Parachute Guys

[zippyFX]

I just have to rant about this.....

Do you remember those parachute guys of our youth? We had hours of fun with them.... Throwing up as high as we could and watching the chutes open... Or running up the balcony stairs of the tallest apartment building and letting them drop.... Loads of fun for kids 5 to 9. you played with them until the parachute ripped or they go hung up on something.

Now-a-days they still sell them and I have picked them up a couple of times for my kids but for some darn reason they don't come assembled. you actually now have to tie the stings to the 'chute and the figure.

A couple of problems with this..... If you don't tie the strings at equal lengths the 'chute does not deploy properly... Also the chute material now has to be thinker because it has to be worked and because of this also fails to deploy at times.

For the 10-15 minutes of labor I have to put into it and the probability that they won't work properly they are no long worth the price and frustration.....

I am wondering why they stopped tying them up... Is it a cost thing? Is it a potential chocking hazard?

sigh....

[Panfish]

Haha funny you should mention, I was at a party supply shop last weekend and saw those parachute men. They are expensive for their worth and have grown in size! I'm not sure if they were already pre-tied/assembled...

http://www.partycity.ca/product/parachut...earch&cx=0

can't tell from the pic if it's pre-assembled

[OldTimer]

......... you buy them?............ we used to make them........... using old bolts or sparkplugs for the weight, some string, some old sheets or shirts and needle and thread.

Then again........... we also made our own kites (box and octagons), awesome sling shots, 22 cal. zip guns,.....just to name a few of the real easy projects.... how things change......sigh.

I doubt a kid today even knows how to make a good paper airplane......or proper spit ball......things change.............

...smile.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

Yep...made my own parachute guys with an old towel and anything heavy...mostly rocks.

Also twisted paper clips to make jumping frogs, catapults and crossbows.

Built a greenhouse as a kid. It was kinda crappy...but it did its job.

I borrowed this book from the library once...and knew (maybe still remember) how to fold F-14, F-16 and F-18 from a letter size sheet of paper...and these planes actually fly too!

Now the more messed up stuff...

When I was in Gr. 6-8, I used to make crossbows out of a drafting compass, a pen, a needle or small nail and twisted elastics. It was actually lethal...strong enough to impale 3/4" into wood sidings if I took the shot about 4 feet away.

My buddy and I made nunchuks with rope (sometimes even chains) and broom handles...and we used to fight each other with these nunchuks and sticks. I was better with the sticks...my buddy had some made nunchuks skill for a 13 year old.

Sling shot was almost too easy...we used to shoot buses and trucks with crab apples using our sling shots...in the winter, we threw snowballs instead. Once, a trucker stopped and came looking for us. He armed himself with a snow brush...against a group of teenagers...it was hilarious.

[Eli]

I know this is off topic, but has anyone here ever condomed a car??

Basically, someone you don't like has a car. It is winter. Pack of condoms unwrapped and soaked in some water. Thrown at car overnight.

In the morning said person is now scraping off what appears to be a bunch of used condoms that are frozen to his car.

---

Oh..and I've made plenty of 'parachute guys', baking soda rockets, stink bombs, and crossbows.

I've also disassembled live rounds of ammunition and used the powder to make various small explosives. This was a very stupid thing to do in hindsight, but I still have all my fingers so yeah..live and learn.

[MuskieBait]

No...but that sounds hilarious!