WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Lawn Darts

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>This is short stuff getting up. Let's go look out above?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that what people shout? Look out above? It feels wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I think they say look out below. But

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<v Speaker 1>that didn't make any sense, No neither one. It just

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<v Speaker 1>say how about just look out or heads up? No,

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<v Speaker 1>not heads up, you'll get a lawn dart in your eye.

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<v Speaker 1>Just move out of the immediate area quickly, duck and cover.

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<v Speaker 1>There you go. Yeah, I don't know if that would

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<v Speaker 1>help either, because Chuck, get this. We're talking about lawn darts,

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<v Speaker 1>and when they get a real wind up under them,

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<v Speaker 1>they strike with a force of around twenty three thousand

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<v Speaker 1>pounds per square. That's right. And we are talking about

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<v Speaker 1>lawn darts. And if you're like, what is a lawn dart?

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<v Speaker 1>That means you're probably younger than we are because we

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<v Speaker 1>grew up in this seventies and eighties these with these toys.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh that was It's basically a giant oversized dart like

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<v Speaker 1>you would throw it a dartboard with plastic fins, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're about what are they about a foot long or so? Dish? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and the idea is that it was sort of like cornhole.

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<v Speaker 1>You would get on opposite sides of each other like

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<v Speaker 1>horse shoes, and you have these big hula hoops basically

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<v Speaker 1>you would put on the ground and you would throw

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<v Speaker 1>the lawn dart up in the air and try and

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<v Speaker 1>get it to come down and stick inside of that hoop. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and you get some points for that. You just let

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<v Speaker 1>it arc gracefully back down into that hoop and that

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<v Speaker 1>was it, And there was a lot of fun. The

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<v Speaker 1>problem is it was a lot of danger as well

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<v Speaker 1>because these things, again a lot of them had like

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<v Speaker 1>a blunt end, but not all of them did. Some

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<v Speaker 1>were sharp, especially the first ones. Um, they would come

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<v Speaker 1>back down to earth with a lot of force behind them,

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<v Speaker 1>and if they happened to come back down to earth

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<v Speaker 1>via your boy, they could really mess you up, really well,

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<v Speaker 1>especially if you were a little kid whose skull hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>fused fully yet because you're not twenty years old. And um,

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<v Speaker 1>some kids suffered tremendously at the at the hands of

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<v Speaker 1>the lawn dart industry. That's right. And uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the government comes into play here. Before we were born

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<v Speaker 1>in nine seventy and this was I think they debuted

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<v Speaker 1>in about nineteen fifty ish. Uh, the f d A

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<v Speaker 1>banned these things because they're like, these are really really dangerous,

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<v Speaker 1>and the manufacturer said, nah, they're not so dangerous. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>let's send our lobby in the toy lobby and get

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<v Speaker 1>them brought back to the market, because we got to

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<v Speaker 1>get these lawn darts out there. Nothing was more important,

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<v Speaker 1>right right then getting the lawn darts back to market,

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<v Speaker 1>getting the people their lawn darts and chuck. You lived

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<v Speaker 1>through the seventies. I lived through the seventies, although I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't fully aware except towards the end there. But do

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<v Speaker 1>you know how dangerous something had to be to get

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<v Speaker 1>banned in the seventies, Yeah, I mean SNL had a

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<v Speaker 1>skit about dangerous toys exactly. So there was, um, there

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<v Speaker 1>was a push to get rid of lawn darts, but

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<v Speaker 1>the lawn dart industry, very surprisingly if you ask me,

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<v Speaker 1>pushed back and they struck a deal and said, look

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<v Speaker 1>how about this. We won't um, we won't market to

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<v Speaker 1>kids anymore. So lawn darts are officially not a toy.

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<v Speaker 1>Will sell them in the sporting goods section of like

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<v Speaker 1>department stores, and we'll put a warning on the box

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<v Speaker 1>about just how dangerous they are, because we didn't say chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>Lawn darts are the direct descendant of a weapon of

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<v Speaker 1>war called the plume bada. Um. I read this Mashable

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<v Speaker 1>article about these, and a plume bada is a lawn dart,

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<v Speaker 1>except a lawn dart that you used in war. Starting

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<v Speaker 1>with the ancient Greeks and about five all the way

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<v Speaker 1>up to the Middle Ages, people were using plume bata yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>to great effect. Right, And so the law and dart industry,

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<v Speaker 1>the recreation sporting goods industry, said we've got to get

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<v Speaker 1>these weapons of war back onto the market, and so

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<v Speaker 1>they struck a deal with the FDA, and the FDA said, fine,

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<v Speaker 1>you can. You can start manufacturing them again. That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's what we got in on the second wave

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<v Speaker 1>of lawn darts in the seventies and eighties, when they said,

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<v Speaker 1>we won't sell them in the toy section at Target.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll sell them in the adjacent sporting goods section at Target.

