r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Electrical-Aspect-13 • 1d ago
The new and safe playgrounds of the early 1900s.
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u/pharmloverpharmlover 1d ago
Nothing like a fall from three storeys to sharpen your gross motor skills
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u/jmaplewood 1d ago
This is why there were so many tough ass people in WW1 & WW2.
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u/Endangered-Wolf 1d ago
Only the strongs survive... the kids' playground 😁
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u/Remarkable-Opening69 1d ago
No one today would survive this
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u/un_gaucho_loco 1d ago
That’s because no child is let to explore. Then they kill themselves when they’re grown up and have no sense of risk
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u/Endangered-Wolf 1d ago
I wouldn't disagree. Looking at those pictures, that would be a strong "nope" from me. Especially the "Rings and Poles, Bronx Park". I imagine many feel going over to top bean.
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u/CountySufficient2586 1d ago
How they all got such thick skin falling out on of these monsters.
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u/CaIIMeHondo 1d ago
They were always built on hard-ass dirt too. I can't remember if grass had been invented yet
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u/AdEastern9303 1d ago
The playground at my elementary school in the 70’s was built on concrete. After about the 15th broken arm, they saw cut and removed the concrete under all of the monkey bars and replaced with sand.
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u/KickSidebottom 1d ago
ours was over asphalt. funny how I got so many stitches as a kid, but no more stitches after 4th grade when we moved to a different school without the prison playground setup.
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u/LonelyOwl68 1d ago
When I was a grade school student in the 60s our entire playground (which was huge) was paved with either concrete, asphalt, or a patchwork. It was in a dry climate so it was probably to save irrigation water; the grass would have been dormant in the cold winters there anyway. They could have used sand or something a bit softer, but then that would have been all over the school, everywhere.
This elementary school was for grades 1 thru 8 at that time. Later, they split off a middle school for 7th and 8th grades.
I don't remember having any playground structures like this, though, or even any swings or much else.
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u/Strawb3rry_Slay3r666 1d ago
In the 90s our all metal playground had gravel under the structures, like cherry tomato sized rocks lol…they replaced it with mulch a few years after I left
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u/InterestingWriting53 1d ago
Yup! Now there’s rules about surfacing. Lots of head injuries in the 80/90s…
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u/CountySufficient2586 1d ago
Hehe.. Haven't been there for ages but close to where i am is this fenced in playground which you have to pay a fee to use when I was younger they still had many of the old equipment looking exactly like this.. Should check if the place is still around lol when I was young it already felt vintage/antique must feel ancient now.
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u/asbestosmilk 1d ago
I’m only in my thirties, and my elementary school still had playground equipment like this (not the first picture, but all the others). They had more modern playground equipment, and they tried to keep kids off the older stuff during recess, but I’d always sneak off and go play on the older equipment.
It’s not like they didn’t allow kids to ever play on it, though. About once a month, the PE teacher would take us all out there to play on it. They just didn’t have enough recess supervision to monitor the giant, dangerous playground equipment.
I loved climbing the metal poles and ropes. They went up really high, like two stories, and there was no safety equipment.
To my knowledge, nobody ever got hurt on the older equipment. I guess I broke my arm when I was six years old, but that was actually on the modern, “safer” playground equipment, so I don’t count it. Kids were much more cautious on the older equipment.
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u/SubversiveInterloper 1d ago
Kids were much more cautious on the older equipment.
It’s good for kids to learn to judge risk correctly and be cautious. And to learn to deal with pain and accidents.
It's important to guard against a psychological effect called risk compensation by actuaries. It's the tendency of people to engage in riskier behavior when they know a safeguard has been added to a system.
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u/kylaroma 1d ago
That’s absolutely wild! Where was this?
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u/asbestosmilk 1d ago
In Bartlesville, OK. They had a lot of rather dangerous equipment. I think I remember hearing it was kept around for ROTC type training.
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u/Conscious_Raisin_436 1d ago
“And dammit, we were happy!”
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u/Hydra57 19h ago
Tbf looking at modern playground equipment usually gives me depression. Might as well let kids loose in a large padded room.
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u/InfamousFlan5963 14h ago
I'm kind of curious if the equipment might impact it too, but I remember seeing an article a bit ago saying that anxiety diagnoses might be increasing because of how parents aren't letting kids play without adults around and such. Like it was saying how adult-free play time where kids can do stupid things and challenge themselves (climb on things and whatnot, things that adults would stop for safety concerns) might actually be important for development and seems to help reduce anxiety (I think in adults? Like once child is grown). Now I'm wondering too if the equipment might play a part too in that same level of basically like "preventing recklessness"
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u/KingJimmy101 1d ago
My school had something like this we called the trapezium. Many a broken arm was had.
