Dec. 12, 2017

The holiday season is a favorite among children due to its gift giving nature and the treats that families bake together. Presents are a custom during the holidays but sometimes the gifts don’t go to plan. There have been toys that struck the mother load like Tamagotchis, Etch A Sketches or Slinkys but there are also toys that were so bad that the distributors had to recall them or were considered illegal in America.

“I would use it for like science fair but not an actual toy,” said a freshmen. In 1951, a toy called “Atomic Energy Laboratory” was created by the A.C. Gilbert Co. The atomic ingredients were extremely dangerous and were originally sold for $49.50 which is about $493 today. It was deemed the World’s Most Dangerous Toy and was discontinued.

In 1997, Mattel announced the “Snacktime Kid Cabbage Patch Doll” where kids could pretend to have their own babies and take care of them. The doll was a failure, in order to feed the doll, Mattel made the doll with a battery powered mechanical jaw that kept chewing, even if the child put their hair and fingers in it. It was recalled in the same year and discontinued.

“I would because I know how to be responsible,” said a freshmen about buying a Sky Dancer. Galoob distributed the toy “Sky Dancers” during November in the year 1994. Children would place the Sky Dancer on a mechanical base and once the cord was pulled, the Sky Dancer would twirl high into the sky. The wings were made of foam but the toy still injured many people, these injuries included eye injuries, scratched corneas and incidents of temporary blindness, broken teeth, a mild concussion, a broken rib, and facial lacerations that required stitches. It wasn’t recalled till June 2000.

Another toy that might strike close to home is the Teletubby Po doll created by Playskool. It was supposed to be joining a collection of Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, and Laa-Laa but was discontinued due to a problem with its voice box. Many children were excited to grab the new toy but were a bit uncomfortable when Po started to speak with inappropriate language, saying comments like “Bite my butt!”.

The holidays are a great time to go out and buy gifts for loved ones but remember to look out for those not so sweet surprises.