13 Toys That Were Just a Little Too Dangerous
Here's a shocking look at the dangerously creative world of kids’ toys that turned playtime into a trip to the ER—or worse.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
From radioactive science sets to finger-devouring dolls, certain old toys defied the rules of fun—and safety. Here are 13 actual toys that produced burns, shattered bones, and even senseless fatalities, laying bare the wild west of toy design prior to today’s strict safety standards. It’s a great, at times shocking, reminder that everything “for kids 8 and older” was never actually child-safe.
1. Lawn Darts (Jarts)
Image from Reddit
Advertised as a backyard family game, Lawn Darts had large, heavy metal tips intended to penetrate the ground. Unfortunately, they penetrated heads as well—there were many serious head injuries and even a few fatalities. The U.S. banned them in 1988 following relentless pressure from consumer activist groups.
2. Aqua Dots
Image from Consumer Product Safety Commission
These bright craft beads were water-activated to create three-dimensional patterns—but they contained a chemical coating that, when digested, broke down into GHB (aka the date rape drug). Some kids lapsed into comas after swallowing them. They were recalled around the world in 2007.
3. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab
Image from Wikipedia
This 1950s “educational” set included real uranium ore and a Geiger counter to allow children to measure radiation in the home. It even had instructions for carrying out nuclear experiments. Somehow, it failed to glow in the dark, but it did get removed from shelves due to sluggish sales and increasing safety issues.
4. Snacktime Cabbage Patch Kids
Image from Reddit
These plastic-eating dolls were equipped with motorized jaws, but they had no idea when to quit. Children’s fingers and even ponytails were caught in their relentless mouths. Mattel pulled the line in 1997 after receiving many reports of injuries.
5. Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker (1960s version)
Image from Trivia Happy
The early version allowed children to pour liquid plastic (“Plasti-Goop”) into metal molds and bake them in an open-face 600°F oven. It smelled like burning chemicals, and surprise, children frequently got burned. Subsequent versions were softened, but the first one was essentially a mini-industrial disaster.
6. Sky Dancers
Image from Toy Kingdom
These pastel fairy dolls, with a pull-string bottom, were propelled into the air and intended to gently drift back down. In practice, they became flying missiles of agony, slapping children in the eyes and faces and even breaking teeth. They were recalled in 2000 after over 100 reports of injury.
7. Battlestar Galactica Missile-Shooting Toys
Image from eBay
Mattel introduced these in 1978 with miniature plastic missiles that fired. When one child choked to death on one, the toy was used as a representation of unsafe projectile play. The tragedy prompted new safety standards regarding small parts and choking.
8. Clackers (also referred to as Klik-Klaks)
Image from Wikipedia
Two strings of acrylic balls—what harm could they cause? When swished just right, they’d clack hard together and look great, but they could shatter with impact, exploding shards of stiff plastic everywhere. They were taken off the shelves in the 1970s because of the risk of injury.
9. Easy-Bake Oven (2007 model)
Image from Ubuy Philippines
Hasbro’s revised design had a side-loading mechanism that became a finger trap—literally. More than 200 kids trapped their fingers, and some had terrible burns. Almost one million units in America were recalled.
10. Magnetix
Image from Wikipedia
This building toy set contained tiny, strong magnets that could easily detach and be swallowed. If two or more were swallowed, they might stick together across intestinal walls, resulting in tears, obstructions, and infections. Several children were hospitalized, and one died, triggering a large recall in 2006.
11. CSI: Fingerprint Examination Kit
Image from Uber Eats
This companion toy from the hit television series allowed children to dust for prints with a finely textured powder. That powder itself proved to harbor asbestos, an identified carcinogen. It was removed from sale in 2007 following chilling laboratory tests and outcry from parents.
12. Pogo Ball
Image from RetroFestive
Part ball, part board, all balance—this 1980s toy was meant to be a portable pogo stick of sorts. However, it offered zero stability and no handle, making it a recipe for twisted ankles and hard falls. It quietly faded away after lawsuits and mounting injury stats.
13. Mini Hammocks (without spreader bars)
Image from Hammocks.shop
These child-sized hammocks appeared innocent but were not designed with spreader bars to prevent them from closing. Kids would get inside, the hammock would wrap around them, and in some awful instances, they were suffocated. More than three million were recalled in the mid-1990s following several fatalities.