Things you hardly dared use, because they were "dangerous" (lighthearted)

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Children are always being told things are dangerous, such as fire, escalators, roads, and so on. Were there any things which you hesitated to use as you got older, because "danger" had been drummed into you? (Lighthearted, obviously: otherwise this thread is too dangerous!)

Matches were one of mine. I could hardly bring myself to light them, in case I got burnt.

My grandmother emphasised how dangerous her appliances were, such as her ancient twin tub, and her electric lawn mower, and I almost forbade her from operating them, on this basis. (I was six at the time.)

In my first year at secondary school, I was astounded when we were made to use methylated spirit (to erase permanent marker), from a bottle prominently marked "poison".

Under very specific circumstances. Somehow millions of people around the world are reheating rice with no ill effect 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m Japanese, we regularly have leftover rice!

What’s so dangerous about them? I see they’re currently having a resurgence and I’d be more likely to get one than an airfryer, but not if it’s going to knock me dead!

Nothing. I'm dead hard me.

Chewing gum. I was terrified of swallowing it and it sticking to my heart and my heart not being able to beat and therefore me dying.
Thanks Granny.

100% pressure cookers. I use to watch this programme, think it was 1001 ways to die or something and there was a women who's pressure cooker exploded and killed her, put me right off them!

Also like a lot have said, sparklers and Catherine wheels! Also, while I don't have any fear of heights i don't like balcony's just in case my 4ft 10in self manages to topple of the top (I'd have a job like as most of them come up to nearly my chin) 🤣

Anything to do with fire. I'm not even that keen on candles. I think my parents protected us too much from matches. I do think fireworks should be official ones only.
Sharp knives.
Yes, to reheated rice or rice that has been left out for a while. I was told about people dying of this by a scientist in my twenties.

Chip pans are not an issue because I haven't even seen one for decades.

Does anyone remember the escalator safety film where a child's doll basically got eaten by the bottom of the escalator? Getting on and off the things still terrifies me because of that one.

I remember when the first microwaves came out. My dad brought one home from the pub one night* and there was a proper set-to as my mum didn't want it to come in the house. Us kids were braver (obviously drawn in by the miracle of cooking a jacket potato in 5 mins instead of the 45 they took in the oven), but she made us stand well back when it was on and made sure it was unplugged when not in use. I still give them the side eye now 🤣

*other things my dad brought home from the pub included a Great Dane and a sack full of Guinea Fowl that he told us were 'space chickens'.

🤣🤣 My Grandma had one of those, it was so loud!

First week of secondary school in a farming area we were shown a film of the 12 most common ways we could die on a farm.It featured a class of junior school children with name labels on their coat pegs. As each child died in a horrific way the name label would be removed.
Some of the ways...
Poisoning
Drowning in slurry
Messing about with loaded shotgun
Run over by tractor
Crushed by gate
Killed by cows
I was 11. I'm 59 now. Never forgotten it

I remember that one well. I lived fairly rurally and there were loads of farms in those days. The farm kids couldn't have cared less but the rest of us were horrified.

Definitely pressure cookers, but also bungee cords. I remember them being used to keep stuff on car roof and have the fear of god put in me they would flick off and gouge my eye out.

Can’t remember where it was but a woman had to have her leg amputated because of this.

Digressing but I oven bake my onion bahjis. I couldn't use a deep fryer 😳 too scared.

Chip pans. My mum pretty much forbade us to come in the kitchen while she was using it when I was little. My children hated oven chips and wanted hot crispy fried ones but I wouldn't (and still won't!) I'm pretty sure that's dye to my mum's warnings!

We have a pedestrian level crossing in our village.

When I'm out for a run, I have to stop and walk over it just in case I get my foot stuck like the boy on The Railway Children did.

Oh my God the pink wafer biscuits, did everyone's grandparents have these. I loved them because they were the sweetest biscuits in the tin. Better than plain digestives or custard creams.
Short interval while I remember my grandad used to offer me the biscuit tin first and there was always a foil wrapped chocolate covered biscuit on the top, just for me. Only the one, always purple or gold foil, and looking back now I think he kept it just for me and when he went to get the tin, he popped in one of those glorious biscuits right on top where i couldn't miss it.
God i miss him.

Back to thread, terrified of the chip pan, was told a story by my mother about a pressure cooker, so terrified of them, an aunt used to hide in the downstairs toilet at storms,so although not terrified of storms i did the same, went and hid in the deepest part of the house. Sigh, children are so malleable.

Gas ovens. I was terrified of either blowing the house up, or killing us all with gas fumes.
We have an electric oven….

That was called Apaches!

We watched it most years in primary school. Our suburban school, 10 mins from the city centre and many miles from any farm.

It was a travelator, misremembered:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66062753

I agree with gas ovens and pressure cookers. I don't like electric blankets either, though I have started to wonder whether I'm being silly about that.

My mother had a pressure cooker when I was a child, which she used regularly. I hated it and have never had one.

I have never had a gas oven (though I used to have, and was very happy with, a gas hob).
My mother in law had a gas oven and it always frightened me when she reached in with a lit match to set it going. I was also put off by my mother having told me (when I was a child) that one of her relatives had killed himself by putting his head in a gas oven. I know the gas they use these days wouldn't kill anyone, but even so.

Seriously, buy a cooking thermometer. Heat everything up to 70 (75 for chicken) you'll be fine

People fishing. I was given dire warnings by my mother never to go near people with fishing rods lest the sharp hook should take my eye out when they were casting off.

Yes!!! Exactly the same! That advert has never left me!

Pressure cookers for me too. At school saw a girl get sprayed with hot water from one in science. Never used one.
A childhood one was the pens in banks. My grandma told me that they made children's hands fall off when I was about 3. Remember being really nervous the first time I had to use one even though I knew better by then.