Things you can't believe used to be allowed/exist

[GGG]

Originally Posted by blankall

Only 28% of Albertans wore seatbelts before it was mandatory... Wtf.

My parents would always yell at us when we got to the boarder driving to from Sask to the Mountains and we'd take our seat belts off and jump around the car because it wasn't the law to be buckled up.

My parents seemed to thing that crossing the boarder didn't make seatbelts obsolete like we did.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by blankall

Only 28% of Albertans wore seatbelts before it was mandatory... Wtf.

And people with anxiety were prescribed cocaine, pregnant women were prescribed cigarettes for morning sickness.

What a world!

Speaking of playground equipment:This slide is still being used in my hometown. Can you imagine when it gets some sun on it?

[Locke]

That photo doesnt show us the corpses piled up at the bottom.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by John Doe

High School Initiation, old school style.

lol I still remember moving to Calgary and starting at St Francis in Grade 10. Lots of the freshman were flipping out because of terrible hazing, beatings, wedgies ripping off boxers etc. I was ignorant of all of it and just did whatever but some of the grade 10s refused to go outside at lunch and would run to the bus stop after school.

It was like I'd been put in a time machine and transported to the 70s and Dazed and Confused was a real thing.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by McG

wooden spoons, leather belts, and multiple hits to the head, back, and butt.

all in the name of child discipline, and I've had more than my share of them all.

oh yeah and bumper sledding where you would jump behind cars when they had to stop at stop signs, and hold onto the bumper and slide on your shoes or boots down a snowy street. When I think about it now...crazy. sudden stops, the road getting a dry or sandy patch, and even other cars on the road.

We never had Battle of the Sexes but end of the year in Elementary was always a fun sports day, all sort of activities. When our young minds and bodies got parched we were treated to giant yellow and red coolers filled with not water, but delicious McDonald's Orange Drink.

Drink.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Resurrection

My Mom used to tell me about a candy called "###### babies". They were black licorice I believe.

My grandparents did that too. They also called Brazil nuts n-toes.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

Speaking of playground equipment:This slide is still being used in my hometown. Can you imagine when it gets some sun on it?

Looks pretty shady to me.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

lol I still remember moving to Calgary and starting at St Francis in Grade 10. Lots of the freshman were flipping out because of terrible hazing, beatings, wedgies ripping off boxers etc. I was ignorant of all of it and just did whatever but some of the grade 10s refused to go outside at lunch and would run to the bus stop after school.

It was like I'd been put in a time machine and transported to the 70s and Dazed and Confused was a real thing.

We had Frosh week in grade 10, and it was an institution at the time. The systematic abuse of the new students by the Grade 12's. While there were no beatings with wooden objects. There were lots of things like gum in the hair. Being forced to do humiliating things, locking new kids in their lockers tossing their books in the can.

The teachers loved it for some reason.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

We never had Battle of the Sexes but end of the year in Elementary was always a fun sports day, all sort of activities. When our young minds and bodies got parched we were treated to giant yellow and red coolers filled with not water, but delicious McDonald's Orange Drink.

Drink.

Oh man, I forgot all about McOrange Drink. That crap used to be a staple.

I can still envision the huge yellow cooler.

[Russic]

Every time I see a trampoline with a net I think "ya, that would have saved a few of us".

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by John Doe

High School Initiation, old school style.

Froshing, aka 'egging.' We loved it. Prowling the neighbourhood evading/looking for the older/younger kids. Joining up into huge gangs and hurling volleys of eggs at opponents. Desperately fleeing and hopping fences, pursued by older kids armed with shaving cream and toothpaste.

At the beginning of high school about 10 of us went back to our old junior high just before lunch time (we had the day off for some reason), heavily loaded with eggs and shaving cream, and covered every exit. When the buzzer went and kids started emerging, we laid into them. Every school door was jammed with panicked junior high kids. The bolder guys would try to run past us, but nobody made it through the gauntlet. Must have egged or shaving-creamed 30 kids before teachers started to emerge and we fled.

Can't imagine what kind of official response there would be to those shenanigans today.

