14 Vintage Toys That Were Pulled for Being Too Dangerous
These dangerously designed vintage toys, once staples of childhood play, were eventually yanked from shelves after causing harm or risking lives.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
In the golden era of plastic and play, some toys were more hazardous than helpful, despite their bright colors and smiling mascots. From radioactive chemistry sets to projectiles disguised as dolls, manufacturers often underestimated the risks. This list offers a sobering walk down memory lane, revealing how the toy industry has learned — often the hard way — that not everything that entertains is safe.
1. Lawn Darts (a.k.a. Jarts)
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These heavy, steel-tipped darts were designed to be thrown underhanded toward a plastic ring on the ground. However, once kids got creative or careless, these “toys” became flying weapons. After multiple skull-piercing injuries and at least three child deaths, the U.S. banned them in 1988.
2. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab
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Marketed in the 1950s as an educational science kit, this lab set came with real uranium ore. That’s right — parents bought kids radioactive material to play with at home. It was pulled from the market within a year due to obvious health risks and a very limited market of radioactive toy fans.
3. Snacktime Cabbage Patch Doll
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This doll had a motorized mouth that “chewed” plastic food accessories — and sometimes, children’s hair and fingers. Once it started eating, there was no off switch until the mechanism finished its cycle. After several painful incidents, including scalped children, Mattel discontinued it in 1997.
4. Aqua Dots
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These colorful beads allow kids to create designs that harden when sprayed with water. What wasn’t advertised was that the beads contained a chemical that metabolized into GHB — the “date rape” drug — when ingested. After several children were hospitalized from ingesting the beads, they were recalled worldwide in 2007.
5. Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper
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This toy spaceship from the late ’70s had a spring-loaded missile that could shoot several feet. After a 4-year-old boy choked to death when he accidentally inhaled the missile, Mattel had to recall it. The incident led to major changes in toy projectile safety standards.
6. Sky Dancers
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These spinning fairy dolls were launched into the air by a pull-string base and floated back down. In reality, they often launched sideways — smacking kids in the face, breaking teeth, and even causing temporary blindness. After over 100 injuries, the toy was pulled in 2000.
7. Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker (1964 version)
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Kids used this toy to melt plastic goop into bug-shaped molds using a plug-in hot plate. It heated up to 400°F — basically handing children a miniature industrial oven. Burns were common, but it took years before safety redesigns came in.
8. Clackers
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Made of two acrylic balls on strings, these toys were meant to clack loudly when swung. Unfortunately, they often shattered under pressure, sending shards flying like glass grenades. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission finally cracked down on them in the early ’70s.
9. Austin Magic Pistol
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This 1940s toy gun used a form of calcium carbide that produced a loud bang and fireball when exposed to water. Yes, it basically let kids create small-scale chemical explosions in their backyard. The “magic” part turned out to be how it didn’t cause more injuries before it vanished from stores.
10. Easy-Bake Oven (2007 model)
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The Easy-Bake Oven has had a long shelf life, but the 2007 model had a redesign that created a dangerously narrow opening. Over 200 kids got their fingers stuck inside, some suffering burns and even amputation. Hasbro eventually recalled nearly one million units after a public outcry.
11. Johnny Reb Cannon
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This 1960s toy cannon fired hard plastic cannonballs up to 35 feet and was styled to celebrate the Confederate army. Beyond its politically loaded theme, it was also a hazard — children were literally shooting projectiles at each other. It disappeared from the market, partly due to safety concerns and shifting cultural awareness.
12. CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit
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Sold in the mid-2000s to tie in with the hit TV show CSI, this kit let kids dust for fingerprints using a powder. The problem? The powder contained asbestos, a known carcinogen. After tests confirmed the risk, it was recalled in 2007 with little fanfare.
13. Mini-(without spreader bars)
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These simple mesh hammocks were popular in the ’90s, but their lack of spreader bars made them collapse easily. Over a dozen children were strangled after becoming tangled in the cords. It took years of injuries and lawsuits before manufacturers finally added safer design elements or pulled the products altogether.
14. Bindeez
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Similar to Aqua Dots but released under a different name in other countries, Bindeez made the same fatal mistake: beads that turned into GHB when ingested. The Australian government issued a nationwide recall after three children went into comas. Though marketed as creative fun, it ended in chemical chaos.