“A Safe Place to Play,” says the caption. That’s what the playgrounds I remember used to look like.

Awesome rope swing

Don’t forget the merry-go-round, that could fling you off with great force.

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Look at this beautiful old slide from the NYU playground project.

And, of course, the swings.

Wow. We never had anything like this. And still, somehow, we survived. There was the occasional bump and bruise. Someone would show up at school with a broken arm, and everyone would ooh and aah over the cast, as happened to my own son after he fell off a jungle gym. It happens. We didn’t even think of calling a lawyer.

Even as late as the 1980’s, playgrounds could be awesome:

Sadly, even looking at pictures like this is enough to give tort attorneys an orgasm thinking about all the billable hours they could earn, which is why modern playgrounds look like this:

Safe and boring.

Thanks, legal profession.

The Old Wolf has spoken.