The unfortunate Christmas gift thread
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The Austin Magic Pistol was a late-1940s toy gun that basically turned kids into backyard artillery crews. It fired ping-pong balls using a small gas explosion rather than a spring or compressed air.
The “magic” came from calcium carbide pellets (“magic crystals”) that were loaded into the pistol and then exposed to water. That chemical reaction produced acetylene gas inside the chamber; when ignited, the rapidly expanding gas blasted the ball out with surprising force and a flash of flame. A bit of sweat or saliva on the pellets could be enough to create a fireball, so burns and scorched wrists were a real risk even when the toy worked as intended.
On top of that, the acetylene mix made the pistol itself prone to rupturing or outright exploding if pressure built up unevenly or the plastic aged badly. Between the flame, flying projectiles, and the possibility of the gun body bursting, it was dangerous enough that some U.S. states later treated it as a firearm rather than a toy, and it was pulled from the market after a relatively short time.
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My favorite is still Lawn Darts.
