12 Outrageous Things That Were Advertised as Kid-Friendly in the ’60s and ’70s
Looking back at vintage advertisements from the ’60s and ’70s reveals a shocking disregard for child safety that would make modern parents gasp. Before strict consumer protection laws, companies marketed truly dangerous products directly to children with colorful packaging and fun promises.
These items weren’t just questionable by today’s standards, but they were downright hazardous, yet somehow deemed perfectly acceptable for kids to play with.
1. Lawn Darts (Jarts)
Heavy metal spikes with plastic fins that kids literally hurled into the air! These lethal projectiles caused thousands of injuries before being banned in 1988.
The game was simple: toss the weighted darts toward plastic rings on the ground. What could possibly go wrong with giving children foot-long metal spears with pointed tips?
2. Clackers
Acrylic balls on a string that kids smashed together at high speeds until they sometimes shattered into flying shrapnel. The harder you swung them, the faster they clacked!
These popular noise-makers were essentially miniature wrecking balls for tiny hands. When they broke, which they often did, they sent sharp acrylic shards flying in all directions.
3. Candy Cigarettes
Nothing says “healthy childhood” like pretending to smoke! These chalk-like sugar sticks came in packages mimicking real cigarette brands, complete with the red-tipped end to simulate a lit cigarette.
Some versions even released a puff of powdered sugar when you blew through them. The perfect gateway toy for future smokers, marketed directly to elementary school children.
4. The Johnny Seven O.M.A. Gun
Marketed as “seven guns in one,” this behemoth toy weapon fired everything from grenades to bullets and missiles. The ultimate arsenal for the Cold War kid!
Weighing nearly three pounds, this plastic monstrosity could shoot projectiles up to 35 feet. The TV commercials showed boys running through neighborhoods, firing indiscriminately at friends with various attachments.
5. Creepy Crawlers “Thingmaker”
Children poured liquid plastic into metal molds and cooked them on a miniature hotplate reaching temperatures of 300+ degrees. What could possibly go wrong?
The original Mattel Thingmaker featured an open heating element with zero safety features. Kids regularly burned themselves on the metal plates or spilled toxic “Plastigoop” that could cause chemical burns.
6. Atomic Energy Lab
For the low price of $49.50 (about $550 today), parents could gift their child a play set containing actual radioactive materials! The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab included uranium ore samples.
This 1950s scientific wonder encouraged kids to detect radiation and observe radioactive decay using real Geiger counters. The kit even contained three different types of uranium ore and radium.
7. Easy-Bake Oven
The Easy-Bake Oven was every budding chef’s dream in the ’70s, allowing children to “bake” cakes using a simple light bulb.
While it sparked culinary creativity, it also brought with it the risk of burns, as young chefs often underestimated the heat generated by the small appliance.
This iconic toy remains a testament to the ingenuity of its time, a sweet slice of nostalgia despite its fiery potential.
8. Austin Magic Pistol
This “toy” pistol fired ping pong balls using explosive calcium carbide, which created gas when mixed with water. Loading involved putting water and carbide in a chamber, creating volatile gas.
Kids literally triggered small explosions inches from their faces! The bright red pistol generated a satisfying “BOOM” with each shot, occasionally causing burns or eye injuries when the mixture was too potent.
9. Swing Wing
Imagine a plastic beanie with a rope attached to a weighted ball that spun around your head when you moved your neck. Marketed with the catchy jingle “It goes around and around and around!”
This 1965 Transogram toy caused countless neck injuries, headaches, and hair entanglements. The centrifugal force from the spinning weight could strain young neck muscles or whip the plastic ball into faces.
10. Lead-Filled Toy Soldiers
Junior generals commanded armies of heavy metal soldiers packed with lead—the perfect combination of choking hazard and neurotoxin! These detailed military miniatures were hand-painted with lead-based paints for extra toxicity.
Children routinely put these toys in their mouths or filed down rough edges, creating lead dust. The higher the quality, the more dangerous they were, with premium sets containing up to 85% pure lead.
11. Sky Dancers
These flying fairy dolls launched into unpredictable flight patterns when children pulled a ripcord on their base. Propelled by foam wings spinning at high speed, they became whirling instruments of facial injury.
Mattel recalled 8.9 million Sky Dancers after reports of eye injuries, temporary blindness, broken teeth, facial lacerations, and even a mild concussion.
The toy’s launch mechanism sent the doll flying at speeds fast enough to cause serious harm.
12. Fisher-Price “Little People” Choking Hazards
Before safety regulations, these iconic wooden people were perfectly sized to block a child’s airway completely. The original cylindrical figures were exactly the wrong dimensions—too small to see stuck in a throat, too large to cough up.
Parents loved them for their simple designs and durability. Children loved putting them in their mouths. On the other hand, emergency room doctors saw them all too frequently lodged in tiny windpipes.