Ahhh, the Good [dangerous] Old Days !!
 

Inspired by folks rememberances of times less litigious, I wanted a place where we could list all the fun things that weren't totally safe, but with a little common sense, most people had miles of fun without dying.

I had a Chemistry set when young, Lots of scope for horror there, yet "Rotten Egg Gas" seemed to be my favourite experiment.

Also: This isn't our one here in Sydney, but remember the REAL old funhouses, like the ones in Coney Island set up by George Tilyou? Steeplechase Park starts at 4:06 - looks like [dangerous] fun to me !!

I found some of the Sydney footage:
Joy Wheel (which doesn't go as fast these days...)
Barrels Of Fun
Ski Jump

Couldn't find the Turkey Trot, which was also known as a "Cakewalk" - a series of rising and falling walkways that you travelled along.

These are (somehow) still going, but I believe that they are slower than they were in their heyday, so someone doesn't fall and sue.

BTW: any visitors to Sydney will be taken on a guided tour of Luna Park... it's all I have left in the way of amusement parks these days. I'd be proud to show it off.

Luna park you say? Hummm... :)

Have you ever been to that other amusement park in Sydney?

Star City is nice - we should go to the Lotus Pond restaurant when there - it's a fantastic Chinese Restaurant with great ambiance.

...I almost got started on a complete Moonie Planning thread then. Phew. We will start one, though. Oh yes...

Oh, and you can get a ferry across the harbour from one to the other.

Oh, and I thought we were going to bring up stuff like Tric-or-treating unsupervised until midnight and eating the candy the whole time! Now those were the days!

What about riding around in the bed of pick up trucks or sitting in the back of station wagons with no seat belts.

My friends parents had a pick up (bench seat in the front, no back seat) and a shell over the bed. They put some carpet down and somehow attached seat belts to I don't know what. We played games in the back of that truck from HB to Universal Studios.

I used to ride in the back of my neighbours Mini Minor (Sp) van with her son, while going to youth club each week - it was fun tumbling all around when going round curves !!

My dad had a beat-up 1937 Chevy pickup. We used to get all the kids in the neighborhood together for pickup rides. We'd just load into the back and he'd drive along the river on a dirt road, speeding through the puddles and spraying water everywhere.

Another great neighborhood activity was chasing the mosquito truck. We'd get on our bikes and ride in the fog from the sprayer. The thick fog of DDT.

(sigh) nobody trick or treats at night anymore. And stupid daylight savings changes made it worse. Stupid daytime Halloween.

We always trick or treat at night with about 20 kids (and libations!). It's loads more fun. :D

It seems to me that parents are way too quick to see if their kids are hurt after the most minor of bumps. I think it's contributed to all of the whiny ass people out there.

My parents would wait and see if I was going to cry before acting like anything was a big deal, now I swear, a kid bumps his head and you'd think they'd broken all four limbs and needed emergency transport to the ER.

You can still get a good Chemistry set but it's not easy and you probably end up on some watch list...