out oflawn arrowsAs for the weird science gear, we're scouring the world's most dangerous placestoyThe boxes on this list are taken from an episode of The List Show on YouTube. Be warned: some of these stories are tragic.
In the 1970s and 1980s, throwing deadly projectiles around the garden was considered nice, clean fun for kids. Lawn darts, or jarts, are a hybrid of traditional pub darts and horseshoe darts, in which players throw large, heavy metal darts with plastic fins upwards to hit targets placed at specific distances around the yard.
It doesn't take a psychic to predict that kids who indiscriminately throw sharp projectiles at their lawn can quickly become spoiled — and unfortunately, one California family found that out firsthand. In 1987, a 9-year-old boy came across lawn darts in his garage - part of an outdoor playset his father bought. The boy and some neighborhood friends took darts to the backyard to play, and it wasn't long before a miniature dart flew over the fence in an overzealous toss. The arrow struck squarely in the skull of the boy's seven-year-old sister, who was playing with dolls in her front yard. Some researchers estimate that the arrow hit them with just as much force23.000 psiShe quickly collapsed and died three days later.
The tragedy prompted her father to launch a campaign against lawn darts. In response to its lobbying, the CPSC conducted investigations that found more than 6,100 lawn dart-related injuries in less than a decade; more than 80 percent of the injuries occurred in children aged 15 or younger, many of whom caused permanent damage to the head, eyes or face.
With such conclusive evidence, Jarts were pulled off US store shelves a few weeks before Christmas 1988, and Canada soon followed suit. They're now banned in both countries, though the cleated version has been making a comeback at summer barbecues and backyard parties in recent years.
2. Trampoline
Trampoline: This word scares every homeowner who buys insurance. But long before these bouncy platforms appeared in suburban backyards, they were alive in the mind of a 16-year-old gymnastGeorge NeesonAfter visiting a circus in 1930, he was fascinated by the safety nets used under trapezes. Much to his father's dismay, he attempted to recreate the safety net's springs by disassembling the bed and stretching a canvas over the frame. Many prototypes later, the US military used Nissen's invention during World War II to help pilots orient themselves after maneuvers in the air. Later, NASA introduced trampolines to help astronauts train for space.
But it's the apps that don't typically cause injuries — it's the ones that contribute the most to the backyard version100,000 trampoline-related injuriesHappens once a year. Most injuries happen when multiple kids jump on it, which would also explaindamage increaseIm Trampolinpark.
It's all fun and games until someone breaks their arm - but unfortunately, a broken arm is one of the minor injuries kids can sustain on a trampoline. accordinglyAmerican Academy of Pediatrics, a failed stunt can cause permanent damage to the cervical spine.
In the summer of 1960, Robert Carrier came home from work to find that his son and some friends were twisting a hose off the painted concrete driveway, creating a rough water slide on the sloping surface. Believing they would injure themselves on the concrete, Carrier quickly built a similar setup out of a vinyl-coated boat deck and sewed a tube for a hose to the side.
This simple but ingenious invention was sold to the Wham-O Company and released in 1961. By September more than300,000 slidesAlready sold. The injuries soon spread — and it wasn't just the children who were hurt. while some childrenAndInjuries, mostly bumps and bruises, with a few unfortunate exceptions. For adults, the consequences of slipping off a Slip 'N Slide are often far more serious. Because adults are heavier, they don't slide over slippery surfaces as easily as children. Instead, they tend to stop abruptly, which causes their body weight to be pressed against their neck as they move forward.
In extreme cases, this can and will be the case.lead toNeck injuries, quadriplegia, paraplegia and even death. Reported injuries include broken necks in at least six adults, brain damage in an eight-year-old, at least one fatality in the 1970s, and 5,000 slip-related injuries in 1988 alone. People have been awarded millions of dollars for their injuries.
take away? Note the age restrictions printed on the packaging. You are there for a reason.
4. Toys containing lead
Victorian children got off to a rough start - According to the BBC, children in England and Wales got off to a rough start in the 1850s25 % ChanceDied before age 5. This astronomical death rate can be attributed to many things, among othersseveral cholera outbreaks.but toys with lead paint certainly don't help - if their toys aren't lead painted, they usually areProductioncompleteto lead.
To put it bluntly, we realized that lead isrealfor a long time - evenThe ancient Romans knew itHowever, toy manufacturers continue to use the metal due to its versatility and most believe that minimizing exposure is enough to prevent it. In fact, many people believe that daily exposure to lead is relatively safe as long as the levels are low. As we now know, this way of thinking was flawed.
While we don't know exactly how many children died from eating lead in toxic toys, we do know it can still happen today. In 2006, a 4-year-old boy from Minneapolisdied of poisoningAfter putting a lead-containing jewelry in his mouth. ItAndIt has been banned for toys to contain more than 0.06% lead by weight in paint or coatings since 1978, but that doesn't mean toys with higher levels don't exist. In 2007, Mattel's Fisher-Price recalled 1.5 million toys after the Consumer Product Safety Commission accused the company of importing and selling toys, some of which were high in lead180 Malare above the legal limit. PursuePaid $2.3 millionHe received a civil sentence in 2009 but denies breaking any laws.
Eagle Family Discount Stores in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama sold cork Gun Fighter toy pistols at bargain prices in 1976 and 1977Only $1.27.Of course little kids are notorious for taking things apart so it wasn't long before they figured out they could detach the muzzle from the barrel and remove the plastic butt guard underneath to reveal the ends of the two metal rods .When the cork gun was then fired , the exposed metal bars shot forward, potentially resulting in them shooting a child squarely in the face or eyes - which is exactly what a 3-year-old boy did. the gun isrecall1979.
6. Atomlabor-Kit
Lead toys seem downright quaint when you look at one of themmain ingredientThe toy at the Gilbert Atomic Energy Laboratory is uranium. First released in 1950, the kit gives kids everything they need to conduct more than 150 experiments - including four types of uranium ore and sources of beta-alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Interesting instruments in the laboratory include a cloud chamber, a device for observing atomic decay and your very own Geiger counter. This 60 page brochure provides a guide to uranium exploration.
At that time it was known that uranium was radioactive and that radiation was harmful. 1927 Herman Joseph MullerDiscoverRadiation can cause harmful mutations; he received the Nobel Prize in 1946 for his work. Nevertheless, four years later uranium was still included in the kit; the manufacturer must have thought that this strongly worded warning was sufficient: "Users should not take ore samples from their jars as these are prone to spalling and spalling." You are in danger.” radioactive ore scattered around your lab.
Apparently, warnings weren't enough to keep the atomic energy lab from shutting down; it was demolished in 1951 after fewer than 5,000 kits had been sold.
Given the number of problematic "Zulu blasters" sold in the late 1960's it's hard to know where to start, but how?This sentenceFrom an advertisement for the toy: "One pull from the muzzle, and the dart shoots out at hurricane speed." Not only do children load dangerous projectiles into the gun like needles, but they also tend to take deep breaths before blowing and shooting. Volume. A surge in plastic dart inhalation has hit emergency rooms across the country. In 1969, the National Product Safety Council rightly recommended that the toy be banned - despite the prominent statement "HARMLESS" on the packaging.