(continued)

Ah, but you are wrong! This was one of the great toys of the 60's. My brother and I had great fights with this and Mighty Mo - a WWII howitzer knock-off this toy. The only one who was happy when it broke was my childhood cat.

a 35 foot throw would mean an ejection speed of about 33ft/second, or 22 miles/hour, which means that I could have outrun the ball when I was in my 20s.

Another way to put it is that this 'cannon' could throw a ball about 2/3 of the way across a yard -- less than what I could do at age 10.

Compared to a cricket ball, this thing is , uhm, childsplay.

I got in so much trouble after firing one of the cannons at my cousin when using this toy. People wanted to (and did) slap me, and ban me from their house. Never got over it.

We were 32 at the time.

I need to sue somebody.

Ha! "Every boy wants a Revco (?) toy. andsodogirls"

Perfect!

Through the 70's, I was given, every 4th of July, a calcium carbide cannon that was sold at most fireworks stands. This item needed to have powdered calcium carbide placed into the chamber of a hollowed out tube (cannon)and then have a small amount of water added to it, liberating acetylene gas! Stinky, poisonous and soo much fun! Then a Bic lighter like type device was used to ignite the mixture of air and acetylene....Kappoww!!!
I never was hurt, injured anyone else or started a fire.
great memories!!

Jeff

Darkonc, I would like to know where you keep your Olympic gold medals. According to your calculations, you run a 9.09 (or faster) 100 YARD dash (which is slightly shorter than a 100 METER dash). The world record for the 100 m dash is 9.77 by the way. But just the same, cool toy, I wish I had one.

"We'll all be gay when Johnny comes marching home!"

So much for "don't ask, don't tell"!

Either a girl wrote this or a sissy male. This is great fun when gay meant something decent and good.

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a song from the Civil War (War Between the States)
The Lyrics are pretty close, except for the lines about the "Johnny Reb".

And, I could run 20 mph when I was 11. But probably for 10 yards, not 100.

I had one of this as a kid and it still sits in my dad's attic, where my kids discovered a couple of years ago. They love it and talk about how much they want to go back to South Carolina to play with the big cannon. Fortunately, the unfortunate flag withered away years ago, so I've thus far managed to avoid discussions about their being the great-great-grandchildren of Confederate officers and slaveowners. The Johnny Reb's muzzle velocity and the weight of the cannonballs result in a kinetic energy roughly equivalent to that of a piece of pumpernickel out of the toaster, so the possibilty of injuries is pretty slim. The Jarts I had might still be in the attic as well, but I'll definitely let them stay there.

You all don't get, Played as intended safe as can be. But if me and my crew had got hold of it. hmmm, lets put a sharp pencil in front of the ball, or a some gum and thumb tack combo, or wait better yet where are those darn fire crackers, does any one have the formula for greek fire.

Remember every boy wants one... and so do girls... HAHAHA