Can you guess why these dangerously popular vintage toys got banned?

It's all fun and games until it's every mom's nightmare.

 
From toy ovens that got hotter than real ovens to toxic chemicals released by popular toy after popular toy, kids in the 1960s and 1970s struggled with risk factors that kids today have never known.

To have your favorite toy recalled was a necessary disappointment, with consumer advocates keeping kids out harm's way by questioning each shiny new toy you pointed to in your mom's holiday Sear's Wishbook.

Think you can remember the reasons why these retro toys were deemed too dangerous? Take the quiz below and see how many toys you can recall being abruptly taken away back in the day.
  1. The 1960s Little Lady Stove caused some heated debate and was later banned, because it got this hot:
     Image: icollector.com
  2. In the 1970s, how many people were sent to the emergency room due to an injury playing Jarts?
     Image: expertlaw.com
  3. There were a couple issues with Creepy Crawlers in the 1960s. Which of these is NOT a reason why the toy was banned?
     Image: YouTube
  4. Which feature of this unusual 1960s spy toy, Sixfinger, alarmed parents most?
     Image: YouTube
  5. Kids in the 1960s could create their own toys with the Vac-U-Form, but do you remember why it was recalled?
     Image: spookshows.com
  6. What was so dangerous about these 1970s Clackers that led consumer groups to advocate for them to be banned?
     Image: Sooberman/Wikipedia
  7. Out of these vintage toys, which one was not recalled because of toxic fumes?
  8. Moon shoes were the toy that kept orbiting back into our lives, but what common injury happened pretty much every time?
     Image: Hardback Heaven/Etsy
  9. The 1979 'Battlestar Galactica' Colonial Viper toy fired missiles that caused the toy to be banned because they led to which risk?

Can you guess why these dangerously popular vintage toys got banned?

Your Result...

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142 Comments

DerekBird 32 months ago
You got 6 out of 9
It's safe to say you were paying attention when it comes to these historically problematic toys!
Mob39 33 months ago
5/9 - I just remember the click clacks. I had them and love them.
LousCannon 33 months ago
I had a few of these toys but don't remember no recalls. The creepy crawler maker was cool and the clackers, I did shatter those balls.
Snickers 33 months ago
4/9 and I used to play with some of these toys.
jimmyvici 33 months ago
3/9…very interesting. We need more quizzes like these please. Thank you 😉
ELEANOR 33 months ago
"It adhered to your skin and got stuck to kids' hands." This sentence was one of the choices for #4. It is also a sentence that can be used AS AN EXAMPLE OF POOR WRITING.
WilliamJorns 33 months ago
I remember seeing the "Sixfinger" toy advertised on TV, although I never got one. We had the Creepy Crawlers sets in the late 60's, but my brothers and I always used them to make the critters under adult supervision. We were always careful not to touch that hot plate! And if there were toxic fumes coming from the plastic we used to mold the stuff, we never noticed them. As far as I know, we never had any adverse effects from any fumes given off by the molding process. We used those for several years until the early 70's, when we moved to a new home and got interested in other toys & games.
Sparky47933 33 months ago
Some of the best toys ever, funny though, don't remember a single kid I knew, coming close to getting hurt! Too bad that they're not still around, Evidently could have helped to eliminate, a lot of the "problems" that exist today.
Michael 33 months ago
This reminds me. There was an episode of The Avengers where they fight off the bad guys in the toy department. At least Iremember.

The same thing happens in Get Smart, "they only had real guns".

And there's an episode of L&O: Criminal Intent where they visit a store full of collectibles, and Goren picks up a Johnny 7 gun, and proceeds to demonstrate all its functions by shooting at valuable collectibles
RobertK 33 months ago
7/9. I had a lot of fun or crossed paths with most of these toys! All the neighborhood boys had Sekiden guns. These were plastic pistols that shot small plastic balls. When we ran out of ammo, we bought a bag of Navy beans from the grocery store, 15 cents for days of painful fun! I was lucky, I wore glasses. My Mom always wondered why bean plants kept sprouting up all over the yard! Hey, the package said "harmless".
CouchPotato19 RobertK 33 months ago
Green Giant ever show up?
LousCannon CouchPotato19 33 months ago
By the time I turned 13 we were having pine cone fights. Now those things hurt when you got hit in the face. But it was fun and didn't cost a dime.
RichLorn 33 months ago
5/9
My dad had a toy he said should have been banned too. I think he called it an Edsel?
tnminnow 33 months ago
5/9 I remember having a rifle from Matel that shot hard plastic bullets. I still have both eyes so do my friends. We didn't shoot them at each other. We knew better. Lol
David 33 months ago
Today, instead of a potato it's a "Mr. Orange Head" in honor of our last POTUS . . . when you pull his string he chatters a 3rd Grade vocabulary that resonates with the kids!
CouchPotato19 David 33 months ago
Get over him, or are you that worried he'll be president again? Nonsense. It'll never happen. You're all safe and you can get some sleepies, now.
David CouchPotato19 33 months ago
. . . take a valium CouchPotato it was just a joke . . . you must be fun to live with
Sparky47933 David 33 months ago
Now Davey, we all know that you're just a joke'in, It really must be a fun life for you, allowing for one individal to occupy your thought that much.
David Sparky47933 33 months ago
ha ha ha, . . . he just creates so much comedic fodder its hard to resist!
Charleshorse David 33 months ago
Apparently you haven't heard VP Harris explaining what is happening between Russia and Ukraine in 'layman's terms'. What a hoot!
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