From personal jetpacks that promised to send us sky-high, to electrified exercise machines that shocked us into shape, to firefighting hand grenades hurled straight into the flames, yesterday's boldest inventions were packed with promise - and risks nobody saw coming. These are the ambitious ideas, futuristic gadgets, and engineering marvels that aimed to revolutionize everyday life, but sometimes overshot the mark.

When being young meant testing the limits of what our bodies could survive. From launching our bikes off homemade ramps and playing chicken in traffic, to using dangerous construction sites as our playground, childhood adventure was often intertwined with how far you were willing to go--and the consequences that came with it. Armed with cherry bombs, slingshots, and more confidence than caution, we pushed boundaries in ways that would make parents today shudder.

When earning a paycheck meant risking life and limb. From dangling off skyscrapers without safety harnesses and riding runaway logs down raging rivers, to digging up corpses for cash and selling your own blood to scrape by, people once took unbelievable risks no paycheck could truly cover. Whether racing pizzas across town at breakneck speed or pulling off death-defying Hollywood stunts, people once did whatever it took to earn a living.

We uncover the incredible things people once ate without a second thought that can only mean one thing: you'll never look at your next bite the same way again.

You thought your job was tough? Uncover the downright dangerous gigs of the past. In a journey through the wild frontier of the no holds-barred working world, we’ll find a dark side in the extreme lengths people went to just to earn a buck.

Remember when childhood came with a side of danger? Think back to the outrageous toys and daredevil playground antics that once defined growing up; we uncover explosive science kits, high-flying kite tubes and more.

Henry Winkler revisits the bone-breaking fun of vintage amusement parks and fairs. From rickety wooden coasters to zero-safety carnival rides, see how our quest for a cheap thrill used to be a one-way ticket to the ER.

Henry Winkler explores the era when travel was a death trap. From exploding steam engines to seatbelt-free cars, find out how your commute used to be a high-stakes gamble with your life.

Remember when "everybody's doing it" was reason enough to dive in headfirst? From gravity-defying flagpole sitting and phone booth cramming, to pet skunks and goldfish gulpers, we reveal the wildest crazes that once swept the nation. These over-the-top obsessions were risky, and impossible to resist. It's a jaw-dropping, head-shaking trip back to the fads that pushed the limits and made our hazardous history must-see mayhem.

Exploding cars and blimp disasters to kids sent through the mail and doomed personal helicopters, the past is packed with jaw-dropping travel tales and the remarkable misfires that paved the road to modern transportation.

It's a mind-blowing, bone-rattling trip through the toys of yesteryear that remind us of a time when childhood was wilder, freer, and far more hazardous.

Ever taken medical advice from a cigarette commercial? There was a time when any and all "cures" could be sold to the public indiscriminately.