Lawn Darts

(Recalled 1988)

December 19, 1988, was literally a game changer for Lawn Darts, a horseshoes-style backyard game in which players lob foot-long darts toward a circle. The steel missiles sail through the air until their oversize metal skewers perforate the soil, the dart's flags standing tall in the grass. On that December day, in response to a series of injuries and a death toll of three, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the sale of lawn darts in the United States. In the ban announcement, the CPSC "urges parents to discard or destroy the darts immediately." This created a stir among lawn dart enthusiasts, who still hold annual tournaments over two decades later. One group's website even offers suggestions on where to find the contraband toys But the search may end this summer. After years of engineering a way around the ban, game maker Sportcraft Ltd. has come up with a "Soft Tip Sky Dart," which has a weighted tip designed to ensure the darts stay upright once they land. Sportcraft vice president of marketing John Erlandson credits "those punching bags that stand back up when you hit them" as inspiration for the design. "We were punching one of those one day, and we said, if this thing can pop back up every time—and those things are tall—then there's got to be a way." Erlandson's team cracked the code using a bag of stones suspended inside the dart, connected to the inner polypropylene wall at five different points. "It's kind of like weighted dice," Erlandson said.Will 2010 be the year of the lawn dart's triumphant return to backyards across America? Surely a malicious mind could find a way to injure others, even with these cushy bludgeons.