[Bunk]

I miss the old tire swings with the three chains hanging from the wood frame. We used to do "earthquakes", where two would sit and one guy would stand and "pump" the swing to get it going. The standing up guy would pull the two chains at the top of the swing making the tire go vertical, and the tire would slam down at the bottom. It was extremely painful to be the ones sitting. About 10% of the time you might fall off. One time the best "earthquake" guy was going when I was sitting, and the whole thing came crashing down. The connector to the wood frame broke and we all hit the ground hard. This was about 1992.

After that the school took it down, and I think in fact this was the beginning of the end for these across the whole system.

Edit: Large versions of these things:

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Russic

Every time I see a trampoline with a net I think "ya, that would have saved a few of us".

This is totally off topic but every time I visit my parents' place I keep forgetting to take a picture of the most hilariously dangerous trampoline ever.

The backyard is flat but right at the fence, which is about a foot from the edge of the trampoline, is a steep hill. The hill is covered in large rocks. Not quite boulders maybe, but larger than basketballs. They are all jagged looking too. At the bottom of this small hill is the road where cars drive thru the community.

The fence is only a chain link fence and only comes up to the edge of the trampoline so, although a backyard fence is never good protection, it wouldn't even prevent a kid from flying onto these dangerous rocks on a hill if they should get double bounced or something.

Every time I drive by I look to see if there is a kid splayed on the rocks, but nothing yet. I really need to take a picture of it. It is incredibly dangerous.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

Speaking of playground equipment:This slide is still being used in my hometown. Can you imagine when it gets some sun on it?

The newly built park down on St. Patrick's islands has similar slides - that they had to close down shortly after opening because of how hot they got. Amazed no one thought of that during the planning phase.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

The newly built park down on St. Patrick's islands has similar slides - that they had to close down shortly after opening because of how hot they got. Amazed no one thought of that during the planning phase.

Its amazing what happens when people get caught up in an idea.

"The kids are going to love these!!"

Whats that you say? They're a death-trap you say? I see...

[squiggs96]

moon's account

[Hockey Fan #751]

It's not mentioned much, but did you know that in an effort to make the game more marketable, the NHL made helmets optional for forwards and defencemen in 1992-93? I believe the only player who took them up on that was Brett Hull in an all-star game.

1992-93 - No substitutions allowed in the event of coincidental minor penalties called when both teams are at full strength. Wearing of helmets made optional for forwards and defensemen. Minor penalty for attempting to draw a penalty ("diving"). Major and game misconduct penalty for checking from behind into coal frame. Game misconduct penalty for instigating a fight. H'ghsticking redefined to include any use of the stick above waist-height. Previous rule stipulated shoulder-height

http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey.../nhlrules.html

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

This is totally off topic but every time I visit my parents' place I keep forgetting to take a picture of the most hilariously dangerous trampoline ever.

The backyard is flat but right at the fence, which is about a foot from the edge of the trampoline, is a steep hill. The hill is covered in large rocks. Not quite boulders maybe, but larger than basketballs. They are all jagged looking too. At the bottom of this small hill is the road where cars drive thru the community.

The fence is only a chain link fence and only comes up to the edge of the trampoline so, although a backyard fence is never good protection, it wouldn't even prevent a kid from flying onto these dangerous rocks on a hill if they should get double bounced or something.

Every time I drive by I look to see if there is a kid splayed on the rocks, but nothing yet. I really need to take a picture of it. It is incredibly dangerous.

When I was growing up we had one of those above ground pools and a trampoline. So when my folks were away at work in the summer me and a bunch of friends would push the trampoline over by the pool just below the diving board.

then we'd climb up on the diving board which was probably 6 or 7 or mahgod 30 feet in the air. Jump off onto the trampoline and then into the pool. Until we got the hang of it we had kids slamming into the side of the pool, or missing the angle and smashing into the ground. But when you managed to jump off of the diving board, get your angle just right and catapult into the pool you became an instant daredevil hero.

[Bunk]

This article on "The overprotected Kid" is a must read:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...-alone/358631/

This image from it is pure gold: