Yeah, I'm going to "guess" that as late as the 1970's at least, almost 100% of male children succeeded at blowing up stuff on purpose, whether or not they were electronics hobbyists.
OP here. I'm 61. When I was in High School I unwrapped a model rocket engine and lit it. Wow was that stupid. It came right at me and then exploded. No harm but did not try that again.
