10 Forgotten ’80s Toys That Were Weird, Wonderful, and Wildly Unsafe
The toy aisle changed dramatically during the 1980s. New advertising rules allowed more commercials aimed directly at kids, and the business exploded, with sales jumping from about $2 billion in 1970 to around $12 billion by 1986. Toy companies rushed to fill shelves with colorful ideas that promised excitement. A number of those toys have faded from memory for safety reasons, even though they once filled bedrooms and playgrounds. In this article, we’re bringing back some of these, at least to memory.
Clackers
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Clackers were a popular toy made of two hard acrylic balls attached to a string. Players snapped their wrists, causing the balls to swing up and down, striking each other above and below the hand. The fast collisions created a loud clicking sound that echoed across playgrounds. The problem was the material. The rigid plastic sometimes cracked under the repeated impacts. When that happened, the balls could shatter and send sharp fragments flying during play.
Creepy Crawlers ThingMaker Oven
Credit: Youtube
The Creepy Crawlers ThingMaker from Mattel was a toy that actually used heat to make rubbery insects. Kids poured liquid plastic into metal molds shaped like spiders, worms, and other bugs. The molds were then placed in a small heated oven, where the material hardened. The process worked, but it came with risks. The metal molds became extremely hot, and removing them often led to burned fingers for enthusiastic young creators.
Sky Dancers
Credit: Youtube
Sky Dancers were dolls that launched into the air when a player pulled a ripcord on the base. Their plastic wings spun rapidly and lifted the doll like a tiny helicopter. The toy often flew higher than expected and then drifted unpredictably around the room. Since the landing spot was hard to control, faces, lamps, and walls frequently ended up in the flight path. Many households reported bruises and eye injuries from the spinning dolls.
Slap Bracelets
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Slap bracelets curled instantly around a wrist when snapped against the arm, which made them irresistible to fidgeting students. Repeated bending weakened the metal core over time. Once the metal pushed through the fabric sleeve, sharp edges appeared, and several schools banned them.
Pogo Balls
Credit: Youtube
Standing on two plastic discs with a rubber ball trapped between them was the entire concept behind pogo balls, and the challenge kept kids bouncing across sidewalks everywhere. Balance requires steady legs and quick reactions because one wobble could send riders flying forward. Scraped knees and bruised wrists became familiar badges of honor after practice sessions.
Moon Shoes
Credit: Youtube
Moon Shoes promised kids the feeling of bouncing in low gravity. The plastic frames were strapped onto regular sneakers, with elastic bands stretched beneath a small platform to create a springy step. Walking quickly turned into hopping, which made balance difficult. Ankles twisted easily, and indoor play sometimes ended with kids landing on furniture or walls after an unexpected bounce.
Super Elastic Bubble Plastic
Credit: Reddit
This colorful tube promised a bubble that turned into plastic. Kids squeezed the goo onto a straw, inflating shimmering spheres that hardened into flexible shapes. The trick relied on solvent-based chemicals that released fumes during inflation. The mixture was also flammable. Those ingredients eventually raised serious safety questions around the toy.
Monster Science Lab Kits
Credit: Youtube
Many monster-themed lab kits included chemicals that fizzed, smoked, or changed color during reactions. Protective gloves and goggles were rarely part of the package. Curious young scientists occasionally spilled ingredients or touched hot mixtures. The excitement of discovery sometimes came at the cost of minor burns.
Wham-O Air Blaster
Credit: Facebook
At first glance, the Wham-O Air Blaster looked harmless. The toy produced a strong burst of compressed air that could knock over cups or push paper across a table. Kids soon discovered the blast worked on almost anything nearby. Lamps tipped over, pets ran off, and piles of homework slid across desks during enthusiastic experiments.
The Suckerman Toy
Credit: Youtube
The Suckerman was a floppy rubber octopus designed to stick to walls and windows. Kids tossed the toy onto a smooth surface and watched it slowly crawl downward. The movement came from suction cups on each arm that gripped the surface as it fell. Over time, repeated throwing stretched the thin rubber. Pieces could tear off, and those small fragments sometimes became choking hazards.