Oddest/Most Memorable Toys From Your Childhood

[whoozit]

We always had a good selection of fireworks. One of our neighbors was a trucker who went back and forth from Ohio to Florida and would stop at the fireworks stands in Tennessee for us.  In hindsight, he probably wasn't the most responsible parent, he'd bring back M-80s, Cherry Bombs, Silver Salutes  etc.  We're lucky none of us lost a hand, or worse.

I survived firing bottle rockets at each other across the yard.  It really got your attention if one went off within 10 feet of you.  We also made firecracker cannons by cramming larger firecrackers in one end of a tube and putting in a thinner one with a shortened fuse in the other.  I avoided the roman candle fights using trash can lids as shields.   Good times.

[albrecht]

We always had a good selection of fireworks. One of our neighbors was a trucker who went back and forth from Ohio to Florida and would stop at the fireworks stands in Tennessee for us.  In hindsight, he probably wasn't the most responsible parent, he'd bring back M-80s, Cherry Bombs, Silver Salutes  etc.  We're lucky none of us lost a hand, or worse.

I had a neighbor who would bring us kids fireworks back when he went to Mexico. They were always fun because very unreliable and powerful. Sometimes the fuses would go "nuclear" as we called it and burn so fast you could almost not get away. Other times fuses would smoulder. Both could cause injury but we were surprisingly careful Some, we called "them Tacos," consisted of gunpowder being wrapped in newspaper folded as how one would make a paper football. They had two sizes the "Super Taco" would easily take out a mailbox. Not that we would (Federal Crime as we thought as a kid.)   If you pay attention to the news South of the Border you see every so often some part of Mexican town is blown up due to firework manufacturing and sales. Yet they get back to doing it due to tradition!

[albrecht]

I survived firing bottle rockets at each other across the yard.  It really got your attention if one went off within 10 feet of you.  We also made firecracker cannons by cramming larger firecrackers in one end of a tube and putting in a thinner one with a shortened fuse in the other.  I avoided the roman candle fights using trash can lids as shields.   Good times.

A "Saturn Battery" missle taped to a mop handle is a formidable weapon in those wars. And the 25 shot one is more maneuverable even though the missiles will pretty much go in random directions.