Media Head over 'Heelys' with 'Dangerous Toy' Hype
By Ken Shepherd | June 21, 2007 | 10:23
What you don't know about your kids' sneakers can kill them!
Hmm, I'm getting a strange sense of déjà vu.
The Washington Post's Fredrick Kunkle let a leftist group skate away with the bland "nonprofit group" tag. The group, the Boston-based World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) named Heelys -- a pair of sneakers with small wheels recessed into the heel -- the worst toy of 2006.
But a review of WATCH's Web site reveals that the group is headed by a trial attorney who boasts of raking in "record-setting settlements and jury verdicts throughout the country."
Oh, and they don't like toy laser guns, although they, you know, don't actually shoot real lasers:
PRODUCT |
DESCRIPTION |
PERFORMANCE |
PROGRESS |
| PROJECTILE TOYS: | |||
| General | Darts, missiles, arrows, air-pumped ball launchers, and more | Manufactured with sharp points that can blind or injure innocent bystanders; pressurized launchers can bruise, maim and blind. | Manufacturers have converted sharp edges to soft, pliable rubber or foam tips; launchers still remain problematic (See e.g. "10 Worst Toys" 1998). |
| "M-60 Automatic Assault Lazer" (Royal Condor; SRM Company) | Toy replica of real life M-60 automatic assault rifles, machine guns and assault weapons. | Life-like weapon designs with realistic belt for automatic bullet feed, promotes violence in playthings . | Named in 1994 "10 Worst Toys" list; distributors, manufacturers & retailers instituted buy-back & trade-in programs; states have made possession of such toys on school grounds a criminal offense; design changes instituted to move away from realism; problems still exist. |
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