Apparently back in the 60's you could drive drunk, here in Scotland the alcohol limit has been lowered to the point you cant drink anything and drive. Which is the safer approach?
So then the argument becomes...back in the 60's we didnt have as many cars on the road so it was safer, or the cars didnt go as fast so we could it. The real truth is the number of deaths per 1000 drivers has dropped by a significant amount since drink drive rules were lowered and enforced more in the UK (from the 60's).
Back in recent history (I dont know exactly when) you could drive a car with no seat belt apparently, then they brought out a law you had to wear one while driving, the number of deaths and serious injury declined as a result. The problem with you tube is you never hear about the people who got hurt trying to do what was in a vid.
In the 60's you didnt have the internet, so what you learnt was from trying or watching. I am willing to bet people started small and worked up. now in the UK I doubt you have ever been allowed to play with explosives (I have no idea), but please dont attempt to tell me the first ever big bang you made was a high explosive! My point being there is a certain amount of self limitation when it comes from your own head. Today with the internet you can watch 100 odd videos in a day showing people making HE, but there is another site where you can go and watch the vids where it went wrong and kids my age loose a hand. Its funny that those vids are not normally allowed on you tube.
My dad in the lab with acids, he said he concentrated more with no gloves and worked slower, he also demonstrated and pointed out that the acids he didnt use gloves with could be got on the skin and washed off quickly with no harm. He always wore gloves with demonstrations and when handling Hydrofluric (conc) and I forget the other Acid but neither are common anyway. I 'play' with chemicals etc etc and most my life I was on a farm (here is like a farm without all the animals), sure I did/do stupid things and play with things I shouldnt. But I dont seem to take the risks that some of my classmates take. I dont know why, maybe because I have been allowed freedom and maybe I got that freedom from being sensible.
I was often allowed to do things maybe I shouldnt, but my dad was always about when I did things and normally he made sure I was safe. I have been able to drive a car since I was 10, it was handy on the farm and where we lived I could drive 2 miles in the landrover on the back lanes or over fields with no fear of seeing the police, I could go to the nearest shop in a car (I did once and only once when I was 12). One day on the farm I drove the landrover down over the field to drop something off for my dad, on the way back a chicken appeared from nowhere and I killed it. I guess I was complacent I dont really know what happened but even now it makes me think what if that had been a person.
I watch alot of chemistry videos made by a university, they do alot of stuff I would consider very dangerous, but you never see them take risks and you always see them with the proper equipment. If you watched the second vid near the end he tries to weld with 10 batteries, its clear from the volume of sparks he is producing more than enough UV to harm the eyes or get skin burn, ok I except he dosnt do it long enough to get sunburn and probably had his eyes shut. But nowhere in the video does he mention safety or how long you can make those sparks without serious damage, worse still he describes the blobs of molten metal on the floor as cool and pretty, you also hear him burn himself a few times. Does he mention gloves? does he mention what 1 single tiny bit of white hot metal would do to your eye?
Call it whatever you want, be as macho as you want. But to a 15 year old kid it looks stupid simple as that, now if you see it differently or it gets your goolies tingly great for you and I genuinely hope you stay lucky.