun toy.
I also have a sizable collection of original hardy boys books, so woohoo, looks like I've got a fine collection of lead.
When my son was about about 10, we bought him a chemistry set. Had all the usual safety paraphernalia .. no harmful substances (poisonous or corrosive) etc.
They didn't mention anything about being able to blow himself up, and surely he did just that. Didn't quite take the roof off, but we heard the bang downstairs and rushed up to find a huge grin on a black sooty face.
We still laugh when we think about it now, and he still thinks it was hilarious.
Whatever happened to kids chemistry sets ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk...gazine-19050342
You should read what was in the very early chemistry sets.
Great topic hazel.
Link seems to be broken, Dennis.
Thanks Win.
Same link, out of the "link" box this time.
How do you PM a moderator these days? I see no links.
mouse over our name?
How do you PM a moderator these days? I see no links.
You must call a meeting with the Elder Council of the Golden Pear.
You should read what was in the very early chemistry sets.
I got one of those for Christmas when I was young, whatever I mixed together ate a hole through the kitchen table, and then I was promptly un-gifted when mom took the chem set away.
I got one of those for Christmas when I was young, whatever I mixed together ate a hole through the kitchen table, and then I was promptly un-gifted when mom took the chem set away.
Sounds like you could've been world's greatest bank vault thief, and your mother made a preemptive strike.
best chem set ever had warnings on what NOT to do.
so, of course, being a kid and bullet-proof, that's a red flag to a bull.
the instructions actually said;
Warning: Do NOT let potassium permanganate mix with mineral oil and ethanol.
it took a bit of experimenting (exactly what the set was designed to teach) but in the right combo the result was spectacular to a 12 year old.
55 years ago I was an apprentice at an instrumentation manufacturer.
One of our customers had a large explosion in his rocket fuel production facility.
We heard it was due to our ratiometric flow balancing equipment getting the blend out of balance.
One of the engineers decided new scientific knowledge required testing,
so he got an Oxy-Acetylene Welder and took the large Oxygen cylinder off the trolly and laid it on the factory floor,
and replaced the pressure regulator with a loose fitting plug that had oil smeared across its threads,
and then opened the stop valve to see if it was self propelling.
We were all disappointed that nothing untoward happened.
Industry was quite interesting before Health and Safety interfered with our liberties
N.B.
I heard that just before I started work there, an Oxygen Cylinder had been dropped on its top and the stop valve broke off,
then the cylinder shot across the factory floor and went through a breeze block wall without any hesitation.
Happy Days.
I've said it before Alan, but I don't think a second time would hurt: you should write a book. You always have interesting stories to tell us!
"Atomic Energy Lab". WOW. I wish it was still on sale. I certainly would buy it. I learned about "cloud chambers" in school.
Seems so bizarre that a company could sell radioactive material as a kids toy. I remember seeing something on the history channel once where shoe stores used to use xrays to fit people for shoes. Technology has come a long way.
My mother took me to the special shoe shop which had one of those xray machines.
She liked to be sure that I had "space to grow into them".
Has anyone else got 6 toes per foot
makes you wonder what we are using right now in our day to day lives that we don't give a second glance at that could be banned like the Fluoroscope?
smartphones?
soy milk? (it's just plain wrong)
and what about those other past major blunders;
asbestos
lead paint
soy milk? (it's just plain wrong)
Whole milk or no milk
soy milk - or LNG (liquefied natural grass)
sorry Mods, it's off topic but a very important community awareness bulletin
(PS: i did ask many posts ago and don't think i got a response - i take it off topic in the Lounge is more relaxed ?!?)