Remember when kid's chemistry sets contained uranium powder and cyanide?
Portable chemistry sets were first made in the 18th Century but it took more than 100 years before they became popular with children, partly prompted by a desire to recreate the coloured puffs of smoke used by conjurors.
By the 1920s and 30s children had access to substances which would raise eyebrows in today's more safety-conscious times.
In the 1950s, booklets offered lists of instructions like how to make an explosive mixture.
The older set would allow the user to create all sorts of experiments - blow things up, create smoke bombs, create stink bombs.
Today's chemistry kits have a different emphasis. Some of the bigger sellers recently have included one capable of making edible creations tied to film franchises and a perfume kit aimed at girls.
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