Bad Ideaz R Us

[write-light.livejournal.com]

The A. C. Gilbert Company, "Kaster Kit", 1936


All you could ever want to know and more and pictures HERE at this amazing blog entry.

Comments

[zorinlynx.livejournal.com]

Ahh, back when playing with heat and molten metal was an expected part of growing up.

Sometimes I think we've gone backwards as a society. We're so damn risk averse these days.

[aj-hyena.livejournal.com]

Not just heat and molten metal, but -lead-! Tastes like intelligence (or the lack thereof)!

[luke-russell.livejournal.com]

I had a huge flask of mercury that I used to play with incessantly. I sort of had a chemistry bent and used to play around with all sorts of stuff that would horrify people today. I seem to have survived 6 decades. I think some of these dangers are way overblown.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

Chemistry sets! I *did* inhale burning sulfur, and chorine, and I'm still here! :D

[tudorlady.livejournal.com]

Same here ;) I feel kind of sorry for kids now.

[franklanguage.livejournal.com]

I'm sure kids still inhale dangerous, school-approved things; I used to make silk-screen stencils, and rather than photo emulsion—we didn't have that—I used to cut a design out of lacquer film, and then use solvent to adhere the stencil to a screen. I'm sure I killed some brain cells after school that way.

[luke-russell.livejournal.com]

How about tests printed with blue ditto!? I just loved to sniff those!

[write-light.livejournal.com]

Which is why I asked to be the person who got to go to the office to run them off on the ditto machine. Plus, SO PURPLE. :D

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

+1

Back in the day, only race cars had seat belts.

[brinylon.livejournal.com]

I had my own lab in the cupboard under the stairs where I played with my chemistry set and my microscope. I also took household chemicals and mixed them up. That was pretty dangerous but I was lucky. I made the most amazing test tubes with layers of colours <3

[gillianinoz.livejournal.com]

I'm sure absolutely nothing can go wrong with this...

BTW - wouldn't that make a good competition? Bad ideas?

Or do we have that already?

[write-light.livejournal.com]

We did "What were they thinking?" as a contest but it's not tagged. I'm *sure* we haven't exhausted that vein.

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

Why do I get the idea that this was what geeky kids did in their parents' basement before there were Dungeons and Dragons, electronic games, and Comic Con?

And, yeah, I want a set.

[roeskva]

Well, we make them out of pewter here, but you can still buy sets like that in Denmark and Sweden at least. It is not so common for children to do themselves anymore, but it is sometimes done in school in Denmark at least.

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

Who needs real friends when you can make your own?!

[1geek-queen.livejournal.com]

Or build your own robot army and take over the world!

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

BOYS!


well that makes it clear who this is targeted toward.

[rhonan.livejournal.com]

I feel so sorry for kids these days. Their toys barely spark imagination, much less carry any risk of killing them, or at least scaring them for life.

[ltms.livejournal.com]

Boys! Damage your brain and poison your little brother by making these lead soldiers!