Each American generation seems doomed to live a life less dangerous, original, and exciting than the one before. My kids love their drum-fed fully automatic Nerf guns, which couldn’t kill a mosquito unless you squished it with the buttstock. They shake their heads in horror at the spring loaded dart guns my pals and I used to shoot at each other all summer, back in the 1970s: they could easily put an eye out even before we pulled off the soft suction tips for better range and accuracy. But back in the 1940s, things were even cooler…
