Would anyone like some toxic fumes, a 600-degree toy oven or radioactive ore? Let's take a walk down memory lane with some of the most dangerous toys ever produced.
Creepy Crawlers
Mattel released the Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker Toy in 1964. The danger was not only noxious fumes, but an hot plate which heated up to 300 degrees. You were supposed to wait for it to cool off before removing your Creepy Crawlers.
Little Lady Stove
The Little Lady Stove may be quaint and petite, but it packed a much more powerful punch than the Creepy Crawlers hot plate of the 60s. Officials ban it because it generated too much heat, 600 degrees to be exact.
Flubber
In 1963, Hasbro released a toy called “Flubber” (tied to the movie Son of Flubber). The silvery, glittery substance came in a ball, but could be stretched or bounced. Made of a synthetic rubber, and mineral oil, it was very similar to Silly Putty. Unfortunately, soon after its release about 1,600 reports of rashes and sore throats were tied to the product, it was eventually pulled from store shelves.
Jarts
Jarts were lawn darts with metal spikes, designed to fly in the air and into the opposite player's ring. The problem is people were getting hit with them all the time. Over a period of eight years, lawn darts had sent 6,100 people to the emergency room. The majority of injuries were to the head, face, eyes or ears, and many had led to permanent injury. Lawn darts were removed from store shelves in 1988.
Super Elastic Bubble Plastic
Manufactured by Wham-O, Super Elastic Bubble Plastic debuted in 1970. It consisted of a tube of viscous plastic substance and a straw used to blow semi-solid bubbles. The bubbles contained polyvinyl acetate dissolved in acetone, which emitted noxious fumes. The fumes could become concentrated inside the straw, making it dangerous to inhale while inflating a bubble. Eventually Wham-O became aware of the problem and discontinued the product.
Atomic Energy Lab
The Atomic Energy Lab was a radioactive toy lab released in 1950. The set sold for $49.50 and came with four samples of uranium ores as well as a Geiger counter. “Users should not take ore samples out of thier jar, you can run the risk of having radioactive ore spread out in your laboratory.” that was just one of the warnings that came with the lab. It’s obvious that including uranium in a child’s toy isn’t a good idea, but apparently that never occurred to the makers at Gilbert.
Did you have any of these toys as a kid? If you did, tell us about them in the comment section.