![]() ![]() In 2. 01. 4, Toys R Us was forced to pull Breaking Bad figurines off the shelves after protests from outraged families - but this isn't the only time toys have been banned, discontinued or otherwise removed from sale for being too controversial. Here are nine other times toys weren't suitable for kids - or indeed, anyone. Matador Barbie. Barbie has had numerous jobs since her introduction in 1. Paleontologist, News Anchor, Paratrooper and Stewardess – but the job that got her in most trouble was probably her brief time as a Matador bullfighter. Released in 1. 99. Invented by art student Xavier Roberts in 1978, the Cabbage Patch Kids line was one of the biggest toy fads of the 1980s and remains one of the longest. Belk, Melanie Wallendorf, and John F. Matador Barbie was criticised for its implicit endorsement of the brutal Spanish sport, which sees bulls ritually slaughtered after an extended period of taunting and provocation. Celebrity fan Alicia Silverstone even sent Mattel's chairman Robert Eckert a letter urging him to discontinue the doll. The campaign worked, and the following year the toy was permanently discontinued. Snacktime Kid Cabbage Patch Doll. Invented by art student Xavier Roberts in 1. Cabbage Patch Kids line was one of the biggest toy fads of the 1. But not every release is a hit. In 1. 99. 6, Mattel released the Snacktime Kid – a Cabbage Patch Doll with a motorised jaw that allowed it to . Children initially loved the gimmick, but things went sour when it emerged that the doll wouldn't stop chewing until its mouth was empty. The indiscriminate and unrelenting mastication inevitably shunned plastic morsels in favour of mashing up tiny fingers and snagging long hair in its merciless mechanical jaws, tearing it from young scalps at the root. Unable to sate the Snacktime Kid's lust for human flesh, Mattel was forced to remove the toy from sale. Sky Dancers. Released by Galoob in 1. Sky Dancers were winged fairy dolls which would launch high into the air with the pull of a cord, at which point they'd extend their arms outwards to slow their descent and spin gracefully back to Earth. At least, that was the fantasy. The reality was that the super- fast spins and harsh plastic bodies proved a powerful and unpredictable combination. I've spoken before about the World's most tragic and magnificent love story playing out high in the sky above our heads. The Sun and the Moon, constantly chasing one. The Alexander Doll Co. Your best bet would be to try the Doll Doctors’ Association website to find a. I have only focused my collection on vintage mass market Cabbage Patch Kids from the early 80s, so I will only share. The original cabbage patch is worth millions. The cabbage patch kids were made in the year 1983. They were actually sold during 1985. They were credited with breaking teeth, lacerating faces, causing temporary blindness and at least one concussion. After over 1. 00 injuries were reported in six years, 9 million Sky Dancers were recalled in June 2. Play Along Toys in 2. Lawn Darts. Cast in solid metal and heavily weighted so as to stick convincingly into the ground, Lawn Darts allowed any child to experience all the fun of a dartboard with all the danger of chucking around what was essentially a deadly weapon. After it emerged that they were responsible for a reported 7,0. Lawn Darts were banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the US in December 1. Unlike the original (safe) specification, Bindeez now metabolised into Gamma- Hydroxybutyric Acid when swallowed. Otherwise known as GHB, the substance is a powerful drug that can act as sedative, stimulant, anaesthetic and intoxicant. Bindeez were immediately banned when nine children ended up in hospital after swallowing them. Gilbert U- 2. 38 Atomic Energy Laboratory. These days if you tried to carry radioactive material anywhere near a toyshop, you'd be thrown into jail so fast you probably wouldn't even get a trial. But in the 1. 95. So it was that in 1. A. C. Gilbert released the U- 2. Atomic Energy Lab, each example of which contained four samples of Uranium Ore as well as genuine sources of alpha, beta and gamma particles. In 1. 95. 1 it was (perhaps not unreasonably) removed from sale when it was feared that children might swallow the radioactive sources. U- 2. 38 has been linked to cancers like Leukaemia and Lymphoma, as well as Gulf War Syndrome. Worst Christmas present ever. CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit. TV's most unrelenting franchise relented from the shelves pretty quickly when it emerged that a CSI- licensed Fingerprint Examination Kit was considerably more dangerous than the fake crimes it was being used to investigate. That's because a vial of fingerprint dust included in the box contained industrial- grade asbestos - up to 7% of the dust was made of the stuff. It might sound hilarious in the abstract, but it's hardly a laughing matter – just a single exposure to asbestos of this type can lead directly to lung cancer in later life. Unsurprisingly, the manufacturer of the toy went bankrupt. Carmageddon. The UK is pretty relaxed in its video game censorship compared to some countries, but even then the original 1. Carmageddon proved too much for the BBFC, which banned the automobile- based murder- 'em- up from sale, allegedly for basing its reward system purely on the number of innocent bystanders you could transform into mincemeat. The game was eventually rated for release after a change was made that turned the pedestrians into zombies with green blood, and 1. All Simpsons Toys. Surprised? You won't be when we reveal that in 2. The Simpsons was banned in Iran as part of an attempt to combat . This, just a few months after the same ban was applied to all Barbie toys in the country as well, leading the raids and arrests on shops selling the dolls. The Simpsons' ban cited the Springfield family’s self- centred and irreligious attitudes as the motivating factor. We can all relate to that.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2016
Categories |