Isn't it truly amazing that we survived childhood in the 70's/80's? There are the obvious examples of how our lives were at risk every day. First, there are the vehicle violations:

1. We used the entire back of a wagon like this (ours was light blue though) as our mobile playpen. No one was strapped in....there were no car seats....and we often crawled back and forth over the middle row of seats to retrieve a toy or escape a sibling who just wouldn't "stop touching me!"

2. Here we have a nice shot of a mid-70's rear windshield....aka bed-in-motion. We LAID on that little shelf thingy right in the rear window.....while the car was moving! Yeah - that was safe.

3. And if you were a farm kid like me - then you also had the danger of riding in...or should I say OUTSIDE of one of these - . Yes - either with the tailgate down...feet dangling off the back of the truck as we headed down the ROAD! Or...sitting on the wheel hump thingy. Super-safe! Another farm favorite? If I wasn't DRIVING it at the age of...oh...10....then I was standing NEXT to the driver as we drove over pot-holed gravel driveways or rough fields.

But you know what? Negligence in transportation is not where it ends! No, siree! Take a look at these other treachorous numbers from our childhood - can't you just recall the injuries?

1. Kiddie pool of death. Who had the brilliant idea to put wet, slippery children into the hardest/sharpest plastic known to man and then - oh, yeah....add a SLIDE? Man those pool edges hurt, didn't they?

2. Lawn darts - agh...a family reunion favorite. Nothing says fun like a sharp/pointy metal-tipped dart that you give to children to hurl across the yard at other children. How we survived without being gored is beyond me.

3. It is truly amazing that I ever grew up to be "The Mom of 'Em" after all of those boy-bike injuries. Yow-za! The pain! You know what I'm talkin' about, ladies.

4. Maybe this was a "boy" toy...but I had one....and I LOVED it! I especially loved that little puff of smoke with each pull of the trigger. Not TECHNICALLY fire...but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the safest toy option out there.

5. Maybe we didn't have all of the information back then - but still....was it REALLY a good idea to buy these for your kid? Ever?

6. And then there was the unsafe practice of allowing children to watch the dangerous duos of the era. Were our parents aware of the harm this could do? Had there been long-term testing done before exposing small children to such things as this: or this: or this: or these guys (yeah - so there's 3 of them...not a duo...but they illustrate my point beautifully just the same):

7. Let's not forget about all of the wonderfully nutritious snacks we grew up eating:

8. Kids in the 70's/early 80's rode their bikes on the street....at dusk....probably with someone riding either on the handle bars or on the back....the only skull protection was our hair.

9. Our parents dropped us off at the public pool. They didn't need to WATCH us....that was the lifeguard's job.

10. Here's a good 'un.....toys involving a hot oven. Beautiful!

11. And finally - we never EVER used any of the following products:

So - here we are - 20/30 years later....we made it. Please post a comment telling me some of YOUR 70's/80's dangerous toys/practices/etc.