Toy Fair 2011 - more fun than you can shake your stick it!

One event I look forward to each year is the 108th New York International Toy Fair. It is, by far, the biggest event of the year for the American toy industry. It's a huge event, which includes award dinners, events & a HUGE building filled to the rim with toy vendors booths. 

Now, when I say 'booths,' you might picture 4x8 tables with toys on them. It's such a wide range of people exhibiting. You have independent entrepreneurs who go out on a limb and are trying to sell their ideas to the toy buyers of the world. You also have tried and true toy companies displaying toys they've sold for years. You also have the mammoths of the toy world - Mattel, Melissa & Doug, etc that have massive booths that could qualify as events within themselves.

Take the Melissa & Doug booth. When I first started going to Toy Fair, they had a small booth downstairs at the Javits Center. (The Javits Center has two massive floors, the top floor generally have the bigger, more established toy companies while the downstairs has the 'up and coming' as well as the 'low and going' toy companies. Now, Melissa & Doug have the biggest booth at Toy Fair. They have a popular coat check (checking your coat at Javits costs $3 an article, M&D do it for free - even eschewing tips!). They also serve food through the day - pretzels, ice cream, beer, wine, etc. They used to serve breakfast and lunch until they determined many of the people enjoying the meals were competing toy companies! Their booth is guaranteed to be mobbed during the day as they roll out their new toys. One thing that sets Melissa & Doug apart from many other companies is their employees inhuman ability to stay chipper and friendly at all times...

Perhaps one of my, er, 'favorite' booths at Toy Fair was 'Ring Toss.' Here's a photo of the booth in all it's glory

Yup, that's it. A dude in a booth with an exercise machine, Snapple bottles and rings made of paper that he tossed onto the Snapple bottles. He was directly across the aisle from my friends at the YoYo Factory booth and YoYo Factory's Ben McPhee snapped that shot. Keep in mind these booths are wildly expensive. Later our hero reclined on his machine and did some pedaling:

We speculated where there was some kind of hidden camera there, that they were recording people for some tv show, but Googling 'Ring Toss' and 'Toy Fair' doesn't hit anything...so...ok

Full-sized LEGO Lightning McQueen. 325,000 bricks! 

Splish, splash, I was taking a bath in Diet Coke

We spent lots of time at the Lego booth on the first day - one of the incredible displays they featured was a full-size Lego version of Lightning McQueen - it has 325,000 pieces in it and weighs 3 tons! Cars 2 is coming out this year and promises to be a massive hit, so there were lots and lots of Cars 2 toys at Toy Fair.Another booth that had lots of attention was the 'Be Amazing Toys' booth. Several years ago, they came out with a kit that included a sleeve to affix on your Diet Coke bottle and also a pack of Mentos. The sleeve allows the Mentos to slide into the Diet Coke and create the insane fountain spraying out of the top of the Diet Coke bottle. You probably remember the viral video that was out a couple years ago. Anyhow, they've turned it on it's side this year (literally) and allowed you to turn the bottle and place wheels on it to create a 'Geyser Rocket Car.'
Now, when they came out with the Mentos/Diet Coke fountain kit several years ago, they created a cool display which had a 20 foot plastic tower that let them shoot off the Diet Coke in the building without creating an insane mess. It was always a popular display. This year, to showcase the new car, they created a enclosed track that let the car shoot along. In the fountain display, the displayer put the coke bottle inside the plexiglass tower and pulled a string that allowed the Mentos to fall into the Diet Coke bottle. This year, they decided to forego all that neatness and simply place a sucker, er...employee, inside a plexiglass room. Their demonstration always drew a crowd. The guy doing the demo called upon someone from the audience to remotely pull the string and let the Mentos into the Diet Coke....with our hero in the room. So...the audience member pulls the string and the poor guy gets drenched in Diet Coke. He's absolutely drenched from head to toe and standing barefoot in a couple inches of Diet Coke at the bottom of the room. Then the poor guy loads up the car and sends it careening down the track - all the while Diet Coke spraying him as it goes.

The Diet Coke and Mentos powered car shoots away from our hero. 

I took these pics at their booth - that's Emily, my wife, pulling the trigger on the poor sap. I tweeted from Toy Fair that this guy had the worst job at Toy Fair and got a response from Be Amazing Toys offering to allow me in the booth. I tweeted back that I'd do it, but never got a response. Probably for the best.

