Toys are meant to entertain, to educate, and sometimes to babysit your kid for a few minutes of precious, precious quiet time. Toys are (generally) thoroughly tested and approved by committees and safety regulators. But what happens when they miss something? Or a kid gets especially creative? Well, sometimes those supposedly harmless little play things can be harbingers of pain and suffering.
The list below isn't about children eating too much Gak, or choking on G.I. Joe's toy gun. These are the crazy stories, the "no way that happened because of a toy" stories, the stuff of urban legend. So, if you've ever wondered why you can't find that toy from your childhood on the shelf anymore, or if a bounce house can actually take flight, read on.
Below are the craziest near death accidents caused by toys. Vote up the craziest toy accidents below, caused by toys you won't let your kids anywhere near after reading what they're capable of.
http://www.ranker.com/list/craziest-near-death-accidents-caused-by-toys/coy-jandreau,
Flubber Won't Die
Just before Christmas 1962, to tie in with the upcoming Son of Flubber (sequel to The Absentminded Professor), Hasbro and Disney put out an actual bouncy green ball of gloop, so kids everywhere could have their own Flubber. Short of the general choking hazard, it seemed like a great product. However, within weeks they were inundated with complaints of head to toe rashes, sore throats, and fevers. Turns out Flubber caused Folliculitis (a painful infection in the pores) among other maladies.
But he weirdness doesn't stop there. After the recall, manufacturers tried to incinerate the Flubber and discovered it wouldn't burn, it just released plumes of noxious smoke. Then they hired the Coast Guard to try to sink it, but it floated right back to the surface. Finally they used it to pave the new Hasbro facilities. Real life Flubber seems just as wonky as its on screen counterpart.
Aqua Dots Knock Kids Out
Remember Aqua Dots? Well the version of the craft kit many kids enjoyed isn't on the shelf anymore for a reason. In 2007 there was a huge investigation into why the Dots, when ingested, caused bouts of dizziness, vomiting, and caused kids to fall unconscious. It turns out, the manufacturer had changed the ingredients of the sticking compound and this new recipe metabolized into GHB (gamma-hydroxy butyrate)... AKA a common date rape drug. A major toy company was roofying kids.
Bounce House Goes Airborn
In May 2014, a bounce house in New York was lifted well more than two stories into the air when a gust of wind grabbed it, and its inhabitants, in a freak accident. Two kindergarteners, ages 5 and 6-years-old, were thrown out from a height of at least 15 feet, both landing on hard pavement. One landed in the apartment building's parking lot and suffered serious head injuries. The other landed on a nearby street and broke both arms and his jaw. A 10-year-old girl also fell from the bounce house but from a much lower height.
All things considered it could have been much worse. After losing the weight from the children, the bounce house caught another updraft and soared up over 50 feet in the air (as pictured), eventually landing more than 3 blocks away.
Cabbage Patch's Snacktime Kid Is Always Hungry
Like the plot of a Goosebumps book this demonic little doll had an insatiable hunger for children. Built to snack on carrots and pudding and other foods, the doll was meant to stop chewing when the sensor in its mouth registered that the doll's mouth was empty. Unfortunately hair and fingers are attached to... the rest of a person and that sensor never let the doll know when to stop. Many pony tails, fingers, and blood were lost due to the Snacktime Kid's insatiable hunger.
Dive Sticks Skewer their Victims
Dive sticks were another extremely common toy for many kids. The purpose of these bad boys was to throw them into the deep end and then see who could hold their breath the longest to retrieve them all. Simple right? So what's the issue? Drowning? Nope.
IMPALEMENT. Six reports of impalement and facial injury all requiring hospitalization occurred in 1999. Nobody died, but a bunch of 6-9 year olds got staked by pool toys and likely still avoid pools to this day.
Jarts Impale Without Mercy
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Seriously, who thought Jarts were a good idea? Kids should go outside and get a couple scraped knees, but they should NOT be throwing weighted projectiles at each other. In their brief stint in the 1980s these lawn darts racked up an impressive rap sheet with over 6,700 injuries, many of which were serious head injuries.
Atomic Energy Lab Is As Advertised
Obviously, every future mad scientist should have a NUCLEAR EXPERIMENTATION KIT as a toy. For a full year these kits actually sold (for only 50 bucks!) complete with three "low level" radiation sources, a Geiger counter, a Wilson cloud chamber, a spinthariscope, and four URANIUM CORE samples. No deaths were ever directly linked to this "toy" but who knows how many lives it effected. Just one of the isotopes included in the kit (u-238) is now known to cause cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma.
Burger King Pokeballs Try To Catch 'Em All
Burger King smartly capitalized on the Poke-Craze while the fire raging. Every kid had a few of these plastic pieces of nostalgic glory. Unfortunately their little brothers and sisters got a hold to them too. When put over a small child's mouth and nose the Pokeballs could become stuck and suffocate the child. Many children were hurt or nearly killed, and one infant even died. Burger King recalled the toys and added a choking hazard warning for children under 3-years-old to their commercials.