Do you remember those tiny magnetic beads that you could build huge things with? Those were quickly taken off the market, after kids started making fake lip rings with them and accidentally swallowing them. Literally tore about their intestines. Gross.
There are so many toys with similar stories. It's amazing how many things that are obviously dangerous in childrens' hands that companies just sold anyway. Here are a few examples.
U/Breadsticksamurai asked: Older generations of Reddit: What toys did you have as a child that would be considered too dangerous to be given to a child today?
So many awful things accidentally eaten by an unbeknownst child, so little space in this article.
Sounds delicious.
Super Elastic Bubble Plastic.
The deliciously toxic polyvinyl fragrance was too much to resist. Once the bubble deflated, leaving what looked like a wad of chewed gum almost always ended up being chewed by my kid self. Play-Doh (salty), Silly Putty (faint/mild tasting), Slime (wet/salty), modeling clay (greasy), and Bubble Plastic (sweet/rubbery). I knew them all, and I'm sure I wasn't alone. Looking back, all of them seem harmless EXCEPT Bubble Plastic. It came out of a metal tube that was probably lead, and it smelled sweet, but toxic.... the way a pile of brand new rubber baby doll heads mixed in with a barrel or two of whatever Monsanto was dumping into the ocean that day. What could go wrong?
When that didn't kill us, there was always the mosquito spray truck we used to chase after on our bikes at night. God only knows what brand of Agent Orange they were dispensing, but we must have inhaled gallons of that, and no one gave it a second thought.
Damn you, Fisher Price.
toy story GIFGiphyFisher Price people. They still have them, but they're no longer sized to fit exactly into a small child's pharynx. Everything else had to be scaled to fit the new fat ones: garages with only two levels instead of three, the plane was all wrong, the castle didn't have the oubliette and the swing-out stairs...
And as with any little girl, the curvy blue blonde-ponytailed mom was my ideal for what I'd look like as a grown-up. Except with legs.
Not consumed, but still painful nonetheless.
Slap bracelets. The old ones had a sharp piece of metal inside them and those HURT. And of course we didn't just wear them, that was no fun. We had to have full on playground wars and come in from recess with our arms all torn up. Also I knew two different kids who broke their ankles using a Skip-It. Thank goodness I was an Indoor Kid, those things would have been a disaster for my clumsy a**.
Playgrounds have changed so much since back in the day. Back then, they were basically death traps.
Metal slides were the worst.
In the late 90s my elementary school had a metal slide about 15ft tall. The ladder to climb up, and the "railing" around the 1ft wide platform at the top were made of skinny metal tubing that got slick af when it was wet. The sides of the slide were about 6 inches tall, super easy to just go over the edge. Several kids fell or were pushed off over the years when I was there. One boy had to be hospitalized not once, not twice, but three times after jumping off it.
Around 2001 the school tore it down and replaced it with an extremely lame plastic slide about 8ft tall, with sides about 1ft tall.
Oh, and I have a children's science textbook from the 1930s that describes all sorts of experiments with electricity kids can do with the power outlets in their home. What could go wrong?
Those are deadly.
happy spin GIF by Great Big StoryGiphyOn playgrounds, there's always the spinning gate.
It was a gate on a pole. You stood on the back of it and kick off like a skateboard and just... spin around on it.
Think a merry-go-round, but smaller and crazier.
See? Those slides were awful.
Playground equipment like see-saws, merry go-round, and metal slides. I once burned a layer of skin off my thighs going down a hot metal slide (summer in Georgia) in shorts.
Some things really make me wonder, why were we even allowed access to these things in the first place?
I’m sorry WHAT?
My dentist used to give me Vials of Mercury to bring to school for show and tell. My parents bought me a rock collection at a natural history museum that included a chunk of asbestos from which you could pull fibrous material. We also had metal trucks with extremely sharp edges and lead based paint jobs.
The most intense water guns.
90S Super Soaker GIFGiphySuper Soakers where getting a little out of control from the mid 90's to the early 2000's.
They held a ton of water and felt like someone was spraying you with a pressure washer; hitting someone in the eyes would temporarily blind them and crying wasn't uncommon.
Slip and slides whew also pretty rough when a rock poked up through the plastic and caught your stomach after a 30 foot head start. So much blood.
Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
I have a crayon melter that melts crayons and lets you pour it into molds so you could make your own crayons and rings.
Turns out production stopped because of a failure to stop the heater from being turned on if the lid was opened.
This is just terrifying.
I had a large red plastic toy box that looked like a treasure chest in my bedroom closet growing up. When I was around 7, late at night the toy box would start taking to me from the closet, calling my name, Michael, in a low, creaky voice. For weeks, I was terrified to fall asleep because I knew I'd wake up to the voice again, yet every morning when the sun filled my room I'd open the lid to the box and it would just be toys, like it should be.
Finally, I was able to convince my mom that I wasn't making it up, and got her to sleep in my room that night with me, and shortly thereafter she woke me up with "Michael wake up, I hear it".
Long story short, we discovered it was my Talking K.I.T.T. with very low batteries, talking away in slow motion by itself.
I don't know if those should be illegal, but I definitely feel like the experience damaged me.
It’s honestly a wonder we survived our childhoods.
How did they get away with making those?
fall spinning GIF by America's Funniest Home VideosGiphyPlayground pre-restrictions 1965'ish. Metal rings hanging from chains similar to swinging from monkey bars but a lot more fun.
Update: I lost a front tooth since I was leaning in to give her grief to hurry up (patience has never been a strong suit.) she swung back to launch and connected with my mouth. I did not wait around to learn if it was intentional nor did my parents File a law suit. Ah, those were the unsafe days.
What even.
Jarts! Later in life (as in "the 80s") they redesigned them so they were rounded at the end. The ones we had were cast aluminum with a weighted point and fins.
For those unfamiliar, the intent was to set up two targets, and each player (or team) would stand at opposite ends, with the goal to set the lawn dart in the ground within the circle. Yes, we would throw giant metal darts at each other, playing a game that our parents bought willingly for us.
I still remember overshooting one time and leaving a nice hole in the neighbor's siding!
They didn’t think that through.
We had Thundercats rings that went to the plastic toy models of the characters. The rings (essentially a battery) would connect to the back of the model to make their eyes light up. Too bad the batteries would ground out and melt the plastic on both the toy and the ring.
Ok, these were lowkey really cool.
Bey Turbo GIF by Beyblade Burst RivalsGiphyBeyblades.
Apparently they still exist and host tournaments but they are much smaller than they used to be.
To this day, the most fun toys I remember having.
Not gonna lie, I lowkey would totally get back into them as a hobby as an adult, kinda been there in the back of my mind over the last few years.
Even the kids were reckless in their toy creation.
All the things we made. Bobby pins and a rubber band, lawnmower go-kart, treehouse (ever try to climb a tree with a 8' long 2x6 and a hammer while biting on a mouth full of nails) gotta start somewhere. Wrist rocket shooting 1" steelies.
Personally, I remember back when there were those giant spaceship things you could climb up on old playgrounds. I'm pretty a sure several people died on those things.
It seems like a lot of toys are more safe now, but arguably less cool. At least, kids of that time might say so.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.