Ravensburger showed off the 'World's Largest Puzzle' which has more than 32,000 pieces and weighs a hefty 42 lbs!

Worst Toy at Toy Fair 2009

This is my third year to name the 'Worst Toy at Toy Fair.' Previous winners included Rubik's Revolution and the Carmen Electra stripper pole.

Actually, this was the second worst toy I saw at Toy Fair this year. The first was so offensive, I dared not even post it! So, this will have to do. New, from Outset Media, it's the Fart! game. Complete with cards marked with titles like 'Silent But Deadly,' 'Duvet Lifter,' 'Eggy Stinker,' and 'Pant Ripper.'

Look, I know that farting is natural. And it comes with a 99-track CD chock filled with fart sounds. And yes, it is the funniest thing in the world for boys aged 4-97, but come on, really? Do we need nicknames for specific kinds of farts? Do we really want to encourage farting and talking about farting with a group that doesn't even need a good excuse to talk farts? Hey, boys are gonna talk about farts, they're gonna fart, they're gonna giggle when you say the word 'fart,' - it's all good, but I do not wanna play a game called Fart! thank you very much.

Kabloom!

Tell me the last thing you'd expect to happen when your child started playing with their Aromatherapy Fountain or Bath Benefits sets from toymaker Jakks Pacific?

If it was me, the last thing I'd expect is for the bottles to spontaneously explode. Well, not so surprisingly 88 customers found out they sometimes do explode. And 13 people were injured by flying caps blown off by pressure.

YoYo Joe's did not sell this product, it's more likely found in big box stores. Jakks Pacific has determined that simply drilling a couple small holes in the caps to the bottles is enough to release the pressure. You can read the recall info at the CPSC web site here:

'No Refunds'

This article made me laugh. What kind of store posts signs that read 'No Refunds' ? That's not a really difficult question, actually. The kind of store that will not stand behind it's products. The article refers to a Concord Mall kiosk that was selling R/C Helicopters. Apparently, a good number of them broke almost immediately and people wanted their money back. It got bad enough that the police were brought in.

I do feel bad for the people who spent good money on these expecting them to last a bit longer than one flight. I saw this kiosk in the Concord Mall and saw the products being sold. I get lot of e-mails and mailings pitching these kind of products and toss them into the recycling pile. We're not interested. If I have any doubts on the quality of a toy, I pass on it.

Alternatively, we DO provide refunds to people unhappy with their purchases. All you need is your original sales receipt we're happy to refund you. Even without a receipt, we can give you store credit to pick something else out. And, we're gonna be here in February, unlike some of these seasonal stores that pop up to cash in on the Holiday seasonal sales then shutter up in January and head on out of town. And the only time we've had police officers in our store was when they were customers.

Dora, Dora, Dora! What naughty things you say!

A naughty Dora the Explorer walkie-talkie in Huntington, West Virginia apparently overstepped it's 20 yard range and, allegedly, picked up a conversation between truckers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike - 275 miles away. The truckers were talking about....er.....naughty things. Check out the AP article here.

Truly Terrible Toys

I present to you the first in an ongoing series of posts identifying what I consider to be 'Truly Terrible Toys.' Remember, it's just my opinion, your results may vary, results not typical, some shrinkage may occur.

Anyhow, my submission for today is the 'Fire Footbag.' Footbag is the generic term for Hackysack (which is a brand name). These folks have come out with the 'Fire Footbag,' a footbag meant to be ignited and kicked around. How does it get flammable? By soaking it in paraffin oil. Then lighting it. Then kicking it. Isn't there a chance that oil might adhere to your shoes, socks and/or you? The answer on their website is "Although very uncommon, certain synthetic fabrics may lite quite easily. Wear only cottons or wool while FireHacking to ensure safety. Shoes do not usally burn, however, shoelaces have been a common casualty." Oh, and the main page lists that these 'extreme' footbags are for "NO PU@%IES - NO POSERS" Ummm...ok....

To be fair, the website insists these are not for minors and specifically says they will not knowingly sell them to minors.

Hannah Montana is bad for you...

