When was the last time you saw a real metal slide, my guess would be 1998 or around then. Today most slides are the safer, shorter, less slippery plastic that is meant to reduce injury. Now let me tell you something, if you did something stupid on a slide (i.e. let your shoe drag along the metal) you would fall off or perform some painful acrobatic maneuver, but the chances are you'd never do that again. Kids today never learn these lessons, they never learn how to slide down a slide while avoiding buttocks burn. No, these slides are perfectly safe, and they are so gently sloped that you need an act of god to actually give you enough of an initial push to get you to the end of the slide. Metal slides were hot, dangerous, and fast. They were a lot of fun, and they taught kids cause and effect.
Also, the merry go round or the spinner is another awesome invention. The entire concept of this toy is to make kids dizzy. Although this may not be okay for the delicate kids of today, the kids of the past learned to hold on to the spokes tightly and not to let go. Kids today have little to no way of understanding centrifugal force unlike previous generations. Indeed these toys were dangerous, but honestly if you weren't strong enough to hold on, then you shouldn't be on the ride. It's like a natural selection system.
Another thing is the short monkey bars. Personally, I found quite the thrill from dangling 10 feet off the ground. There were still times when I hurt my ankle, but the experience of hovering that high off the ground gave me a sense of accomplishment. Kids today only know the feel of painted monkeybars 5 feet off the ground. That's nothing. As a matter of fact, that's not even a single story. Midgets are 5 feet tall.
Playgrounds were so much more fun when they are dangerous. They can provide hours of entertainment, and far more lessons pertaining to life situations. Screw safety. Let us have our fun.
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