Dangerous Toys Vid Courtesy of Top Trending
Some Christmas toys are not the most ideal to find under your tree. Besides the wonderful goodies listed in the vid above, there are a few others that are my personal favorite entries to the “Deadly Toys” category.
In the 1950’s there was the Austin Magic Pistol. It allowed you to fire plastic balls by loading magic crystals and water into the back of the gun. Unfortunately, the magic crystals were dangerous chemicals that could kill a child if swallowed. What made the balls fly with force through the air was the Calcium Carbide that, when interacting with a liquid, forms a flammable gas. Yep. A Fireball. A fireball that shot out and often blew out the back of the gun into the shooter’s face. Talk about a Christmas that is merry and BRIGHT!
Another wonderful addition to the toy market was the Atomic Energy Lab kit produced by the American Basic Science Club. The idea behind the kit was to teach children about science of the future and new sources of energy that we can utilize. Sadly, the kit came with REAL samples of uranium and radium. Both substance are highly radioactive and the sample of uranium was the same kind used in construction of the atomic bombs. One simple exposure to these substances is enough to cause cancer which led to them being discontinued TWO YEARS LATER. Cheers to Science!
The toy company, Gilbert, has to be my own favorite company for innovative and highly dangerous toys. Not only did they create the marvelous glass blowing kit but they were responsible for the Lead Casting Kit, which required you to create toys from MOLTEN LEAD, and the Chemistry Set, which taught kids how to create explosions with gunpowder on page 1. Other gems included in the set were potassium permanganate, which is poisonous and causes things to catch fire, and ammonium nitrate, which is used in homemade bombs.
And, not to be outdone by the American Basic Science Club, Gilbert made their own version of atomic energy kits including the same samples of radioactive materials. The Gilbert kit also supplied a Geiger counter so you could measure the amount of radiation that your play session just exposed you to. Thoughtful to the very end!
If you receive any of these gifts for Christmas, you may want to do a mass toss into your nearest dumpster rental. Radioactive materials, fireballs and fairies that poke your eye out are not exactly the images of Christmas cheer that you want to remember. Aunt Edna’s fruitcake sounds really good right about now, doesn’t it?
This is so true! Can’t stop laughing. I had one of those Sky Dancers – whacked me in the face nearly every chance they got! LOL
IDK… so many good ones but my fave has to be the TMNT toys from the late 80s / early 90s. I had EVERYTHING. The sewer playset, the van, the blimp – it was epic.
Nice! I think I remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles blimp. Did it actually fly, I can’t recall? I remember the pizza shooters on the van. Great stuff!