Although I thoroughly suck at science, I received a chemistry kit as a present one birthday some twenty years ago and loved it for years on end.

J owned multiple chemistry kits as a child and also has fond memories of mixing strange compounds together and “blowing sh*t up.”

We fully intend on gifting our children with chemistry sets when they reach the proper maturity level, but I have become discouraged at the types of kits that are available at toy stores these days. No actual chemicals? Nothing sharp or breakable? Glass beakers and test tubes that have been replaced by shatter-proof plastic? Nothing that has the potential to create sizzling/smoking/foul-smelling reactions?

Where’s the fun in that?

That’s why I let out a chuckle and a sigh when I saw this cartoon at SMBC over the weekend:

Did anyone else own chemistry sets as a child? Do you miss the old days of being able to play with potentially harmful (but perfectly safe when handled properly) toys without government bans or the fear of the mommy police coming after you?

For what it’s worth, I’m glad to see that there still exist some chemistry kits, like the Thames & Kosmos CHEM C3000, that come relatively close to what we had as children.