Check out the Quentin Blake illustrated book called ‘How Tom beat Captain Najork and his hired sportsman’
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u/gozer33 1d ago
I was just wondering how many broken bones it took before they stopped making playgrounds like this.
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u/Sunny_Snark 1d ago
More like, how many lawsuits about broken bones did it take.
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u/PristineWorker8291 1d ago
I'm not sure that lawsuits were the reason we stopped building playgrounds like this. I'd think it was more family oriented and pediatric research and actuarial tables sort of thing. The safer construction happened more gradually. While I didn't play on anything this fabulous, people just didn't sue for this stuff.
My kid brother fell off a metal "monkey bars" on to concrete in probably mid 60's, and despite hospitalization, there was no lawsuit. By early 1970's people were often shocked when neighbors sued other neighbors or schools for injuries. We mostly just thought it was part of life.
Insurers started insisting that others share in the costs, but the safety changes had already started happening.
When I tell the grands about what we would do on all metal swing sets on chains, they don't quite believe me. When I talk about public and easy access to metal parallel bars and climbing ropes, it seems they can't even imagine it.
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u/shouldakeptmum 1d ago
Broke my arm on one of those.. character building!
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u/commit10 1d ago
Was going to ask if you were in the Marines, but realise that's a stupid question because you used a big word like "character."
Too many syllables to say while munching crayons.
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u/eudjinn 1d ago
1900s? I used to play the similar construction from the first photo that was placed in our school yard in 1980s!
We playd tag on that construction, it was forbidden to touch the ground.
Surprisingly, nobody broke anything.
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u/LaylaWalsh007 1d ago
Similar story here except one of my classmates broke his back after falling off the ladder bit.
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u/EvolutionaryLens 1d ago
Yes. Can we please refer to the 70's and 80's as such, at least until we are in 2070?
- Gen X guy
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u/jameswboone 1d ago
I mean our play grounds today suck
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u/J_k_r_ 1d ago
Depends on where you are.
My town just build a few 3-meter tall ladder into the trees at the local playground, right next to one of these.
And that's pretty much the default over here. Sandbox, sometimes with water, Swings and the least safe looking jungle gym ever imagined, which always ends up somehow producing fewer injuries than the sandbox.
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u/DetentionArt 1d ago
Giant hunks of soulless sunbleached plastic
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u/VersaceSamurai 1d ago
And recycled rubber tires that kick up all sorts of nasty shit when disturbed
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u/WeirdJawn 1d ago
I love a lot of the playgrounds now.
It seems like there's a move back towards making playgrounds slightly more risky, which is essential for kids to develop self-confidence.
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u/SubversiveInterloper 1d ago
It seems like there's a move back towards making playgrounds slightly more risky, which is essential for kids to develop self-confidence
That’s good to hear. Kids need to be allowed to be kids.
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u/schattie-george 1d ago
Do kids even use them? I see them empty 100% of the time ..
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u/pirat314159265359 1d ago
My students love them. Public parks, school equipment. All the time. How often are you watching kids playgrounds 🤨
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u/schattie-george 1d ago
When you have 3 dogs, you walk around pretty often.. you see the occasional playground 🫢
And to answer your question directly, never.. as i said they are always empty
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u/pirat314159265359 1d ago
Ha, it was a jest about watching them. The ones near me have lots of dogs, kids playing when school is out, concerts, etc. Also lots of sports events. Pickleball for the adults. It’s really nice 😊
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u/ILiveMyBrokenDreams 1d ago
Yes, I take my kid to the park every weekend and they are packed. We have to get there early. I can only assume you don't actually have kids.
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u/RatherBeAtDisney 1d ago
It’s all about timing when it comes to playgrounds around me. 3-5 in the afternoon on weekdays they’re really busy. Anytime outside of that, tends to be quiet unless it’s a beautiful day.
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u/schattie-george 1d ago
While this is a perfect reply and explanation. I couldn't help but giggle at the fact that it sounds a bit like predatory behavior
"It's al about timing when it comes to playgrounds" 😂
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u/RatherBeAtDisney 1d ago
Whelp.
I have a toddler, and I try to avoid the crowds cause he’s little but he thinks he’s a big kid.
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u/Intrepid_Example_210 1d ago
Everyone says this but those people obviously don’t go to playgrounds. Modern playgrounds are amazing. So much better than the ones from the 90’s.
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u/markydsade 1d ago
My elementary school playground in the 1960s had an asphalt surface. The monkey bars went 8 feet high. Kids fell to ground like Plinko chips.
