Remember These???

[eclark1894]

So I was reading up on a earlier post about playground equipment that has been banned from playgrounds being dangerous for kids. Metal slides, okay, I remember how hot they got. See saws, maybe, monkey bars, if a kid lost his grip... okay, but seriously, dirt and grass????

 

[robert952]

Remember These? These are some playground equipment that have been banned from said playgrounds since you were a kid. I made a joke a few posts back about how dangerous things were when we were kids. Okay, I admit the metal slides were dangerous, but unless you got stuck with a really fat kid, a see-saw?

Well, let's see. Some lessons that can be learned from the playground. Do not worry about any safety aspects. You are kids. You will be ok.

"Hey, Little Timmy, go stand on the low seat over there. The rest of us will pull down and jump on the upper end and see if we can launch you into the air. I saw it at the circus. It'll be cool." (Looks like we're gonna need another Timmy.) Explaining Archimedes Principle of levers. If one of you is bigger than others (like Big Timmy), several smaller kids can pull one end down to raise the bigger kid sitting on the other end in the air . Then, the group of kids can quickly move away and watch the larger kid hit the ground. This also illustrates the basics of gravity. Again, you may need another Timmy.

Newton's three laws of motion can best be illustrated with this flat spinning disc and a bunch of kids. If you jump off the spinning 'merry-go-round' you will travel in a straight line and can not turn. The faster the disc spins, the further you will go before you can turn. So time your jump to miss the brick wall and aim for the open area. This illustrates that things will travel in a straight line until acted upon by an external force. Your results may vary, but not likely.

 

[robert952]

So I was reading up on a earlier post about playground equipment that has been banned from playgrounds being dangerous for kids. Metal slides, okay, I remember how hot they got. See saws, maybe, monkey bars, if a kid lost his grip... okay, but seriously, dirt and grass????
View attachment 71496

I agree. I am not convinced that wood mulch and pea gravel is 'better' that grass and dirt when you fall from 6-8 feet (height of playground equipment in our local park where I take my grandson.)

Here's info about ASTM F1292 listed above (LINK OF SOURCE):

The critical fall height of a playground surfacing material determined under laboratory conditions does not account for important factors that have the potential to influence the actual performance of installed surfacing materials. There are many variables known to affect surfacing material performance including but not limited to the natural aging process, excessive or lack of moisture, maintenance requirements, many environmental factors, compaction, loss of thickness, shrinkage, and the list goes on.

On the 'good side' - key words: 'reduce' and 'not prevent'

..conformance with the requirements of this specification will reduce the risk of serious injury and death from falls, adherence to this specification will not prevent all injuries and deaths.

Therefore, all playgrounds with equipment kids can climb on have inherent safety issues.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

The Handbook for Public Playground Safety explains in the paragraphs following the image you posted that grass and dirt are not considered protective surfacing because wear and environmental factors can reduce their shock absorbing effectiveness.

The Handbook for Public Playground Safety also states in the paragraph before the image that the recommendations for protective surfacing do not apply to equipment that requires a child to be standing or sitting at ground level (sandboxes, activity walls at ground level, play houses, any other equipment that children use when their feet remain in contact with the ground surface.)


Dirt and grass may be acceptable in some areas where children play, but it is not acceptable where protective surfaces are required. That is ... under or around playground equipment where a child is not standing or sitting at ground level and falling may result in a head injury.

 

[eclark1894]

Dirt and grass may be acceptable in some areas where children play, but it is not acceptable where protective surfaces are required. That is ... under or around playground equipment where a child is not standing or sitting at ground level and falling may result in a head injury.

I don't really buy it. Children fall down... a lot. Heck, I fell down all the time when I was kid, sometimes just walking across the playground. But, hey, I'm only a former child. Not a parent.

It's kind of like saying sand isn't an appropriate surfacing material at the beach because it can get hot and you might burn your feet, or it might get wet and you might slip.

 

[DanaTA]

Isn't it amazing we all survived our childhoods without the protective services of today?

Dana

 

[Stezza]

doing a 360 on the swings was always a challenge.. I never did it but my sister did!

