15 Toys That Could Have Killed Us in the '70s and '80s

Toys in the ‘70s and ‘80s were the best. They sparked imagination, encouraged us to play outside with our friends and opened new worlds of adventure. However, in some cases, they also put our lives at risk.

While baby boomers grew up with little regulation regarding their toys, things began shifting for Generation X kids in 1969 with the introduction of the Child Protection and Toy Safety Act. The legislature was designed to protect kids from dangerous playthings, and introduced the process for toys to be banned. It was followed by the founding of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972, an independent U.S. agency tasked with protecting the public from unsafe consumer products.

Did these moves suddenly make toys safe for kids? No – and we’ve got the list to prove it.

See, legislature tends to be reactive, not proactive. The new laws helped toys get recalled once they proved to be dangerous, but they didn’t do much to stop them from reaching the market in the first place. As such, plenty of children were left with scars – or worse – from harmful toys.

Below, we’ve highlighted 15 popular yet very dangerous toys from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Though they were designed to be fun, these items caused poisoning, choking, asphyxiation, severe burns, impalement, drowning, skull fractures and even death. Apologies in advance if we’re about to ruin some of your favorite childhood memories.