Remember the toys you got as a kid at Christmas? Do they seem better than todays' stuff?  Maybe I've gotten old, but today's toys just don't seem to stack up.  "Back in my day," they all came with an element of danger.  Not just for the user, but those around you too.  Here's a look at some my favorites.

LIONEL TRAINS

Lionel Train
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These babies were made from real metal, had working lights and puffed smoke. The smoke was created by heating up oil that would fry chicken and felt like it if you spilled some on your skin. Bare wires were attached to the track to power the engine. You'd always get a live jolt at some point.

ELECTRONIC FOOTBALL

Electronic Football
Retroland.com
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This one is a great memory, I can still see my Grandmother carrying it down the steps Christmas morning. Not much danger to the electronic football game, just a lot of work. Hours of painting the players and putting numbers on them, only to have them run around in circles and barely creep along at one end, while going a thousand miles an hour at the other end.

MISSILE TRUCK

Missle Truck
Danefield.com
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By today's standards, the Missile Truck would be a lethal weapon. Look at the size of the spring on the top arm where the missile was fired. And the missile itself was about 7 to 8 inches long and made of a hard plastic with a heavy rubber tip. Imagine a lawn dart fired across the room at a high velocity. I still remember hitting Aunt Helen in the boob from about 20 feet.

SHOVEL

Shovel
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The Shovel was cool but not very dangerous other than raising your blood pressure. The strings that operated the bucket and crane would never stay in the pulleys, but when they did, it actually scooped dirt and dumped it in the dump truck below. I spent hours conscious and unconscious in the yard with both of them.

DUMP TRUCK

Dump Truck
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Where the Toys Are.com

The Dump Truck was the most dangerous of them all. Oh it looks harmless, but notice the dump lever just behind the driver's door. That latch was like a jack-in-the-box. Sooner or later it was letting go and the heavy metal bed was striking you right under the chin. I had more concussions than Michael Vick by the time I was 5.

Are there toys that remind you of Christmas as a kid?  Please share them below.  And to check out some great toys from days gone bye, check out these web sites.

 

 

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