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It's always fun to reminisce on the toys that shaped your youth and helped you form core childhood memories. But have you ever looked back on the toys you used to play with and wondered: "Why the heck did my parents let me use that?" Manufacturing standards have vastly changed over time, and some of the toys that used to entertain you for hours might not exactly meet safety standards today. As part of our Parade Rewind series, we were interested in learning about the popular 1970s toys that would be considered way too dangerous today.
To compile our list, we consulted two experts who have plenty of knowledge about the history of toys: The Toy Guy Christopher Byrne, a toy analyst, researcher and consultant, and Phil Weiss of Weiss Auctions.
Both Byrne and Weiss agreed that toy manufacturing has evolved over time.
"I’m of the generation where if a kid got hurt with a toy, it was generally considered user error," Byrne says. "If my brothers or I ever got hurt with a toy, usually because of off-label use or something we thought was creative, he’d say, 'You haven’t got the sense God gave a plant.' Of course, we never had any serious injuries, but we did learn to be careful and responsible."
Whether you realized it at the time or not, the popular toys below from the 1970s would likely raise some eyebrows today.
Related: 50 Things Only People Who Lived in the 1970s Will Remember
Every decade has its own unique set of toys that define the era. In the 1970s, consumers witnessed the evolution of plastics and manufacturing and many toys featured “technologies from the nascent home computer sector,” per Byrne.
The first round of video games was introduced by the end of the decade and became wildly popular. But the decade also included the invention of many other more traditional 1970s toys, including Stretch Armstrong, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Baby Alive and others.
During the '70s, several games were also popular, including Simon, The Oregon Trail, Othello, Dungeons & Dragons, Hungry Hungry Hippos and Uno.
Several other popular toys from the decade included the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, Shrinky Dinks, Weebles, SSP Racers and Magna Doodle.
Related: 25 Popular Toys Every Kid Wanted in the 1950s
15 Popular 1970s Toys That Would Be Considered Way Too Dangerous Today
1. Clackers
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"I remember these being fun, noisy and very dangerous since they potentially could shatter into sharp shards of plastic," Weiss recalls.
Byrne agrees about the safety hazard, referring to Clackers as the "quintessential dangerous toy of the era."
"The idea was that you would hold the string in the center, move up and down and have the balls bang together at the top and bottom of the circle. It wasn’t easy, and it was pretty likely that you might clonk yourself with a fast-moving acrylic ball," he tells Parade. "They were banned in schools, and by 1976 were officially called a hazard by the U.S. government."
2. Jarts
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"Jarts were a very popular lawn game that could easily kill someone when thrown carelessly," Weiss shares. "I just had a set in my auction, and it was removed by the internet auction sites because it's apparently illegal to sell them as they are considered weapons."
In order to play Jarts, Byrne says kids would stand on opposite sides and throw the large darts, which were complete with pointed steel spikes.
"The idea was that the spikes would dig into the earth, and you would know where it landed. They were finally removed from the market around 1980, and today Lawn Darts have rubber tips," Byrne adds.
Related: 25 Popular Toys Every Kid Wanted in the 1950s
Byrne says the Jingle Jump had a contraption that would attach to the heel of your shoe.
"A long string extended from there, with a ball with a bell inside. The idea was that you swung one foot and got the ball going in a circle, and you had to jump over the string. However, some kids kept tripping over the string," he tells Parade. "Later, it was redesigned with a flexible strand that didn’t wrap around your leg, or a plastic rod. It became Skip-It, which has been one of the most popular active toys ever since."
4. Easy-Bake Oven
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Budding bakers have enjoyed using Easy-Bake Ovens for decades. Over time, the toy oven has certainly evolved, with today's designs looking considerably different from those of yesteryear.
Easy-Bake Ovens have always been a good way to practice your baking skills, but many of us have also made the mistake of getting too close to the oven while using it.
"Kids could bake their own cakes, but they could also burn themselves on the heated elements if not careful," Weiss explains.
"Uncle Fester was incredibly popular based on the TV show The Addams Family. His legendary scene is when he puts a light bulb in his mouth, and it lights up," Byrne shares. "Naturally, a toy came out with that."
To use the battery-operated light, you had to put a piece of aluminum foil or a gum wrapper on your tongue to complete the circuit and make the bulb light up.
"It was probably not the best idea to have something like that in your mouth and then add tin foil," Byrne says. "There are still versions made of this prop, but they’re all a lot safer."
