{"id":1242,"date":"2015-09-12T10:14:53","date_gmt":"2015-09-12T17:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2015-09-12T10:14:53","modified_gmt":"2015-09-12T17:14:53","slug":"10-dangerous-toys-from-decades-past-and-the-commercials-that-sold-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=1242","title":{"rendered":"10 Dangerous Toys from Decades Past (and the Commercials That Sold Them)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I totally agree with the author of this article from <a href=\"http:\/\/mentalfloss.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mental Floss.<\/a>\u00a0 We baby boomers weren&#8217;t coddled like today&#8217;s kids and placed our lives in jeopardy every time we picked up a new toy. \u00a0It made us tougher and prepared us for the harsh world ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Slip N Slide dangerous? \u00a0I laugh. \u00a0If it&#8217;s so dangerous, why would major league baseball players (who are highly paid professionals) risk their lives like this:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Baseball players at Shea use tarp as a Slip &#039;n Slide\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rcDetnJpYsQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Wham-O Air Blaster risky? \u00a0I had one. \u00a0The hand dryers in most bathrooms put out way more air. And while I didn&#8217;t have the atomic radiation set, I did have a chemical set or two. \u00a0Fortunately my dad was a chemical engineer because that one time when I mixed up some toxic gases&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Baby Boomers are a hardy bunch. They rode in cars that weren\u2019t equipped with special toddler seats, walked to and from school without being electronically tethered to their parents, ate lunches filled with allergens and preservatives, played with toys that would be quickly pulled from shelves today, and\u00a0still persevered to become the largest living generation of the U.S. population. Whether you owned a Johnny Seven One Man Army or just want to know more about the ultra-violent, bestselling toy of 1964, let&#8217;s take a look back at some of the dangerous toys of yesteryear and the commercials that sold them.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>1. SIXFINGER<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ElVzs0lEULs\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>My younger brother had one of these, and I\u2019m here to tell you that as tiny as it was, this gun had some serious firepower\u2014those little plastic bullets hurt like heck! (You think your average seven-year-old boy is going to pay attention to the package disclaimer that warned against aiming the Sixfinger at human targets?) Just in case the possibility of losing an eye to a sharp projectile wasn\u2019t edgy enough, one of the \u201cbullets\u201d came equipped with a cap\u2014the shock-sensitive exploding variety. All this mayhem was available for the bargain price of two dollars.<\/p>\n<h4>2. SWING WING<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8kcUjuXBFA8\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Transogram Company had been producing mainstream toys such as Tiddlywinks and doctor&#8217;s kits since 1959. Then one day in 1965 the vice president of product development, whose brother-in-law was apparently an out-of-work chiropractor, came up with the idea for the Swing Wing. Nothing says \u201cfun\u201d like a cerebral hemorrhage, so Swing Wing was eventually pulled from the market, leaving kids searching for a new fun way to get their spinal injuries on.<\/p>\n<h4>3. SLIP &#8216;N SLIDE<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dbc9zrahByI\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mentalfloss.com\/article\/67810\/12-lesser-known-wham-o-products-you-have-see-believe\" target=\"_blank\">Wham-O<\/a> introduced the Slip \u2018N Slide in 1961, a time when neighborhood swimming pools were few and far between and water slide theme parks were nonexistent. The idea was to cool off <em>and<\/em> have fun at the same time by running up to and then belly-flopping down on a water-slicked strip of vinyl. Wham-O sold millions of Slip &#8216;N Slides over the years, and if a kid broke a toe on one of the stakes that secured the mat to the ground or left most of their epidermis on the driveway because they slid too far, well, as Mom always said, \u201cIt\u2019s your own fault, don\u2019t come crying to me.\u201d It wasn\u2019t until <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cpsc.gov\/en\/Recalls\/1993\/WHAM-O-Backyard-Water-Slides-Are-Dangerous-For-Adults-And-Teenagers\/\" target=\"_blank\">the more litigious<\/a> 1990s that words like \u201cspinal cord injury\u201d and \u201cdeath\u201d started appearing in the lengthy list of warnings included on the Slip \u2018N Slide instruction sheet.<\/p>\n<h4>4. WATER WIGGLE<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Yl4hUHGXfIs\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It looked innocent enough, but if your neighborhood had good water pressure and some joker turned the hose on full blast, Wham-O\u2019s Water Wiggle turned into a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.retroland.com\/water-wiggle\/\" target=\"_blank\">semi-lethal weapon<\/a>. It danced and bobbed erratically, and could wrap around you like a boa constrictor. And that plastic head was <em>heavy<\/em>! But bloody noses and chipped teeth were a small price to pay for some\u00a0summertime fun.<\/p>\n<h4>5. JOHNNY SEVEN ONE MAN ARMY<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GPhZsauluXM\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>No wonder kids today get into so much trouble\u2014it\u2019s those consarned video games they\u2019re always playing. Nothing but shooting and street fighting and an overall culture of violence. Not like the toys of the 1960s. Back then we had wholesome products like the Johnny Seven One Man Army, which was the biggest-selling toy for boys in 1964. Johnny Seven came equipped with a cap pistol, rocket launcher, and \u201carmor piercing\u201d bullets, along with a few other features necessary for stopping Communism dead in its tracks.<\/p>\n<p>Johnny Seven weighed about four pounds fully assembled, so a kid got a good aerobic workout when he ran around toting one outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Topper Toys used a unique tactic to give Johnny Seven maximum exposure: instead of only stocking it in toy and department stores, they also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yourememberthat.com\/media\/608\/Topper_Toys__1964_Johnny_Seven_One_Man_Army\/#.VfHWcHumk5s\" target=\"_blank\">made it available in grocery stores<\/a>, a place mom usually dragged her kids to at least once per week.