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<v Speaker 1>Kids will never see them, they'll never know. It will

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<v Speaker 1>be like they don't even exist to and so um

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<v Speaker 1>they came back. And when they came back in that

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<v Speaker 1>second wave, that you and I were a part of.

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<v Speaker 1>They were bigger than ever, even like lawn darts were

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<v Speaker 1>a thing for a little while there. Um, but they

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<v Speaker 1>weren't any less dangerous than they were before, as we'll

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<v Speaker 1>see right after this message break. Well, now we're on

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<v Speaker 1>the road driving in your truck. Want to learn a

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<v Speaker 1>thing or two from Josh Damn Chuck should know? All right? Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so Chuck in that second wave, um that really began

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<v Speaker 1>in Earnest in the eighties. Um, you could go to

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<v Speaker 1>the sporting goods section of your department store and you

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<v Speaker 1>might be there to buy like a volleyball set, but

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<v Speaker 1>ts for you, because including in that that volleyball set

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<v Speaker 1>is a set of lawn darts and you have to

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<v Speaker 1>buy them if you want that volleyball set. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>how they were sold in a lot of cases. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't that part. I don't get Oh yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>Like why they would include another toy, completely different toy

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<v Speaker 1>in this volleyball set. I just I just don't get it. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that they were saying, like, you, customer, have

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<v Speaker 1>shown that you have a desire for outdoor fun and

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<v Speaker 1>recreate in your backyard. Here's another game that we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to throw in that we apparently can't move on its own,

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<v Speaker 1>so we're just was that the deal? That's what I want.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna sweeten the pot on this volleyball net, Like

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<v Speaker 1>why are they giving away to him? That's what I

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<v Speaker 1>That's how I took it well, regardless of mental Floss

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<v Speaker 1>reported that David Snow, this aerospace engineer in California, did

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<v Speaker 1>such a thing in April of eighties seven, and I thought,

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<v Speaker 1>like any reasonable parent, like, oh boy, I should hide

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<v Speaker 1>these from my children, which he did in his garage,

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<v Speaker 1>but his children found them, started playing with him, and

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<v Speaker 1>very tragically, one hit his seven year old daughter in

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<v Speaker 1>the head, lodged in her brain, and three days later

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<v Speaker 1>she was declared clinically dead and removed from life support.

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<v Speaker 1>And it was a big, big tragedy and a big

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<v Speaker 1>big deal. And yeah, so David Snow happened to be

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<v Speaker 1>the kind of guy who like this would get to

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<v Speaker 1>anybody obviously losing your child like this, but I think,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, there's a significant portion of people who would

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<v Speaker 1>just be so dead inside that they just had no

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<v Speaker 1>driver resolved for much of anything. After that. He was

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<v Speaker 1>the opposite kind of guy. He went the opposite direction,

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<v Speaker 1>and he became a citizen activist, self taught lobbyist, self

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<v Speaker 1>funded lobbyist, who made it his mission to get lawn

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<v Speaker 1>darts banned again. But by this time, this was in

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<v Speaker 1>the seventies anymore. This is the regularra eighties and um.

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<v Speaker 1>Getting any any industry, your business, band, or or um

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<v Speaker 1>regulated more than it was before was not the easiest

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<v Speaker 1>thing in the world to do. So he approached the

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<v Speaker 1>Consumer Product Safety Commission, which had taken over from the

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<v Speaker 1>f d A, and he said, you gotta get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of lawn darts. First of all, look at what happened

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<v Speaker 1>to my daughter. And they say, well, we're really sorry

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<v Speaker 1>about what happened to your daughter, But if you look

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<v Speaker 1>at the numbers, man, they're just not that dangerous. They're

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<v Speaker 1>certainly not dangerous enough to enact an outright band again.

