Aside from the now known fact that babies are not supposed to sleep on their bellies, back then not only were they doing that, but they were also sleeping in unsafe cribs. Slats were placed too far apart from each other, or they were wide enough to get the baby’s head stuck! Thank heavens for today’s regulations.
On some occasions, their little fingers would get stuck too. It took a series of tragedies for the manufactures to pick up on their clues. Soon after that, many new regulations that are now normal were introduced.
An abundance of Molten Plastic
We mentioned dangerous toys, but nothing quite compares to this 1960s nightmare, the 'Creepy Crawler'. If this toy taught kids anything, it was how to not burn your hand off.
This game literally involved the melting of plastic and metal. How was this fun?
They Used Mercurochrome
The idea of clear anti-septic liquids and creams like Neosporin or Hydrogen Peroxide was but a glint in some little genius chemist's eye. Back then, if you grazed your knee or cut your finger playing outside, Mercurochrome was used to save the day.
This liquid was a scary dark red color that kind of resembled blood, so it wasn't pretty when you put it on a bloody finger. But this was the standard antiseptic liquid they made back then. They don't even produce it anymore,
Candy Store Hangouts
At one time, candy stores for kids were like bars for adults. Kids would hop on and line up at the counters, with lollipops in hand. This was also when candies were so cheap back then, that kids could guzzle up sugar-loaded sodas and egg cream for a nickel.
Kids were often seen sneaking in brown paper bags full of gummy bears, bubblegum, candy canes and much, much more. Of course, sometimes they would get caught by mom. At least they got to run around back then!
Nuns Who Disciplined
Generally, Catholic schools had pretty harsh rules. Step out of line, and you could easily get spanked. Talking in class could get a smack with a ruler over the palm of the hand. Getting pulled by the ear and sent to the principal's office was another favorite.
After that, it could be on your knuckles, and quite often it would get even worse. Of course, punishment in today's schools - even the Catholic ones, looks drastically different.