How many times have you heard your grandparents say, “Back in my day…” followed by something completely mundane? You know—“Back in my day, we played with sticks for entertainment.”

Sure, they may have done that—but how fun are sticks, really? Or safe? Back in “the day,” children’s entertainment was much, much different than it is now. The problem is, even when it came to toys, there were fewer regulations, with some relatively unsafe toys on the market.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to recall some of the toys you played with as a kid—and realize how unsafe they actually were. People on a recent Reddit group did exactly that, and some of these toys are mind-blowing! Take a look below.

1. Super Soakers

   “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.”

2. Fake Cigarettes

   “We had these weird fake cigarettes that actually allowed you to blow smoke that was quite realistic. We freaked out a lot of adults with them.”

3. Crayon Melter

   “It 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.”

4. Creepy Crawlers

   “It was the safer, 90s version, but you could still burn yourself on those metal molds.”

5. Slip and Slides

   “Slip and slides whew pretty rough when a rock poked up through the plastic and caught your stomach after a 30 foot head start. So much blood.”

6. Playgrounds

   “They were plunked down onto asphalt and concrete, with metal slides that caused third degree burns on hot summer days. Wooden playgrounds were SPLINTER CITY.”

7. A Chemistry Set

   “My brother and I were totally unsupervised and never followed the instructions. We just mixed chemicals together at random to see what would happen. I remember one combination turned into this really smelly black foam-like substance. My dad and his brothers didn’t have a chemistry set. But their father did let them play with mercury in his workshop. They also taught themselves to make…zip guns, I think they were called? Basically, guns crafted from parts like car antennas.”

8. Lawn Darts

   “When the game was over, we used to throw them in the air and then run for our lives. I have no idea how I survived the 70s.”

9. Metal Tonka Trunks

   “Definitely a one-way ticket to bruised shins and a smashed toe or two.”

10. Old-School Trampolines

    “Without a net or padding on the edges. So either you flew off the thing and got a concussion or you got your leg maimed when it got stuck between the springs.”

11. 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 me.”

12. Polly Pockets

    “They’re now made gigantic because I guess too many kids choked on them.”

13. Easy Bake Ovens

    “That 100-watt light bulb could burn.”

Did you play with any of these toys as a kid? Which unsafe toy is missing from this list?