Most parents probably assume that manufacturers have their kids' best interests in mind when they release a new toy on the market, and in most cases they are probably correct. If for no other reason, toy companies want to make as much money as possible, and stories of injured children have a decidedly chilling effect on that goal.
Of course, over the decades, a lot of pretty spectacularly dangerous toys have managed to slip onto the market, and looking back at some of them, it's difficult to understand how any adult could've ever green-lighted these ideas.
8. Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab
In the 1950s, people were fascinated with atomic power. Although, based on the number of monster movies that blamed radioactivity for creating havoc, it seems as if that fascination was mixed with horror.
So it's not really surprising that a company named Gilbert released a science kit for kids interested in atomic power. What is surprising is that the kit came with four real samples of uranium to use in experiments and that you could send away to get more delivered! The '50s were a different time, a time when little Jimmy might glow in the dark after playing with the science kit he got for Christmas.
7. Gilbert Glass Blowing Kit
Yes, the same company that provided uranium samples in a child's toy also made a glass-blowing kit for children interested in heating glass to 1,000 degrees and forming it into interesting shapes. Glass blowing is a craft that's, well...dangerous. Accidentally breathing in the super-heated air through a blow tube can seriously hurt a person, and then there's the glass itself. It can explode, sending splinters all over the place, not to mention that there's an inherent risk of having a molten glob of super-hot glass come into contact with a kid's skin.
Reviewing the evidence, I'm not sure if Gilbert was an educational toy company or part of a plot to injure or kill as many of America's children as possible.