Related: 25 Popular Toys Every Kid Wanted in the 1960s
6. Water Wiggle
Many kids seeking some fun in the sun on a hot summer day in the '70s enjoyed playing with the Water Wiggle.
"It was a hose that was attached like a garden hose and created to spin and whip haphazardly at 50 miles per hour. It sounded like fun until the hard plastic top hit your front teeth. Dentists loved it," Weiss states.
7. SSP Racers
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This plastic car was built around a gyroscopic flywheel.
"You fed a T-stick into the mechanism so that when you pulled it, the wheel was activated, and you placed the car on the floor to watch it race," Byrne explains. "They went super fast. But part of going super fast was because the wheel turned very fast, which made it heat up. The rubber-covered wheel could cause burns or abrasions if it [came into contact with] skin."
8. Slip ‘n Slide
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Slip 'n Slides are still around today, but the design has certainly evolved over the decades.
"It was a long, plastic sheet you'd attach a hose to. You'd run up to it, throw yourself down on it and slide to the end," Byrne explains. "Obviously, kids could hurt themselves, but a lot depended on where you put it—no rocks or roots underneath, not close to a sidewalk or street—and how careful the kids were."
9. Chemistry sets
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When the 1970s rolled around, chemistry sets had already been using small portions of real chemicals for years in an effort to encourage kids to experiment.
"In 1951, AC Gilbert released an Atomic Energy Lab that had mineral samples containing uranium. Kids loved making things that stank, blew up and had dramatic reactions," Byrne states. "However, by around 1974, companies like Gabriel that made a business making these sets took out all the more reactive, volatile and dangerous chemicals."
Related: A Developmental Psychologist Is Begging Parents and Grandparents To Stop Giving Kids This Type of Toy
If you grew up playing with Super Elastic Bubble Plastic, you probably never realized how potentially troublesome the product was as you breathed into it and blew bubbles.
"The acetone and other chemicals made you lightheaded and dizzy, which wasn't great for the lungs," Weiss shares.
11. Wooden swings
Robert Pearce/Fairfax Media via Getty Images
"The same playsets that had those butt-cooking metal slides also had swing seats that were just a plank of wood," Byrne states. "Aside from the fact that you could get splinters, unless you held onto the chain, you could fall off. We would actually swing high and jump off at the top of the swing. And every kid had a cousin who knew somebody in another town who had been able to swing so high, they went over the top bar of the swing set."
12. Metal slides
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If you grew up in the era of metal slides, the playground staple likely conjures memories of endless fun mixed with miserable burns.
"Pretty much every school playground had a metal slide. We would use wax paper on them to make them more slippery. In hot weather, however, the slides could get really hot. We used to joke about having a rump roast," Byrne says.
13. Moon Shoes
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Shoes with springs on them may sound cool to kids, but they posed their own set of dangers.
"The shoes went on your feet and the springs were metal. The idea was that you would feel like Neil Armstrong," Byrne shares. "However, falls and injuries were likely. But kids loved them! In the early 1990s, they were redesigned to be like trampolines you wore and attached to sneakers."
14. Wrist Rockets
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Byrne says these "super-charged slingshots" weren't exactly the safest toy around.
"They were made of bent metal tubing that formed into a handle you could grip with your fist, and a loop that would sit on the top of your arm just behind the wrist to stabilize it. Instead of a rubber band, it had thick, elastic tubing. The contraption allowed you to fire projectiles with greatly increased force," he tells Parade.
15. Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker Molding Kit
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Byrne says this bug-making machine was a "huge success" in the '70s.
"Kids everywhere loved making bugs to share and scare. My mother said that we lost the sale of our house at one time because my brothers and I had put the bugs we made all over the house," he shares.
So, what made the toy dangerous? Well, the molding plate got very hot.
"You had to pick it up with a special tool and plunge it in a water bath to cool. However, it was an open heat plate, and burns were possible," he explains. "When the brand was reintroduced by Toymax, it was designed so that fingers couldn’t touch the creations until the tray had cooled."
Up Next:
Related: 25 Popular Cars Everyone Wanted in the 1970s
Sources:
Christopher Byrne, aka The Toy Guy, is a toy analyst, researcher and consultant.Phil Weiss is a second-generation expert in books and stamps who owns and operates Weiss Auctions with his wife, Emily.Hence then, the article about 15 popular 1970s toys that would be considered way too dangerous today was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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