<\/p>\n<h4>6. CREEPY CRAWLERS<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DS07TPPu0SE\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>An exposed hot plate combined with potentially toxic fumes equaled fun in 1964. The Thing Maker was a gadget you plugged in and then waited until it heated up to 300\u00b0F. Then you poured \u201cPlasti-Goop\u201d into the creepy insect-shaped metal molds and waited for them to heat-set. Ideally, you were supposed to wait until after you\u2019d unplugged the Thing Maker and it had cooled off before removing your Creepy Crawlers, but who has time for that when you want to put a fake spider in your sister\u2019s bed before she turns in? Burns and blisters were a fact of life in the plastic bug business, and you simply sprayed the injury with some Bactine and hid it from Mom so she wouldn\u2019t take your Thing Maker away. Plasti-Goop was marketed as \u201cnon-toxic,\u201d but that was in 1964 before the dangers of little things like melted PVC and lead paint were generally known.<\/p>\n<h4>7. WHAM-O AIR BLASTER<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fxZu_Y_m8i4\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Wham-O introduced the Air Blaster gun in 1965 &#8230; then pulled it from shelves not too long afterward. It turned out that some kids weren\u2019t content to just blow out birthday candles long-distance; they were pointing their Air Blaster right against their friends\u2019 ears to \u201csee what happened.\u201d (Permanent damage was the answer.) Those same pranksters also discovered that any object that could fit into the muzzle could also be shot with missile-like force. You know what they say, it\u2019s all fun and games until someone figures out how to use their Air Blaster as a flamethrower.<\/p>\n<h4>8. WHAM-O WHEELIE BAR<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kuw2fLxV52g\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The lack of protective helmets in this commercial is understandable, since they weren\u2019t readily available at the time. But barefoot kids popping wheelies, riding no-handed, and performing daredevil stunts like standing on the seat? One has to wonder whether Wham-O held stock in some urgent care clinic chain.<\/p>\n<h4>9. SUPER ELASTIC BUBBLE PLASTIC<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8pErbVm-LGI\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Surprise! We have yet another entry from those folks at Wham-O. This time the fun was contained inside a metal toothpaste-like tube filled with a colorful liquid-y plastic-y substance. You squeezed out a tiny glob of the stuff, rolled it into a tiny ball, and then plopped it onto the end of a plastic straw, which was included. Then you blew into the straw to create a multi-colored sphere that was more durable than a soap bubble, but a bit more fragile than a traditional balloon. The drawback was that one of the main ingredients in Super Elastic Bubble Plastic was ethyl acetate, a solvent used in nail polish remover. Combine that with polyvinyl acetate, the other primary component, and kids were exposed to some serious health risks if they happened to inhale too much while inflating their plastic bubbles.<\/p>\n<h4>10. WITCH DOCTOR HEAD SHRINKER KIT<\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/43UU0RBLXNs\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Who knows exactly what chemicals made up the \u201cplastic flesh\u201d that progressively shrunk over the span of 24 hours. Given the time period (the late 1960s) we\u2019re guessing that either the flesh or the paint had some level of toxicity. But what about the other inherent danger involved? Say you, as a kid, taking advantage of the assurance in the commercial that homemade shrunken heads were appropriate for \u201call occasions\u201d? Would Mom smack the heck out of you after Grandma nearly collapsed when she unwrapped the shrunken head birthday present you\u2019d made for her?<\/p>\n<h4>BONUS: GILBERT U-238 ATOMIC ENERGY LAB<\/h4>\n<div id=\"file-211461\" class=\"file file-image file-image-jpeg\">\n<div class=\"content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/images.mentalfloss.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/insert_main_wide_image\/public\/atomic_7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"669\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"imagecaption\">By Webms (online) [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gnu.org\/copyleft\/fdl.html\" target=\"_blank\">GFDL<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>], via Wikimedia Commons<\/div>\n<p>I\u2019m sort of sneaking this one in, as I don\u2019t know if it was ever advertised on television, but it\u2019s too good to pass up. In 1951 A.C. Gilbert, the man who invented the Erector Set, introduced a brand new educational toy: the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab. Gilbert <a href=\"http:\/\/gombessa.tripod.com\/scienceleadstheway\/id4.html\" target=\"_blank\">worked closely with physicists at M.I.T.<\/a> while developing the kit, and also had the unofficial approval of the U.S. government, which thought that such a toy would help the average American understand the benefits of nuclear energy.<\/p>\n<p>The Lab came equipped with a Geiger-Mueller radiation counter, a Wilson cloud chamber (to see paths of alpha particles), a spinthariscope (to see &#8220;live&#8221; radioactive disintegration), four samples of Uranium-bearing ores, and an electroscope to measure radioactivity. It also included a comic book featuring <a href=\"http:\/\/gajitz.com\/1950s-radioactive-science-kit-most-dangerous-toy-ever\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dagwood Bumstead<\/a> (the man who couldn\u2019t leave his own house without knocking the mailman down) describing how to split an atom. The Atomic Energy Lab\u2019s main drawback, other than possible radiation poisoning, was its price tag: a whopping $49.50, which would be over $300 in today\u2019s dollars.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; I totally agree with the author of this article from Mental Floss.\u00a0 We baby boomers weren&#8217;t coddled like today&#8217;s kids and placed our lives in jeopardy every time we picked up a new toy. \u00a0It made us tougher and prepared us for the harsh world ahead. Slip N Slide dangerous? \u00a0I laugh. \u00a0If it&#8217;s <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=1242\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retail-humor"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1242"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1245,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions\/1245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}