Growing up as a boy, as I did, I never had any experience with toys like Hasbro's Easy Bake Oven. However, a story in the paper the other day caught my eye. It seems that the hot pink, miniature provider of quarter-sized cupcakes is being recalled from stores everywhere. And this is the second time in less than a year!
Back in February, Hasbro was getting loads of complaints from parents whose kids were actually getting injured while attempting to bake. Second and third degree burns were reported, and one five-year-old girl even had to have a finger partially amputated! Poor "Pinky" Patterson has been scarred for life, one would suppose.
My guess would be that the decision in the early 80s to replace the Easy Bake's heating filament with a small ingot of nuclear-grade plutonium has come back to bite them. I mean, to cupcakes really need 2,550ºF temperatures to rise??
This story only opens the door for many more classic childhood icons to be recalled.
Rubik's Cube: Reports are that it causes carpal tunnel syndrome and color blindness.
Monopoly: The "iron" game piece does not actually reach temperatures necessary to create crisp creases on dress shirts.
Stretch Armstrong: Stretches, yes. But arms are not very strong.
GI Joe: Kung-Fu Grip causing numbness and tingling of fingers and other body parts.
Strawberry Shortcake: Not edible or fit for human consumption, as name would suggest.
1 comment:
We had "Soccer Boppers" (I think that's how you spell it) when I was young. Inflatable boxing gloves. The problem was that they were not very well made, so they would develop ruptures along the seams and lose their air, so after a short time, my siblings and I were bare-knuckle fighting. But they weren't recalled. We were tougher back then.
Post a Comment