Most Dangerous Kids Toy Ever
Summary
Top 20 Most Dangerous Kids Toy Ever. New toys are always amazing. Marketers always come up with some ideas of different kinds to do their business. Sometimes they do it without any proper inspection. Some of these dangerous toys have […]
Top 20 Most Dangerous Kids Toy Ever. New toys are always amazing. Marketers always come up with some ideas of different kinds to do their business. Sometimes they do it without any proper inspection. Some of these dangerous toys have been relegated to history, some have achieved fad status, some have been redesigned or banned, and still others are available on the shelves today. Here is the list of the top 20 most dangerous toys ever.
Video: Most Dangerous Kids Toy Ever
CSI: Asbestos
The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit—a toy based on the hit CBS show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation—allowed children to look for fingerprints with a special powder and brushes. The powder in question turned out to contain up to five percent asbestos. The alarm was sounded in November 2007, but the toy’s maker, CBS Consumer Products, decided to leave it on shelves in the run-up to Christmas. Rather than wait for the CPSC to negotiate a recall, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization filed a civil action to stop sales of the kit.
Video: Most Dangerous Kids Toy Ever
Magnetix
Magnetix building sets featured plastic pieces that could break open, spilling small, powerful magnets that were easily swallowed by curious toddlers. Unlike most small objects swallowed in this manner, the magnets don’t pass through the digestive system. Instead, they connect with each other through tissue walls, sometimes forming large masses that twist intestines and cut off blood supply to vital organs. The result can be a painful end within hours. In 2005, when 22-month-old Kenny Sweet died after 9 tiny magnets reattached inside his throat, Magnetix manufacturer Mega Bloks released a statement saying it had “no record or knowledge of a similar occurrence involving this toy.”
Inflatable Baby Boats
Aqua-Leisure’s various inflatable baby boats were supposed to be a fun way for a baby or toddler to float safely in a pool. The problem was the boats’ leg straps were prone to tear, causing the baby or toddler in question to slip through. In 2009, four million of the boats were recalled after more than 30 infants nearly drowned. It turned out that Aqua-Leisure had been aware of the problem for at least six years, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission ultimately fined the company $650,000.
Hannah Montana Pop Star Card Game
After arsenic, lead is the second-most deadly household toxin in existence. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no toy contain more than 40 parts per million lead. Which is why it was so alarming when lab tests revealed The Hannah Montana Pop Star Card Game contained lead at 75 times that level—a whopping 3,000 parts per million. Hanna Montana wasn’t the only toxic sensation in 2007. One study found that 35 percent of all toys on the shelves contained high levels of lead, and nearly 5 percent contained arsenic or toxic cadmium.
Aqua Dots
One of 2007’s more popular toys, Aqua Dots were small, colorful beads that could be arranged into different designs and then permanently set with a sprinkle of water. The water activated a glue in the coating of the beads, which fused them together. Innocent enough, but the report says almost immediately of children vomiting and lapsing into comas after swallowing the beads. Because scientists discovered that the glue contained chemicals that metabolized into gamma-hydroxybutyrate, which is very dangerous for humans.
Snacktime Cabbage Patch Doll
The Cabbage Patch dolls were the must-have toy of their time, sparking department store fights and pulling in billions of dollars in sales. The Snacktime edition pulled in more than just money, however, as its mechanical jaws tried to consume the fingers and hair of inquisitive and unlucky children. The Snacktime’s mechanism was a one-way battery-powered roller with no off switch. It was supposed to be activated by the accompanying snacks, but the little tykes made no distinction between “food” and fingers. The dolls were eventually pulled from the shelves after the Christmas season.
Mini Hammocks
You know that scene in the movies when an unsuspecting individual steps on an apparently innocuous cargo net, only to be hoisted into the air by what turned out to be a trap? Someone decided to market them as hammocks for kids. You might think it’s the best kid’s toy choice. But ten different manufacturers eventually had to recall over 3 million mini hammocks after at least 12 children died between 1984 and 1995 and many more were injured. The hammocks did not feature spreader bars to keep them open, resulting in a twisting mess that risked strangulation every time a kid tried to get in or out.
Lawn Darts
Yes, lawn darts are on the dangerous toys list. It doesn’t take much imagination to see why steel missiles with weighted skewers could make for a dangerous toy. Originally designed to pierce lawns in a game similar to horseshoes, children found different ways to use the darts. After at least three children lost their lives, lawn darts were banned by the CPSC. The agency also recommended the destruction of existing sets. Definitely, it is one of the most dangerous children’s toys ever made, even under elder supervision.
Austin Magic Pistol
In the 1950’s, when BB pistols weren’t considered particularly dangerous, it took something special for a pistol to stand out. The Austin Magic Pistol managed to do that with its gas-powered combustion. The pistol used what the manufacturer called “magic crystals” made from chemical material. When mixed with water, the crystals would explode and fire a plastic ball 70 feet or more. There are stores that keep this dangerous toy in the past. By today’s standards, this “toy” is classified as a firearm in many states.
