Lawn Darts

The accidents looking for a place to happen above and to the left were called Jarts, Larts or Lawn Darts depending on the manufacturer. They were just giant metal tipped darts that came with a ring you laid out on the lawn to give you a target. Most anyone could start at least 30 feet away and then you would move out as skill increased-if you lived that long. The game would in practice often be more akin to chicken with kids seeing how long they could stand in front of the incoming dart before moving. They were a blast.

After 3 children were killed a federal law was passed banning them in the US in 1988 and Canada in 1989. Replacement parts are still available for them. Three children dying is three too many but, I wonder how many millions of tosses from how many hundreds of thousands (millions?) of those sets it took for them to occur.

A few postscripts might be in order: They were replaced by some sets that used lead weights in the nose that must have weighed 8 ounces. Wonder what kind of blunt force trauma something like that could cause to someones head whistling in at about 30-40 mph? The last known death in the US caused by a Jart was in 1997- nearly ten years after they were banned. The Consumer Product Safety Commision still has active notices requesting they be alerted to the sale of these devices in the US.