Oh, the candy will kill you, just a lot slower than previously thought.  

My wife still checks the candy every year.  I just gave up trying to inform here that it was a legend.  It makes her happy so I just roll with it.

There are places around here that will xray your candy for free.

My parents simply went through us chittlin's candy so they could pick out their favorites.

I remember the 'free x-rays at dentists offices' and crap from back in the day.


People sure were stupid before the Internet put a stop to such shenanigans!

Back in the early '70's, my mom actually found a double edged razor blade in one of my apples.

I hope you figured out which house it was and egged it for handing out apples on halloween!

I remember my mom going over all the candy herself before I was allowed to have anything. Anything that looked like it had been opened or tampered with was tossed. And any candy that came loose or in wrapped packaging was automatically tossed.

And then my dad came by and sniped all the butterfingers and baby ruths, "collecting caesar's tribute" as he called it. Didn't bother me as I didn't like those particular candies anyway... I was all about the smarties and gum.

Butterfingers are toxic and must be culled from the Halloween candy haul for the good of the...uh...children.

Some Snickers are poison, some are not.  It all comes down to having an experienced individual sort through the candy to find them.  Fortunately I am very experienced in this regard.

There are a few other dangerous substances that must be removed and disposed of properly.  

It is a thankless task.

Did you look like this before she found it?

Many homes thought giving out tootsie rolls was acceptable... But its not Damnit!

Wait...so there's no fear of needles in a stick of juicy fruit?


What about Water Heads?  I suppose you're going to tell me they really don't live deep in the woods?!  

I don't remember my parents ever checking my candy for harmful stuff

I always heard the razor apple thing, but what kid would even take an apple from a house, when there's all that candy? I would have told him to keep it. The apple would also be easily traceable if it was hazardous--every kid would be able to tell the cops who gave them an apple.
Of course, then one year, an old lady down the street gave out individually wrapped candy apples she made, rolled in nuts and drizzled with chocolate. They looked fantastic. Mom confiscated those from us because of the possibility of razor blades. I'm sure she threw them away after checking.





 

I remember we got a break from stripping tobacco to go to trick or treating up town one year (mid 80s).  Myself, my brother and 2 cousins rode in the back of the Ford Courier to town.   I rode on the toolbox with my back to the window, wearing one of those plastic masks with the rubber hand holding it together and the plastic costume.  I think it was the Incredible Hulk.  



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacqueline-wilson/halloween-for-kids-in-the-70s-vs-halloween-today_b_5932076.html

As a product from NYC and 70's, I check every piece of candy to see if it looks like it was tampered with.

I remember the blackouts in the city too from that era.

No harm no foul.

We used to bring along trashbags we would poke holes in and wear for when the eggs started to fly so our mom wouldn't discover the depths of our delinquency.

It was like the French and Indian War out there.  Some poor kid always got his candy bag jacked and usually (cause his older brother was a friend) we would get together a collection of candy.  If Donnie didn't stop crying he would hurt our haul for the night, so it was worth it I suppose.  God forbid one of those Moms would hear Donnie wail and then we would have to go home to drop him off...which meant we might not get back out!  

It was hard to sort out the crappy candy for the blubbering waif under a wan street light but charity has always had costs associated with it.  His older brother would settle the score at recess the next day with the candy robber.  You hoped it hurt cause you were out candy- even if was those stupid wax lips or a mashed Baby Ruth.  You had skin in the game, man.  

My older brother used to favor costumes that had shields.  He liked to paint a trashcan lid because it was metal and the sound an egg made when it hit was quite distinct.  I think he went as Spiderman one year.  Spiderman doesn't have a shield, but he should.  

The 70's were a rough time.  Crime was rampant.  Think Death Wish.

The police didn't get a handle on crime until giuliani took office.

I'm pretty sure a guy was put to death not too many years ago for poisoning his own son's pixie stick back in 1973 or 1974.

I remember reading about it when I was a teen. I believe he wanted to collect on an insurance policy? I don't remember where it happened, but it did happen.

He spent way too many years above ground, I do know that.