[loonster]

The same can be said of modern playgrounds. They are so "safe" that kids have to use them in ways that they were never intended to get any thrill at all. Modern playgrounds require adult supervision to prevent the kids from doing stupidly dangerous things.

[hilbert42]

Right, absolutely. See my comment in reply to ClumbsyPilot above, I echo similar sentiments there.

Incidentally, I forgot to mention above that not that long ago I'd come across a person who had never actually physically seen mercury even though having studied chemistry at high school. To me, it's indicative of how far things have come since my formative years.