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Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab
When it was sold in the early 1950s as “the most elaborate atomic energy educational set ever produced. Gilbert’s original promotions claimed that none of the materials could prove dangerous. The instructions encouraged laboratory cleanliness by cautioning users not to break the seals on three of the ore sample jars, for “they tend to flake and crumble, and it may run the risk of having radioactive ore spread out in the laboratory. In 2006, the pop culture publication Radar Magazine called the lab set one of “the 10 most dangerous toys of all time, because of the radioactive material it included. Isn’t it the most dangerous kid’s toys ever? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Barbie and Tanner
Here are the most amazing top 10 toys. Barbie was just trying to promote responsible pet ownership, but this particular set from 2007 went one step too far. Tanner the pup could “eat” and “dispose” of food, but the magnet inside the scooper accessory could come loose. And if a toddler decides to swallow more than one magnet, the forces of physics can cause intestinal perforation or blockage. This best kid toy somehow turned to become the worst kid toy ever.
Kick Scooters
Kick scooters may be one of the most ubiquitous toys on the market, but they’re also one of the riskiest. Researchers have found they were behind a 40% rise in toy-related injury rates between 1990 and 2011. Researchers with Johns Hopkins say the most common injuries include arm or hand fractures and cuts, as well as bruises, strains, and sprains. Scooters aren’t disappearing anytime soon, so experts stress the need for kids to wear helmets, as well as knee and elbow pads while riding.
Fisher-Price Power Wheels
Hover boards aren’t the only “explosive” toy in history. This popular Fisher-Price battery-powered ride-on was also branded a fire hazard in the late 1990s, when nine children were burned. The company had to recall a whopping 10 million kiddie cars and trucks after 150 reports of fires and hundreds more of smoking or melting parts. Some of the toys caught fire even when they were sitting unused in garages and playrooms. Earlier this year, Fisher-Price also had to recall its Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper, as there were 17 reports of the vehicle continuing to run even after the foot pedal was released, though no injuries were reported.
Easy Bake Oven
The oven comes with packets of cake mix and small round pans, which are non-perishable and therefore do not have an expiration date. This iconic Hasbro toy is still on the market, but about 1 million were recalled in 2007 after almost 250 reports of kids getting their fingers or hands stuck inside, with dozens of the incidents resulting in burns—iincluding one that required a partial finger amputation. The Easy Bake Oven now on the shelves has been redesigned significantly. Indeed, dangerous toys for the kids.
Clackers
You may find it in the Reddit Stories top 5 list. Clackers, popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, were simple toys. Two heavy balls, typically made of hard acrylic, suspended from a string. Kids swung and “clacked” the balls together to make noise, sometimes with surprising style. But the clacker balls could become a projectile, and the plastic could shatter and send jagged bits flying. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, charged with regulating toys at the time, stepped in 1971 to require strict safety standards for subsequent versions of clackers.
Slap Bracelets
Any child of the late 1980s or early 1990s remembers the slap bracelet fad and the bans enforced by schools after the sharp metal inside the bracelets started cutting kids’ tender skin. But slap bracelets never quite went away, and they never completely cleaned up their safety act. In 2012, Toysmith recalled a large batch because the metal was wearing through the fabric cover, exposing sharp edges that cut at least eight kids. Studio Fun recalled thousands more Troll-themed slap bracelets in 2017 for the same reason.
Flubber
Kids love anything ooey and gooey, and homemade slime and store-bought compounds such as Silly Putty remain as popular as ever. But in the early 1960s, Hasbro released a product called Flubber, and the company was subsequently hit with thousands of reports of rashes and sore throats in kids who played with it. The company recalled Flubber and, in what has become a part of modern-day toy mythology, supposedly buried the excess product behind a warehouse because they couldn’t burn it or sink it at sea.
Sky Dancers Flying Dolls
It seemed like a clever idea: Sky Dancers, sold mostly in the latter half of the 1990s, were hard plastic dolls with wing-covered arms that sat in a molded base. When kids pulled a cord, their dolls launched and flew. Unfortunately, the dolls often launched themselves right into the kids themselves, and toy manufacturer Galoob received reports of eye injuries, broken teeth, serious cuts, and even a broken rib and a concussion. Nearly 9 million were finally recalled in 2000.
Yo-Yo Water Balls
The much-maligned yo-yo water ball, a squishy water-filled ball attached to a stretchy cord that bounces in a yo-yo motion, remains on the market. Some parents and officials crusaded for a ban in the early 2000s over concerns that the cord could pose a strangulation hazard, the liquid inside could be toxic, and the whole toy could be ultra-flammable. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission declined to recall or ban the toy, but some states and retailers did stop selling them. New toy standards also limit the cord to a shorter length, lessening strangulation risks.
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Water Beads
Tiny, colorful water beads are undeniably mesmerizing. Made of super-absorbent polymers, they grow and grow. Sometimes up to 200 times their original size when placed in water. Unfortunately, that means bad news for kids who ingest them. An 8-month-old even had surgery to remove a waterball that had expanded to block the intestines. Though some brands of these most dangerous toys were recalled in late 2012, they’re still on the shelves, mostly at craft stores and garden centers, etc.
Which is the most dangerous toy on this list? Don’t you think we should be more conscious while buying toys? Share your thoughts in the comment section.