Looks like we have a frontrunner for the 2023 Darwin Award

[Sybertiger]

 

[TonyR]

I'll bet several of them won't do that again.....
As they say...."Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

 

[bigredfish]

That one in the white pants got folded up like an accordion

 

[Xeddog]

I'll bet several of them won't do that again.....

I wouldn't bet on that.

 

[Keyboard]

Young and dumb ... They'll never forget that moment of "fun"!

Confession Time:
This reminds me of the stupid and dangerous things I did growing up. In some cases I'm lucking I didn't get seriously hurt or killed.
I cringe whenever I reminisce about those events.

 

[Flintstone61]

yeah. like seeing how fast a $300 1968 Olds Toronado 455 would go on a 2 lane highway at night with Banana skin tires.

 

[Sybertiger]

I feel I'm an honest to gawd dare devil. Let me tell ya young-uns....

I used to ride in the car without the seatbelt, rode my bicycle without a helmet, rode in the back of a pickup truck, rode my bicycle home from 1st grade without an escort, popped the tab off of coke cans and dropped it in the can then drank the refreshment and have done some other frightening things. Until you've done the things I've done you haven't lived.

 

[Keyboard]

Hey @Sybertiger ... Been there, Done that!

Best of all, swallowing those coke can tabs will really test your "internal" fortitude ...

 

[TonyR]

I feel I an honest to gawd dare devil. Let me tell ya young-uns....

I used to ride in the car without the seatbelt, rode my bicycle without a helmet, rode in the back of a pickup truck, rode my bicycle home from 1st grade without an escort, popped the tab off of coke cans and dropped it in the can then drank the refreshment and have done some other frightening things. Until you've done the things I've done you haven't lived.

Tell me about it....

• Somewhat like @Broachoski 's avatar, when I was 5 I pulled the metal clip out of an old glass Christmas tree ornament and shoved it into the 120 volt wall outlet....
• On a double-dog dare from Steve Seamon I jumped off a 3rd story porch when I was 7, would have spiked the landing if it weren't for the natural gas meter....
• At 8 I missed the pull-down ceiling ladder and fell out of the attic, landed on my back and flattened a home-made 2x4 wooden go-cart with lawnmower wheels and an old wooden cable reel for the steering wheel.
• At 9 was competing with Steve again, trying to see who could jump farthest out of the swing set.....I beat him really good, sailed past his mark and head-first into a rock wall.

And there's more, I'm sure similar to what many of you may recall...I only mention the ones that resulted in injury and regret....but increased my understanding of when physics and reality meet luck and stupidity.

What amazes me is that the preceding stuff was before as a young adult I did 2 tours in Vietnam and before I spent 31 years in the roadway working on live traffic signals and street lighting (in N. CA, no less), getting shocked HARD countless times. Even had a bucket truck hit twice by cars when I was up in the bucket and out of the road. Had lit cigarettes thrown at me while in a median pullbox....got hit in the head with a beer bottle thrown at me by an irate motorist.

Why I'm still drawing breath is beyond me....only the Lord knows.

EDIT: almost forgot...I ran through the house with scissors.

 

[mat200]

I feel I an honest to gawd dare devil. Let me tell ya young-uns....

I used to ride in the car without the seatbelt, rode my bicycle without a helmet, rode in the back of a pickup truck, rode my bicycle home from 1st grade without an escort, popped the tab off of coke cans and dropped it in the can then drank the refreshment and have done some other frightening things. Until you've done the things I've done you haven't lived.

oh yeah .. well, my mom let me lick the spoons with raw cookie dough after making home made cookies ...

 

[Xeddog]

Reading all of these things people did as children brings back a lot of memories since I have done many of them. One of my memories is getting together with about 15-20 other kids and going out into the mesa for a bb gun war. Many of us came back with little red welts on our foreheads (or other body parts), but no one ever put a eye out.

 

[Sybertiger]

Reading all of these things people did as children brings back a lot of memories since I have done many of them. One of my memories is getting together with about 15-20 other kids and going out into the mesa for a bb gun war. Many of us came back with little red welts on our foreheads (or other body parts), but no one ever put a eye out.

We used to have bottle rocket wars by lighting the rocket then timing the hand toss in the right direction. Yes, the ones that exploded when the rocket's thrust had finished the burn. No lost eyes. Maybe some hearing loss over time....LOL! Still trying to figure out what caused some of it in my old age.

 

[samplenhold]

popped the tab off of coke cans and dropped it in the can then drank the refreshment

The kid across the street from me when I was growing up did the same thing with a beer can. Just had graduated college and went camping with some friends for the weekend. Was starting a new job the following week. Dropped the pull top in the can of beer and chugged it. Choaked to death on the pull top.

 

[TonyR]

Dropped the pull top in the can of beer and chugged it. Choaked to death on the pull top.

Thank God there's no pull tabs on beer anymore, otherwise even more Darwin candidates on TikTok would be meeting their maker....
But I'm sure their resourcefulness will lead them to an alternative...after all, no sane person would even consider eating a Tide pod but that desire and their creativity apparently follows the viewership.

 

[Xeddog]

Anybody ever play with mercury? Fun stuff.

 

[TonyR]

Anybody ever play with mercury? Fun stuff.

All the time, in the 50's and 60's.
Loved to coat a copper penny with it.
Drop it in a Dixie cup then swirl it to merge all the little droplets.

 

[TonyR]

More "growing up in the 50's and 60's"....

CARS

• No seatbelts.
• Metal dashboards with sharp knobs sticking out.
• No head restraints or padded visors.

BIKES

• No helmets or pads.
• Fenders and chain guards removed. I don't think I had a pair of jeans where the cuff wasn't chewed up and greasy from getting caught in the chain.
• Parents had a hard time finding all 52 playing cards because I always had a couple clothes-pinned to a bike fender support and hitting the spokes so I'd sound like a motorcycle.

PLAYGROUND

• Monkey bars...I get blisters thinking about it.
• Push merry-go-rounds...gettin' dizzy here.
• See-saw (teeter-totter)...it's a wonder I was able to father a daughter!

OTHER STUFF

• B-B guns and slingshots....both my eyes still work!
• Cherry bombs and M-80's....I have all my fingers! Hearing ain't so good but it's service-related and work-related.

 

[JDreaming]

More "growing up in the 50's and 60's"....

CARS

• No seatbelts.
• Metal dashboards with sharp knobs sticking out.
• No head restraints or padded visors.

BIKES

• No helmets or pads.
• Fenders and chain guards removed. I don't think I had a pair of jeans where the cuff wasn't chewed up and greasy from getting caught in the chain.
• Parents had a hard time finding all 52 playing cards because I always had a couple clothes-pinned to a bike fender support and hitting the spokes so I'd sound like a motorcycle.

PLAYGROUND

• Monkey bars...I get blisters thinking about it.
• Push merry-go-rounds...gettin' dizzy here.
• See-saw (teeter-totter)...it's a wonder I was able to father a daughter!

OTHER STUFF

• B-B guns and slingshots....both my eyes still work!
• Cherry bombs and M-80's....I have all my fingers! Hearing ain't so good but it's service-related and work-related.

You really good at all of them when you were young, or you were just a lucky son of a gun.

 

[bigredfish]

Lawn darts!

 

[TonyR]

Lawn darts!

Play Doh
Slinky
Silly Putty
Super Ball
Hula Hoop
Frisbee
Water Wiggle
Slip n' Slide
(All the Wham-o stuff)

Circa 1962:
Estes solid fuel rockets
Slot cars