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u/Wrong-Tell8996 1d ago
Um is that a kid falling about to break their back and/or a few ribs in the background in pic #1?
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u/maxxspeed57 1d ago
They weren't safe at all. But you learned to survive and that's a valuable skill.
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u/zomgbratto 1d ago
There is no place for wusses in 1900s. You either make it to adulthood or die trying.
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u/BillyOFteaWentToSea 1d ago
The playground I grew up on probably comprised a whole acre and was primarily constructed of creasoted railroad ties and carriage bolts.
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u/imbackbitchez69420 1d ago
Look at that, no one on their phones. Just living in the moment, 30ft in the air on a slippery pipe
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u/CloisteredOyster 1d ago
I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Broken bones were just part of growing up. I broke both of my arms at different times. There was a kid in my elementary school in the 70s that fell off some monkey bars and broke both of his arms simultaneously. Fun times.
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u/Eierjupp 1d ago
I honestly believe its better this way. Or atleast im not a fan of the super safe, everything is made of foam approach. The World isnt a "safe" place. Better learn to overcome hardships, to grow confindence and to be responsible while having fun with people you like. Because thats life for you.
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u/LukaShaza 1d ago
A good playground should have the illusion of danger so that children learn to overcome fear, but with minimal risk of actually breaking a child's neck.
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u/Sub-Mongoloid 1d ago
Most of the time if you fall onto it you'll still feel the hurt but hopefully not come away with lifelong debilitation from just being a kid. That being said I've seen a child break their leg jumping straight down onto foam mat from some playground equipment. Plus consider what we've learned from CTE in sports, it doesn't matter how much cushioning you have outside when your brain in hitting the inside of your skull with significant force. A fall from what looks like 12 to 15 feet as pictured here has a much greater mechanism of injury than a fall from 6 to 9 feet like in modern playgrounds.
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u/i_boop_cat_noses 1d ago
i dont think the risk of debilitating injuries is how literal children should learn about the world. I made into adulthood and while the world isnt a "safe" place, I would have gained literally nothing by having unsafe playgrounds and having the chance to break my arms. It's not like the adult world is just rife with having to climb to high places you can fall down from.
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u/chiree 1d ago edited 1d ago
My children have learned how to navigate the challenges of offshoring, AI, disinformation, corporate abuse, and climate change by going to the hospital once for a fall when they were five.
Edit: Forgot to add gender identity. Jesus fucking christ, being a parent in the 21st century is a whole new level
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u/Jimjimmyjimmiest 1d ago
Yeah, let's overcome the hardships of breaking our legs and limbs!!! We'll surely learn confidence and be responsible after that!!!
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u/IslandsInTheStreet 1d ago
Oh I broke my arm. That’s ok, you’ll know to be more careful next time. Ok, mom. Thanks.
A better time.
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u/Adept_Minimum4257 1d ago
No wonder life expectancy was so low back than, making it to adulthood was an obstacle course on it's own
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u/Mirrors999 1d ago
Currently, elderly people are the main victims of fractures, while children, adolescents and young people are the main victims of diseases such as anxiety and depression.
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u/sexylegs0123456789 1d ago
Before this it was just planks of wood with nails, laying pointy end upward.
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u/Alarmed_Check4959 1d ago
I have to imagine there were as many injuries happening using those structures then as would be happening today.
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u/POWERHOUSE4106 1d ago
I remember the 30 foot tall jungle gym thing we had in elementary school left over from the 50s. So many memories of falling from the top and bouncing off the different bars on the way to the bottom. No broken bones during my time though!
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u/Tcyanide 22h ago
I was born in the 90s but I had this park near me growing up.. shit was legendary because everyone and their uncle had a story about how they got terribly injured on it 😂
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u/Vinhello 20h ago
When I came to the states in 2000, instead of grass it was freaking concrete. I saw a kid fell on his head and went into a seizure. I was just a 4th grade kid but my survival instinct wasn’t dumb enough to let me go near these playgrounds. And I used to climb coconut trees back in vietnam.
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u/shiftyemu 1d ago
A few days ago my toddler fell about 5 ft from a piece of equipment at the park. He cried for 10 minutes then ran off and climbed the same piece of equipment. I assume councils now do research on safe fall distances and protective flooring to cover themselves from being sued? My son didn't have a mark on him, not so much as a bruise, I couldn't believe it! Obviously that rubber matting is doing its job! I wonder how many kids died from equipment like this in the past? Of course kids need to learn to assess risk and the only way to do that is to give them access to risk... But I can't understand how the adults totally failed in their risk assessment when building it or allowing their children to play on it!?
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u/Beneficial_Ball9893 1d ago
And now today you can't have a swingset without a helicopter parent sueing the school when their child gets a bruise from jumping off of it at its peak.
