7 recalled toys that sound like fun
Don't get us wrong. These are UNSAFE.
Hear us out... We're not saying these toys should still be on the market. However, they do seem like they'd be a lot of fun. Unsafe fun, sure. But fun nonetheless.
Some of these toys had classic runs before an unfortunate end. Others were taken off the market straight away. So, there's a good chance you played with at least a few of these!
Be sure to share any memories or fun stories in the comments section below. You never know! One person's banned toy is another's cherished heirloom!
1. Atomic Energy Lab
This toy may have encouraged curiosity in science, but it also included genuine radioactive materials! Who knows how many two-headed women in STEM there could've been had the government stayed out of our contaminated toy shelves?
2. Snacktime Cabbage Patch Kids
Here's one for your nightmares: A cutesy little doll with an insatiable hunger for FLESH! In reality, the Snacktime Cabbage Patch Kid was equipped with state-of-the-art nibbling action. Unfortunately, they frequently nibbled fingers and hair!
3. Slip N Slide
Nothing says "summer" quite like a slick tarp and minor abrasions. Wham-O!, makers of the original Slip 'N Slide, issued a recall notice in 1993 to remind consumers the product is meant for children. While the Slip 'N Slide was never taken completely off the market, it certainly wasn't "Fun For All Ages."
4. Sky Dancers
They're whimsical! They're majestic! They're a hazard to your children! Unfortunately for fans of fun and fantasy, Sky Dancers frequently got tangled up in people's hair. Plus, if you've ever had one fly into your face, you can see why they reportedly resulted in over 100 eye, teeth, and head injuries.
5. Lawn Darts
You don't have to be a scientist to see why lawn darts were a bad idea. The toy, also called "Jarts" was deemed a "mechanical hazard" by the FDA in 1970. The weighted, pointy darts could penetrate the skin, especially when thrown way up in the sky. People died for the Jart. No wonder it was banned.
6. Easy-Bake Oven
Loads of people had Easy-Bake Ovens. This one might point out how attitudes toward child safety have evolved. Because the Easy-Bake is an old product and has used mostly the same technology. However, in 2006, after one too many burn reports, Hasbro recalled 95,000 units!
7. Kite Tube
The government totally overstepped on this one, because the Kite Tube looks like a killer good time. It's a flotation device, but it's also aerodynamic. So, if you're being pulled by a boat, and you reach that maximum velocity, Kite Tube flies. It's a tube. It's a kite. It was voluntarily recalled in 2006.
75 Comments
Was that supposed to be one sentence?
Yeah our pal Gary, had one of those. Man, he shot down the hill, across the frozen bike path, up the incline..Over the fence! Across the parking lot..and into a car! WOW! I think National Lampoon ripped that off for a movie 7 or so years later..But Gary was the most popular kid in school for a month!
As a young FeralKitten I was the victim of adults at a party, who put it facing down an incline, kinda near a fence, which very much watered the grass resulting in me shooting across the whole thing, and plastered against the fence upside down...Is that why it wasn't meant for adults?
I wanted to again, but those MEAN ADULTS put it away....😹
"Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball"
As I read the descriptions of some of these "toys" I was torn between shock and horror and laughing myself silly. I mean, give me a break! Who thought of these things then what genius board meeting decided "this is a GREAT idea! Let's go for it!" It's amazing a lot of us kids survived considering the wide array of ways potential injury, or worse, that were presented as fun toys.
We had the lawn darts when I was a kid and I had an Easy Bake Oven, and no one ever got hurt.
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Wouldn't shutting the water off also be an option? 🤣
I also loved my Lite-Brite, yet another hot-lightbulb involved toy for kids.
And did you have Shrinky Dinks??? So fun....yet again a fun craft project using a hot kitchen oven to bake & shrink them filling the kitchen with a lovely hot plastic toxic smell......good times! 😄