...or at least her toys are. The CSPC has found that at least five and as many as nine Hannah Montana toys are over the legal limit for lead. Most of the toys seem to be vinyl accessories (like backpacks, wallets, etc).

Check out this report on the CBS page

Magnetic toys leave a bad taste in the mouth

OK, bad pun. Magnets are taking over where lead left off. It finally occurred to people that swallowing one small magnet from a toy is really no big deal. I mean, you probably don't wanna do it, but it will come out in a day or two after a whirlwind tour of the kids digestive system.
Once a kid swallows a second magnet, then there's trouble. Magnets have a habit of attracting to each other and that tends to wreak havoc with your insides.

Mega Brands recalled 2.4 million magnet toys this week following 44 reports of magnets coming loose from their toys. This includes 1.3 million of the MagnaMan action figures (above).


The other 1.1 million recalled toys are from their Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. preschool magnetic toys line (right) following 19 reports of the magnets coming loose from these toys.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #1

The final day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. To reveal my source of shameless plagiarism, it's Radar Magazine - a funky magazine about "pop, politics, scandal and style." Check em out!

And the worst. Toy. Ever? Why, something we've already talked about. Ladies and gentlemen, for the bizzilionth time ever, it's Aqua Dots.

1. AQUA DOTS

Beloved children's toys of old have oft allowed youngsters to ape questionable adult behavior. (See candy cigarettes and those lovably trampy Bratz dolls) but the most recent addition to pantheon of dangerous toys—Aqua Dots from the Spin Master corporation—took it to the next level. The beads were part of a craft kit that was intended to let children created "multidimensional designs." But when water was added to the plastic balls, the outside coating actually became toxic. The result: Curious tykes who licked the balls enjoyed the effects of date-rape drug GHB, long before their college years. Sure, it sounds cool. But victims of Aqua Dots could become "comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures." The toxic dots, which were labeled as appropriate for kids ages 4 and up, were recalled earlier this month, halting many untoward games of "doctor," but robbing a generation of young artisans the chemical enhancement they so richly deserve.

Worst Toy at Toy Fair

Last year, I decided that the over hyped Rubik's Revolution was the worst toy at Toy Fair. Keep in mind, it's impossible to see everything at this gargantuan event - so, undoubtedly there were worse toys hidden somewhere in The Javits Center.
This year, however, I have absolutely no doubt I saw the worst toy at Toy Fair. There was one booth, in the downstairs area that featured this goodie. The Carmen Electra Professional Pole kit. It's a pole dancing kit. At Toy Fair. Which isn't THAT kind of Toy Fair, it's a trade show intended for buyers of toys to sell to kids. SO, unless I'm sorely mistaken, someone was thinking this was a good choice of an item for toy stores to stock. As the immortal Chris Rock said about being the father of a girl, his job was simply to "keep his daughter 'off the pole.'" Yet, here is someone who is, apparently, marketing them specifically for kids. Yikes! Now, in fairness, I didn't stop at the booth, and I didn't talk to the people there, so I have no idea why this item was there, but it was there. So, it wins my prize this year for the "Worst Toy at Toy Fair."

Worst. Toys. Ever. #2

Another day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next couple days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

2. Lawn Darts

Removable parts? Suffocation risk? Lead paint? Wimpy hazards compared to the granddaddy of them all. Lawn Darts, or "Jarts," as they were marketed, would never fly in our current ultraparanoid, safety-helmeted, Dr. Phil toy culture. Lawn darts were massive weighted spears. You threw them. They stuck where they landed. If they happened to land in your skull, well, then you should have moved. During their brief (and generally awesome) reign in 1980s suburbia, Jarts racked up 6,700 injuries and four deaths.

