The Best Backyard Game That Vanished

This week is National Backyard Games Week which got me thinking about my favorite backyard games that I played as a kid.  Since my parents highly encouraged (forced really) my brother and I to spend quite a bit of time outdoors as kids, I took up several backyard games: kickball, whiffle ball, tether ball, badminton, frisbee, and my favorite - Jarts.

Years later, when I found out that lawn darts were banned, I couldn't believe it!  Here's the story, "On December 19, 1988, all lawn darts were banned from sale in the United States by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Lawn darts, used in an outdoor game, have been responsible for the deaths of four children. It should be noted that the specific incident that caused lawn darts to be made illegal also involved beer, and that, when engaged in responsibly, the recreational use of lawn darts is less dangerous than baseball."

Several manufacturers made them including Regent, Crown and Hasbro under a variety of names: Slider Jarts, Javelin Darts, Rocket Lawn Darts etc.  How sad that an entire game be banned just because a few dingdongs started throwing them around.  Isn't that always the case - a few bad apples spoil it for the whole bunch?

As luck would have it, my pack rat Father, saved our set of  Jarts so I still get to show off my prowess of a good throw (or not) on special picnic occasions.  And guess what?  I even let my kids play.