Posted on 01/04/2008 3:08:54 PM PST by jdm
Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill yesterday that prohibits the sale of a children’s toy called “Yo-Yo Waterballs” in New Jersey. The toy has been blamed for injuring hundreds of children nationwide and has already been banned in Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland and Australia. Violators of the New Jersey ban, which goes into effect in three months, face a fine of up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for all subsequent offenses.
Yo-Yo Waterballs, which also are sold under various other names, are squishy toy balls on a bungee-cord string with a finger loop at one end. The ball is filled with toxic liquids, it is flammable, and the string can become wrapped around a child’s neck, causing strangulation.
“Yo-Yo Waterballs are a commercialized death threat to our children,” said Assemblyman David R. Mayer (D-Gloucester), the bill’s co-sponsor. “They are inherently dangerous and deserve to be banned.”
Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester), a co-sponsor of the bill, said that “the Yo-Yo Waterball is easily accessible at convenience stores and toy outlets. … We obviously cannot stop a toy manufacturer from producing substandard toys, but we can stop them from turning a profit in New Jersey and causing further harm to our children.”
went to order some air soft bb guns for my sons - noticed they cannot be delivered to CA, MA, NJ, NY and CT. Sheesh - I’m glad I live out in the wild west where we can still shoot each other for fun :)
When my oldest son was 5 he swallowed a lead fishing sinker. We didn’t even know he had it. He threw it up in the air ,while on the potty, and tried to catch it with his teeth. Right down the throat. Three days in the hospital being fed lots of bread and many blood tests(the sinker was lead) until some smart, elderly surgeon said “send him home, I’ve seen worse...combs and toothbrushes. The minute he walked in the door he made a dash to the bathroom and bang out it came. We has it goldplated and framed.
I could write a book about his medical adventures. He’s 35 now and a dad to 2 girls and the oldest will give him a run for his money.
Oh and we lived in NJ.
When toys are outlawed, only outlaws will have toys...
Gosh, that was a long time ago. I remember that too. LOL
I remember them. I guess I’m old.
I have never heard of lawn darts. What are those?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_darts Pretty fun, after you get tired of safer games like "Setting each other on fire" and "Cape makes you able to fly"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_darts
Pretty fun, after you get tired of safer games like "Setting each other on fire" and "Cape makes you able to fly"
We used to toss screw drivers! They haven’t been banned yet!
LOL... For a while we played dodge by tossing a 12” square piece of Plexiglas at each other. Thinking back, I am shocked no one really got hurt more than bruises, welts and scrapes. I guess that helped us find our limits.
I could see where those might be banned. They look dangerous.
LOL That’s good.
I had those and the plastic ring kind. I also have a vague recollection of lawn darts...
There were several games of “mumbly-peg”, or “stretch”, played with a couple knives, and well the older guys here know the rules. I never got stuck.
Plexiglas huh?...cool..
We lived in the country, so had to be creative too. There were the rowdy neighbor twins who would put on their dad’s welding helmets and have 50-yard-minimum wars with 22s using rat-shot. Around holidays, they would use Roman candles...but no helmets.
Once they watched an episode of Wagon Train and talked their little brother and sister into going into the playhouse their dad had built and pretend to be pioneers. Meanwhile, they put on warpaint(probably lead-based)and after wrapping a rag around their arrows and dipping them into kerosene and lighting them, shot the playhouse repeatedly while doing war-whoops in their underwear. They eventually caught it on fire and danced around whooping while the terrified little sister and brother ran screaming for mama.
They did spare their lives.
There’s much more, but it’s probably best not to post it since it involves dangerous things.
“Around holidays, they would use Roman candles...but no helmets.”
I remember those. Roman candle wars across a rural road using a drainage ditch for cover. I marvel my friends and I have all our limbs and eye sight
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