The best part about Jarts was that they eliminated all speculation from true outdoor fun. (Is this dangerous? Hell yes, now chuck it!) And they were equal opportunity: All it took to play lawn darts was a sweaty grip. For good measure, it was also nice to have a small sibling around to stand on the other side of the house and tell you how your throw looked (and by how much you cleared the chimney). The actual rules of lawn darts, as laid out by the manufacturer, were never important. No one is known to have used Jarts for their intended purpose. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that an accident involving a wayward spear and the semipermeable head of a 7-year-old resulted in the toys being banned from the market in 1988. Sadly, today's underage boys will never know the primal excitement of a summer's evening spent impaling friends before suppertime.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #3

Another day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next couple days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

3. THE NEW EASY-BAKE OVEN

Easy-Bake Ovens have been around since the 1950s. But the "New Easy-Bake Oven," much like The New Leave It to Beaver and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, had horrible shortcomings. The oven's bright-pink front opening lured future homemakers in, promising them the joy and whimsy of consequence-free pastry making. But for 77 master bakers, the New Easy-Bake Oven actually become an incinerator of woe. According to the CSPC, the oven received 249 reports of children who thrust their eager hands into the toy's front-loading oven, only to find their mitts were stuck. Casualties include "77 reports of burns, 16 of which were reported as second- and third-degree burns," and "one report of a serious burn that required a partial finger amputation to a 5-year-old girl." For those easy-bakers who ended up in the burn unit, the secret ingredient was not love, but a skin graft.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #4

Another day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next 3 days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

4. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab

Honey, why is your face glowing? In 1951, A.C. Gilbert introduced his U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, a radioactive learning set we can only assume was fun for the whole math club. Gilbert, who American Memorabilia claims was "often compared to Walt Disney for his creative genius," had a dream that nuclear power could capture the imaginations of children everywhere. For a mere $49.50, the kit came complete with three "very low-level" radioactive sources, a Geiger-Mueller radiation counter, a Wilson cloud chamber (to see paths of alpha particles), a spinthariscope (to see "live" radioactive disintegration), four samples of uranium-bearing ores, and an electroscope to measure radioactivity.

And what nuclear lab for kids would be complete without an Atomic Energy Manual and Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom comic book? (The latter was written with the help of General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project.) Kids do the darndest things, but not, apparently, nuclear physics. The toy was only sold for one year. It's unclear what effects the uranium-bearing ores might have had on those few lucky children who received the set, but exposure to the same isotope—U-238—has been linked to Gulf War syndrome, cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma, among other serious ailments. Even more uncertain is the long-term impact of being raised by the kind of nerds who would give their kid an Atomic Energy Lab.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #5

Another day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next 4 days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

5. Mini-Hammocks from EZ Sales

Mini-hammocks seemed innocuous enough. No projectiles, no lead paint, no sharp edges, and no explicit danger (except sloth). But between the years of 1984 and 1995, the EZ Sales Mini-Hammock, oft marketed under the name Hang Ten, managed to hang 12.

CPSC reported in August 1996 that the product had resulted in the fatal and near-fatal asphyxiation of dozens of kids ages 5 to 17 and recalled three million of them. Among the banned EZ products were Hangouts Baby Hammocks, or "Baby's First Death Cocoon," woven from thin cotton and nylon strings. The culprit was a missing set of "spreader bars," supports meant to keep the hammock open when it was "at ease." Unfortunately, children seeking to spend an afternoon like Gilligan became entangled in the net and strangled to death. That's what happens when you spend $4 on a hammock.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #6

Another day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next 5 days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

6. Snacktime Cabbage Patch Dolls

"Feed Me!" begged the packaging for 1996's Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kid. And much like the carnivorous Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, the adorable lineup of Cabbage Patch snack-dolls appeared at first to be harmless. They merely wanted a nibble—a carrot perhaps, or maybe some yummy pudding. They would stop chewing when snack time was done—they promised. Then they chomped your child's finger off.

In creating this innovative new toy, the great minds at Mattel devised a motorized mouth that sensed neither pleasure nor pain. It chewed for chewing's sake. With no mechanism to turn off the munching should trouble arise, it was only a matter of time before some cherub's long blond hair got caught in the doll's rabid jaws. After 35 fingers and ponytails fell victim, the Snacktime Kids were removed from retail shelves forever, and 500,000 customers were offered a full $40 refund.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #7

Another day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next 6 days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

