Just now occurred to me that we've already named most of what are probably The Five Most Dangerous Toys Of All Time --namely Jarts, Creepy Crawlers, & Water Wiggle.
I sort of enjoy fads that're denounced as dangerous. Heck, after Jan & Dean's "Sidewalk Surfin'" became a hit, skateboards were widely banned & there were regular scare storiesof some Little Johnny getting squashed by a Bekin truck (because heaven knows kids weren't ever stupid
before getting wheels... like, say, roller skates).
A few years later, oddly similar stories were floated about the
maxi-skirt (a.k.a. maxi-dress), with Little Susie getting her train caught in the schoolbus door & being dragged fifty miles until she was just a few scraps of skin.
Kids ain't bright -- it's in the job description.
To be fair to Jarts & similar, nobody seems to've collected data from the heyday of
horseshoe pitching. I mean, you've got people flinging 2.5-pound iron projectiles -- with ZERO stabilizing aid from soft plastic fins! -- some FORTY FEET. And there's usually beer involved. And there's usually poorly supervised rugrats around who see all that empty space on the pitch & figure it's the PERFECT place to run.
A kid getting his skull smashed in by something so prosaic as a horseshoe is simply not half so media-sexy as Sweet Li'l Janie losing a toe to a Jart. Factor in the people who've died from tripping into an untended pitch & been impaled on a stake -- yes, it's happened -- & I'm not so impressed by Jarts' dangerousness. Seems like balloons & tricycles have resulted in more deaths & comas, really.
I worry that by "making the world safer," we risk making kids stupider. Whatever happened to building toys? Lincoln Logs (splinters!!), Erector Sets (choking hazard!! sharp edges!!), or Tinkertoys (put yer eye out!!)? I figure Legos have only survived due to a massive propaganda program backed by the Danish government.
Heck, can't even introduce children to proper
tools without obsessive supervision --
hammers are bad enough, but imagine learning to use a crosscut saw, much less a table saw.