The six-year-old Utah boy was sick for no clear reason. Just bad luck. For years, he had terrible sinus problems, and doctors assumed that it was bacterial, prescribing antibiotic after antibiotic that never solved the problem. Then one physician looked outside of the box (outside of the nostril?) a bit and noticed that there was some kind of foreign object up the child’s nose. Did he remember putting anything up there? No, of course not. A specialist removed the obstruction, which turned out to be a “ball of fungus” surrounding a tiny, flexible LEGO tire. The child’s health problems abruptly disappeared. [More]
toys
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Uncover Star Wars Sandtroopers, Free Games, Windows Vista
By 6.22.12
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart have been busy since April, finding the oldest and obsoletest items on the shelves at Walmart. No old cameras this time, but plenty of (now) free games, old memory, and not-quite-vintage action figures. Almost as if our readers are experts in that sort of thing.
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A Few More Recalls: Bunny Sippy Cups, Plastic Rattles, And Instant Knives
By 4.27.12
The Consumer Products Safety Commission announced these three recalls were announced too late to make yesterday’s Recall Roundup, but we wanted to share them as soon as possible since two of them could affect small children. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt, ever, but a little kid getting poked in the eye by an Easter-themed sippy cup shaped like a smiling bunny? That’s particularly undignified. [More]
Lego Plays Star Wars Secret Santa
By 12.22.11
K’s kid has a Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, most likely because K. is awesome. One of the pieces went missing, and she sent a quick “hey, how much would it cost to replace this thingy?” query on their website. She expected to hear back perhaps after the holiday toy rush. She didn’t expect to get a free replacement piece in the mail within a few weeks. [More]
Industry Fails To Produce Hot Toy; Parents Sigh In Relief
By 12.13.11
Every year the evil sorcerers who run the toy industry seem to manage to conjure a must-have toy during the holidays that’s in short supply — think Zhu Zhu Pets or Tickle Me Elmo. Since there’s no such toy this year, there appears to be no Hunger Games-style competition in which parents are forced to out-scheme and maul one another to bring home the preordained prize. [More]
In Tight Times, Parents Can Use New Site To Rent Toys For Kids
By 12.2.11
As many parents know, plenty of toys is still never enough — there always seems to be some must-have gadget out there your kids will clamor for. A few readers have called our attention to a new toy-renting website that could help parents with their kids’ neophyte tendencies. [More]
Tablet For Tots, Coca-Cola Monopoly, T-Pain Toy Mic Among Worst Toy Of The Year Nominees
By 11.9.11
While toy makers around the world are hoping they’ll be considered among the best toys of the year, the folks at the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood are calling out a handful of toys as nominees in their worst-of 2011 contest. [More]
This Halloween Toy Could Also Be Used To Harden Dental Composite Material
By 10.26.11
A dentist in California was recently looking at the little Halloween toy — a black cat whose eyes glow blue when you press a button — and thought there was something familiar about that bright light: it looked just like the one he uses to harden dental composite material used to repair his patients’ chompers. [More]
Radio Flyer Recalls 165,000 Scoot 'N Zoom Riding Toys
By 8.16.11
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Radio Flyer in Chicago announced the recall of 165,000 Scoot ‘n Zoom riding toys today because the red plastic toy can tip over while being ridden and that is apparently not the original point of the toy. [More]
Banzai Slide 'N Splash Whale Pool Box Vs. Reality
By 7.27.11
Three years after we first started pointing it out, Banzai continues to make kiddie pools that are disproportionately smaller than they appear on the box. The latest to enrage the internet is their “Slip ‘N Splash Whale Pool.” On the box it shows four children frolicking. In real life, those would have to be tiny munchkin children. [More]
Toy Security Wand Lets Kids Play At Being TSA Agents
By 6.14.11
There’s nothing cooler than being a TSA agent for Homeland Security and now the Spy Gear Security Scanner lets kids live out their dreams. It’s a handheld security wand whose LED lights flash and an alarm goes off when it detects metal, just like the real thing! [More]
Caption This Pile Of Lego Eyes
By 6.7.11
Lego really jumped the shark with their new LEGO® World Of Eyesâ„¢ theme. In each box there’s just bags full of blocks with eyes on them. Starting retail price: $29.95. Isn’t imagination great?! [More]
Disney Is No Match For The Navy SEALS
By 5.27.11
The Walt Disney Company has dropped its efforts to trademark the term SEAL Team 6. The Navy had objected to Disney’s plans to market products based on the name of the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, and filed its own trademark claims to block Disney. [More]
Toy Commercials, In Word Cloud Form
By 5.13.11
What does it look like when you take the words from toy commercial voiceovers and turn them into a tag cloud of sorts? It looks like this. One cloud is made from commercials targeting boys, and the other made from commercials targeting girls. I wonder which is which? [More]
Toy Story 3 Bowling Set Recalled Because Kids Apparently Aren't Supposed To Play With Lead Paint Anymore
By 5.6.11
Considering the menagerie of toys that come to life in Pixar’s Toy Story movies — and considering the number of toys out there that are slathered in lead paint — it’s surprising that not one of them has exhibited any definitive symptoms of lead poisoning (well, maybe those three-eyed alien things). But that hasn’t stopped the makers of a Toy Story 3 bowling set from using lead paint. [More]
Target Sells Bike Without Brake Parts, Won't Exchange Without Receipt
By 4.13.11
When buying someone a gift at Target, always, always, always ask for and give a gift receipt. It’s useful not only when the gift is the wrong size or something the recipient doesn’t like or need, but also when it’s defective. Kekoa’s daughter received a bicycle from Target for her last birthday, a gift from her grandparents. Some parts were missing from the box, but employees at the local Target were helpless and unhelpful because the family didn’t have a receipt. [More]
Crayola's Colorful Bubbles Delight Children, Stain Everything
By 4.5.11
How would you like to blow bubbles in bright colors? Sounds awesome, right? Crayola’s new washable Colorful Bubbles seem like an amazing idea, especially if their bright colors don’t stain. Except some parents are complaining online that they kind of, um, do. [More]
Mash Up Gender-Targeted Toy Advertisements For Your Amusement
By 3.22.11
The average child watches thousands of television commercials every year. Ads geared to kids don’t just encourage purchases of mass-produced plastic toys and mass-produced junk food: they also enforce rigid gender stereotypes about who should be playing with which kind of toy. Girls want sparkly pink ponies that bake cupcakes and need to be fed bottles, and boys want loud, fast remote-controlled tanks that shoot lasers and green slime. But happens when you pair the audio to a “boy” ad with the video to a “girl” ad? [More]