7. Sky Dancers

Executives at Galoob Toys predicted big sales for Christmas 1994. With their new Sky Dancer, they would be the first toy company to combine the sparkly femininity of Barbie with the firepower of a bottle rocket
In December of that same year, a New York Times article predicted that if Galoob met its goals, Sky Dancer would "be all the rage, the sort of product that engenders black markets, toy-related bribes, and giddy newspaper stories invoking the word 'phenomenon.'" The writer, giddy himself over the "sprite's powerful launch," added, "For every parent who doubts Sky Dancer's safety ... there are 10 who feel the foam wings and take their softness as an assurance of safety." But six years later, the Sky Dancer was grounded. When spun aloft, the wings—which felt so soft and cushy in the aisles of Toys "R" Us—turned into steely-hard child manglers. In 2000, the CPSC announced that more than 150 children fell prey to Sky Dancer's helicopter-blade arms and erratic "Oh-crap-it's-chasing-me!" flying patterns. Injuries included scratched corneas and temporary blindness, mild concussions, broken ribs and teeth, and facial lacerations that required stitches. Nearly nine million Sky Dancers were eventually recalled, leaving aspiring ballerinas to earn their battle scars the old fashioned way—with an eating disorder.

Worst. Toys. Ever. #8

8. Bat Masterson Derringer Belt Gun

Some kids had belt buckles. Others had cap guns. Only the lucky ones had the Bat Masterson Derringer Belt Gun, a two-in-one combo that took care of all your pants-securing needs with the option every 10-year-old dreams of: the ability to shoot caps at groin level.

One Bat Masterson enthusiast, identified as "Tim from Shoreview, Maine" on nostalgia website boomberbaby.com, remembers, "When you stuck out your stomach, putting pressure on the buckle, a small gun would pop out and fire a cap." A gut-busting meal, in that case, could lead to a serious friendly-fire mishap.

According to SafeKids USA, "Caps can be ignited by friction and cause serious burns." Every young boy needs to learn the valuable lesson of always protecting his nether regions, with force if necessary, but given the positioning of the Derringer, the owner's greatest enemy might have actually been puberty.

Paris?

Say it ain't so. German toy maker Simba has debuted their new line of Paris Hilton dolls at the 2008 Nuremberg Toy Fair. The dolls, which apparently are not modeled to look like Paris, have outfits and accessories picked by the ultra rich socialite.

The dolls, which apparently will be available only in Europe, will sell for the equivalent of $13. They come out later this year.

Just what we need, a doll modeled after someone that girls around the world can really look up to. Someone who's made their way in this world. Who's sacrificed to get ahead....ugh...

Worst. Toys. Ever. #9

Fourth day of me shamelessly stealing from another website for a list of the 12 worst toys ever. I'll post them over the next 8 days (or when I get around to it). Some of them are pretty darn funny, all of them have major flaws (some fatal flaws). At the end of the list, I will attribute the source of my plagiarism.

THE FRYING GAME Horse around with the Thingmaker and you'll get the third degree

9. Creepy Crawlers

Nothing says safety like an open hot plate. And nothing says fun like using that open hot plate to create molten, rubbery insects you can throw at your sister while narrowly avoiding setting the house ablaze. The 1964 Creepy Crawler Thingmaker from Mattel, a distant cousin of today's Creepy Crawler toys, came with a series of molds, tubes of "plastigoop," and an open-faced fryer, which could heat up to a nerve-searing 310 degrees.

FLESH DIRECT
The molds came in many different varieties, but rarely in the shape of your little brother's hand

The plastigoop was poured over an extremely hot surface and then cast into the molds of various multicolored critters. The results? Fingerprint removal. At least those who dodged serious injury or disfigurement could safely eat their creation. Oh wait, the critters were toxic, too. But this was the '60s, and though there was an outcry from the singed and sickened masses, Mattel went right on marketing their electric ovens to children.

Wanna buy one?

Worst. Toys. Ever. #10

10. Johnny Reb Cannon

WHISTLING DIXIE Through the new hole in your head

The South did rise again, at least during playtime for the owners of the Johnny Reb, a 30-inch "authentic Civil War" cannon draped in the Confederate flag. The Reb fired hard plastic cannonballs with a spring mechanism—the aspiring secessionist need only pull a lanyard. No word on exactly how fast the cannonballs flew, but they traveled up to 35 feet and seemed perfectly sized to lodge into an eye socket, down an open mouth, or through a slave's window.

For only $11.98, young rebels got a cannon, six cannonballs, a ramrod, and a rebel flag. What better way to permanently maim your little brother while spreading valuable lessons about states' rights? Check out the ultra dated commercial for it below.