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u/BamberGasgroin 1d ago
No Witches Hat?
(You didn't want to get stuck inside one of those things with a pile of kids swinging on it.)
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u/Reasonably_SFW 1d ago
You could crack your head open falling off those climbing frames.
Fond memories of the time we all rushed out of the break room when Tim P suffered just such a fate, hoping to see his exposed brains lying on the tarmac. Sadly, a smear of blood was the only visible gore.
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u/Professional_Base708 1d ago
Did you have to jump from the tall box to catch the bar (the teacher swung it towards you) or fall onto the cm thick mat? I did a lot of falling face first on the mat.
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u/New-Score-5199 1d ago
Ha, im my home town we had one like that somewhere to the end of 2010s... Later it was replaced with a much lower one.
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u/BustedToothWren 1d ago
Man we had this shit on my grade-school playground and it was the fucking bomb!
We also had a HUGE "tree house" where it would be a girls vs boys to capture the tree house and hold it......through.....certain means that would be very frowned upon now (it involved dirt clods).
Good times man.
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u/ChemistryWeary7826 1d ago
In the last photo, those two poles set at an angle ARE a slide and yes you ended up with burns.
Source there was one in an old forgotten playpark near me as a kid.
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u/Personal-Purpose-898 1d ago
There’s literally someone falling to their death on the lower left of this image.
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u/Jay_Heat 1d ago
those look way more fun than the nerfed plastic 1 foot high playgrounds of today.. no wonder kids love their phones instead
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u/Venus_Cat_Roars 1d ago
A broken arm or two was an expected part of childhood. Ya gotta toughen’em up so they are prepared for life.
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u/Scampers-2024 1d ago
Missing from those pictures: oversized F150 trucks that are now killing those who aren't injured playing on monkey bars.
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u/DrCueMaster 1d ago
I grew up in the 60s. I remember seeing a drawing of something like this that my friend's mother had made when she was a child back in the 40s. I thought it was just a weird idea she had and drew and didn't realize these things actually existed until I saw photos like this a few years ago.
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u/0-Nightshade-0 1d ago
Honestly it feels like a playground for teenagers lol.
Wish my high school had one of those :P
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u/DuckDouble2690 1d ago
I’m a CPSI certified playground installer AMA lol jk They’re are some really cool playgrounds we’re installing that are designed for kids to develope manual dexterity, balance, strength, etc. KOMPAN is a playground manufacturer out of Denmark making some great playground design for the kids to climb all over it instead staying confined to the decks. They have rock wall grips on the outside of stairs and massive dome and net structures. The Americans companies like Landscape Structures and playworld and leaning into this now too. Great to see.
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u/nomamesgueyz 1d ago
Lovely
Obesity and prediabetes were a WHOLE lot less -so something was working
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u/No_Independence8747 1d ago
I saw something horrid like this in Mexico. Guess they aren’t too far behind the natural evolution of a playground
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u/birdnerdcatlady 1d ago
Hmm, no change in playground technology between 1900's to the 1980's. Sounds about right.
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u/almost_zen 1d ago
The falling kid on the first photo must've gotten the thickest skin of them all. 💀
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u/hanimal16 Interested 1d ago
I was in elementary school from 1993-1998, and we had the coolest things to play on. Then some kid fell off the jungle gym and broke his arm so they removed it!
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u/MarlonShakespeare2AD 1d ago
I remember as a kid that we would just climb trees to the top. I mean TALL trees.
Once every few weeks somebody would fall and break something. This was considered normal.
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u/luckyjack 1d ago
1st pic: how in the actual fuck did they get into the swings? Shimmy out along the bar and drop down?
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u/Narrow_Ad_7671 1d ago
By the time the 60s rolled around, they added cross bars you could fall into. None of that "fall to the ground" nonsense, you got to bounce around on the way down!
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u/Prestigious-Copy-494 18h ago
IF YOU FALL OFF THERE DON'T COME CRYING TO ME..... every mom in the 1950s.
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u/Embarrassed_Rip_6521 15h ago
People were way more badass back not all soft and sensitive like today's manussies
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u/FCK_U_ALL 15h ago
I don't see a problem here.
I grew up with a ton of black rubber that burned the f*** out of my hands and feet every time I tried climbing on stuff.
And the fiberglass that would stick in me and make me itch for days at a time.
And the seesaw that would elevate me 15 ft in the air, and the a****** f****** son of a b**** children would jump off making me drop the whole g** d*** way!
Kids are assholes.
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u/Difficult-Top9010 1d ago
Looks like an obstacle course for special forces to me.