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<v Speaker 1>So sorry, no, we're not going to be doing that

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<v Speaker 1>anytime soon. That's right. But what nobody noticed at first

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<v Speaker 1>was that these numbers included they were just dart injuries, right,

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<v Speaker 1>So that included just throwing regular darts at a dartboard. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I think we've all had one of those

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<v Speaker 1>bounce off and sticking to our thigh. At one point,

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<v Speaker 1>it's like, nothing, no big deal. You're not going to

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<v Speaker 1>go to the hospital for an injury most likely from

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<v Speaker 1>a regular dartboard. No, and if you do, if you do,

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<v Speaker 1>you were making a really big deal out of this,

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<v Speaker 1>that's right. So they said, wait a minute, what if

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<v Speaker 1>we pull all those darts out, and what if we

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<v Speaker 1>actually just did a little research on lawn darts, because

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<v Speaker 1>that's what we're talking about, and uh, it was a

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<v Speaker 1>big deal. Um. Over eight years, lawn darts had sent

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<v Speaker 1>more than six thousand people to the emergency room, of

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<v Speaker 1>which were kids fifteen or younger, half of which were

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<v Speaker 1>ten or younger. And they were to the eyes, to

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<v Speaker 1>the ears, to the face, and the head for the

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<v Speaker 1>most part. Yeah, and again kids were particularly vulnerable well

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<v Speaker 1>because their skull is infused, so when a kid got

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<v Speaker 1>hit in the head with the lawn dart, it could

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<v Speaker 1>very easily penetrate the skull. And they found that this

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<v Speaker 1>was happening a lot more than anyone had ever realized before.

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<v Speaker 1>So now they had a problem on their hands. Now

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<v Speaker 1>they had real numbers that showed that actually, this thing

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<v Speaker 1>is bad enough to to ban. And they looked a

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<v Speaker 1>little further, and they commissioned to study that found that

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<v Speaker 1>the lawn dart industry was not following those rules that

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<v Speaker 1>it had agreed to from when the nineteen seventy band

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<v Speaker 1>was overturned. So they were marketing into toys, they were

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<v Speaker 1>selling it in the toy section, they weren't including warnings

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<v Speaker 1>on the box um and just completely going back on

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<v Speaker 1>on the agreement from before. So it started to look

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<v Speaker 1>more and more like, Okay, maybe we should ban these,

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<v Speaker 1>And again, Chuck, it's really hard not to step back

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<v Speaker 1>and be like, these are lawn darts, Yes, just ban them.

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<v Speaker 1>Who cares? But that was they would not do it.

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<v Speaker 1>They were very deliberate and in undertaking this ban on

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<v Speaker 1>lawn darts. But finally, thanks in no small part to

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<v Speaker 1>news the week that the vote on the band was

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<v Speaker 1>going to go through of a little girl in Tennessee

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<v Speaker 1>who had been put into a coma by lawn dart um,

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<v Speaker 1>they enacted the band two to one. They voted in

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<v Speaker 1>favor of the band. That's right, and and Reagan's America.

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<v Speaker 1>They actually banned a toy. And it's so funny to

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<v Speaker 1>think there would be such pushback over this one thing,

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<v Speaker 1>like yeah, you know what, let's just get rid of

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<v Speaker 1>the lawn darts, manufacture some other toys. It'll be fine.

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<v Speaker 1>But they had to have those lawn darts out there

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<v Speaker 1>in the hands of children. Uh. And you can still

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<v Speaker 1>make your own lawn darts. You can d I y

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<v Speaker 1>it if you uh, if you go to on the web.

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<v Speaker 1>There are companies in the United Kingdom that will sell

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<v Speaker 1>you the parts, which is a bit of a work around.

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<v Speaker 1>You can assemble them yourself. Uh. And you can still

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<v Speaker 1>go to tournaments if you there is a U s

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<v Speaker 1>l d a h lawn Dart Association, and you can

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<v Speaker 1>go to tournaments and bring out your old darts and

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<v Speaker 1>talk about the good old days of of no government oversight,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can you can pitch those things and imagine

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<v Speaker 1>drinks and beer and probably have a pretty good time. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>probably have a great time. Really just sticking in the

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<v Speaker 1>eye of the nanny state. Just yeah, do it safely though,

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<v Speaker 1>keep the kids away. Yeah. And I want to say

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<v Speaker 1>one thing. The reason that you can get lawn darts

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<v Speaker 1>is because that government banned banned the important sale, not

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<v Speaker 1>the possession. And this one dark company in particular from

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<v Speaker 1>the UK said, oh, well, that means if we just

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<v Speaker 1>send these things unassembled. They're really just lawn dart pieces,

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<v Speaker 1>and so ipso facto it's great legally speaking. Yeah, so

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<v Speaker 1>that's it for lawn darts, right, Chuck, that's it. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck said, that's it everybody. So that means that short

0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:54.440
<v Speaker 1>stuff is a way stuff you should know is production

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<v Speaker 1>H m hm