 

[DanaTA]

doing a 360 on the swings was always a challenge.. I never did it but my sister did!

I remember kids trying to do that. I never got that high, but it was fun trying. The swing structure was pretty high, too. So was the metal slide. I'd say at least 12 feet. The merry-go-round was metal too, and shiny. We'd gather around it and push really fast and then jump on and lay on our backs with our heads sticking out and looking toward the sky.

Dana

 

[KageRyu]

Isn't it amazing we all survived our childhoods without the protective services of today?

Dana

Yup- things like climbing up the slide and then jumping off, swinging as high as you could get and jumping off for distance, spinning the merry go round as fast as possible and jumping off trying to land in specific places... come to think of it there was a lot of jumping off stuff when I was a kid. No helmets, no safety pads, no bubble wraps, tree houses and backyard mazes with scrap wood, exposed nails, and other hazards to make it challenging. Rope latters your friends would spin as you climbed. Jarts. Slip and Slide. Trampolines without safety wall nets or pads around them. Everything had sharp corners. Everything shot small pellets/discs/darts or exploded some how. Rode in the bed of pickups...on the highway (owner was sure surprised at the rest stop) - and I survived it all.
Man, those were the days. Good Times.

 

[eclark1894]

Remember these??? I discovered all three of these within the span of one summer. Ice cream headache, Ice cream trucks, and the Tastee Freez. Not necessarily in that order.

 

[eclark1894]

Remember this??? The curse of being the older child. This happened to my little neice one day after we had chased down the ice cream truck and it had driven off. I ended up giving her mine, after taking one last lick, to stop her from crying.

 

[eclark1894]

Remember this?? I was actually just looking at mine. I don't know how long we've had it, because I literally haven't used a nutcracker since I was in my teens.

 

[Miss B]

Remember these??? I discovered all three of these within the span of one summer.

I haven't seen an old fashioned ice cream truck here in many a decade, but we do get a Mister Softee truck here during the warmer months.

Remember this?? I was actually just looking at mine. I don't know how long we've had it, because I literally haven't used a nutcracker since I was in my teens.

I think I may still have one as well, but haven't had a need for it in a very long time.

 

[eclark1894]

I remember kids trying to do that. I never got that high, but it was fun trying. The swing structure was pretty high, too. So was the metal slide. I'd say at least 12 feet. The merry-go-round was metal too, and shiny. We'd gather around it and push really fast and then jump on and lay on our backs with our heads sticking out and looking toward the sky.

Dana

I tried to do that when I was a kid. We'd see how high we could swing to spin over the top and come down on the other side. Never made it. When could only get so high before there was slack in the chain. I stopped because I started to realize that I'd die before it ever happened. The merry go round would make us dizzy when we got off. And sometimes we'd push the merry go round so fast, it would throw us off!

 

[robert952]

Remember this?? I was actually just looking at mine. I don't know how long we've had it, because I literally haven't used a nutcracker since I was in my teens.

View attachment 71505

Also good for opening the top of small bottles (like ketchup and mustard. A fulcrum is a fulcrum. I got to where I could crush walnuts against themselves. Hazelnuts and Brazil nuts still require a bit of work with these. (I got a couple of the nutpicks with the same design, too.)

 

[eclark1894]

Also good for opening the top of small bottles (like ketchup and mustard. A fulcrum is a fulcrum. I got to where I could crush walnuts against themselves. Hazelnuts and Brazil nuts still require a bit of work with these. (I got a couple of the nutpicks with the same design, too.)

I'm not really a big nut fan. I like pecans and peanuts and that's about it. You don't need a nutcracker for peanuts, and I haven't cracked a pecan since I discovered that the supermarket sells them shelled by the bag.

 

[carmen indorato]

chocolate anything was and is, how i snack!

 

[eclark1894]

My first lunchbox and thermos when I started first grade. My brother was two years older and in the third grade. He had a barn.

 

[eclark1894]

Remember this? It started out in 3D then sometime in either the late 60s or early 70s, it went holographic.

 

[eclark1894]

Remember this???! I used to get a cold and couldn't breathe. My mother would wave this under my nose and I could smell what was cooking three doors down! For coughs, I got cough drops.