Last night I watched a youtube video of the 15 most dangerous toys ever . .
This was an American perspective and included some utterly insane inventions from the 1950s onwards, including a pogo stick with an internal combustion engine, a chemistry set with arsenic and lead, various toy guns powerful enough to take a child's eye out . .
The most interesting part was that not one of the first 14 items were completely banned. Most were temporarily withdrawn from sale and 'redesigned' before being put back on the market. Only item 15 was appalling enough for American regulators to ban it completely.
The offensive toy? A franchised Teletubbies doll from the 1990s (the purple one, since you asked). The soft toy was actually very well made and suitable for children over 18 months. The problem was that the Cantonese actor who voiced an interactive feature in Tinky-Winky's tummy did not have very clear diction. So Mr Winky's well known catchphrase, "More, more! Faster, faster!", apparently sounded like "M**her F**ker" and struck fear into the heart of every godly American household.
So the offending doll was duly banished from the American toy market and a generation of gilded youth was saved from perdition 馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ
The most interesting part was that not one of the first 14 items were completely banned. Most were temporarily withdrawn from sale and 'redesigned' before being put back on the market. Only item 15 was appalling enough for American regulators to ban it completely.
The offensive toy? A franchised Teletubbies doll from the 1990s (the purple one, since you asked). The soft toy was actually very well made and suitable for children over 18 months. The problem was that the Cantonese actor who voiced an interactive feature in Tinky-Winky's tummy did not have very clear diction. So Mr Winky's well known catchphrase, "More, more! Faster, faster!", apparently sounded like "M**her F**ker" and struck fear into the heart of every godly American household.
So the offending doll was duly banished from the American toy market and a generation of gilded youth was saved from perdition 馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