Target is recalling some of its Easter egg and Dino egg toys after realizing that they could be lethal if ingested.
The toys, which cost $1, expand in size when in contact with water. They were sold to the public from February through March. Around 560,000 units were sold at the time of the recall.
If ingested, the toy may absorb the inner fluids of the patient, causing serious health implications, such as intestinal blockage, dehydration, and vomiting. Removing the toy after ingestion is only possible through surgery. So far, no injuries have been reported.
Avoid a lethal Easter egg hunt
The recalled products are Hatch & Grow Easter Eggs, Hatch Your Own Dino Egg, and Easter Grow Toys. The Hatch & Grow and Easter Grow eggs must be returned if they have 234-25-1200 as their model number. Similarly, for the Hatch Your Own Dino Egg the model number is 234-09-0016. The number is printed on the label inside the toy’s packaging.
The products can be returned to any Target store for a full refund. The store calls for parents not to allow children to play with them. For more information, customers may call the store chain at 800-440-0680 or visit their website.
Even if they can be considered fatal under the right circumstances, these Easter eggs are far from being classified as some of the most lethal toys in history.
The most dangerous toys ever sold in the U.S.
Back in 1951, the Gilbert Hall of Science released to the market an Atomic Energy Laboratory for children with real radioactive materials. At the time, it was just another lab toy that allowed children to experiment with chemical reactions, which could be seen as a way to help them find their career path in future life. Before release, the lab’s inventor Alfred Gilbert believed that the product was safe for unsupervised use.
The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory has been named “the world’s most dangerous toy.” It sold for approximately what would be equivalent to $500 today. It included a Geiger counter, a book about prospecting for uranium, radioactive lead, polonium, ruthenium, and zinc isotopes.
The laboratory even suggested playing hide and seek by finding a radioactive sample hidden in a particular room using the Geiger counter. Thankfully, the toy did not see much success and never surpassed the 5,000 sales mark.
Another toy that was rapidly banned from sales were the Sky Dancers, remembered best by 90’s kids. These were dolls with foam wings with a yo-yo-like base so the could fly into the air when the string was pulled rapidly. The sides would act as propellers, launching the doll up high. They were immensely successful as they were carried out in 1994’s holiday season and later as Dragon Flyz, a version oriented for boys. Because of how fast the wings spun around the doll, using the toy resulted in over 100 reported injuries. They were recalled in 2000, although the brand name continued to live on.
The most dangerous and famous toys to ever be banned for being hazardous to children could be Lawn Darts or Jarts for short. These oversized darts have been responsible for over 6,000 emergency room visits, including three deaths and one coma.
The problem was that the company did not put a warning on the package that stated that it was a game exclusive for adults. Additionally, the packaging shows kids playing the game with their family.
Lawn darts are similar to horseshoes. Players are meant to throw 12-inch-long darts with a heavy metal tip aimed at a grounded target. They were initially banned for sale, although the ban was challenged in the 1970’s.
Years later, a seven-year-old girl was killed by a lawn dart, as the darts had been purchased and stored by her father many years prior without knowledge of the controversial ban being in place. A boy had launched the dart too high, and it came down directly on her, crashing with an estimated 23,000 pounds of pressure on her skull. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead three days later.
David Snow, the girl’s father, took on to have the darts banned for good. He was an aerospace engineer, and he had bought party games to have in storage back in April 1987, even though he was trying to find a volleyball playing set.
In 1988, the lawn darts were banned in the U.S. and shortly after also in Canada. Manufacturers have worked around the prohibition by redesigning the darts and replacing their heavier parts with plastic.
“I want to get these damned darts. These things killed my child. If I don’t do anything, it’s just a matter of time before someone else gets killed. I’m going to get them off the market. Whatever it takes,” he stated to Los Angeles Times at the time during his crusade.
Source: Target
It’s truly amazing that I survived childhood.
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Just about everything that I played with back then is verboten now.
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I think that it has something to do with the lowering IQ over the past 60 years.