toys

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Terrible Toy Makeovers
 Terrible Toy Makeovers 
OPINION
Aug 23, 2008 11:35 AM CDT

Terrible Toy Makeovers

(Newser) - Toy companies keep reinventing our favorite childhood playthings, but the new versions almost never stack up. Babble lists 20 classic toys that didn't need facelifts:
  • Monopoly: Give us our thimble back! The game that taught us to handle money has become an ad for SpongeBob, American Idol and the like.
...

Congress Moves to Ban Toxin Found in Toys

Bush could yet veto bill including measure to keep phthalates away from children

(Newser) - Congressional negotiators have agreed to ban a group of toxins common in children’s toys, part of a consumer-protection bill, the Washington Post reports. The ban mirrors tougher standards at big retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, and, like those bans, wouldn’t take effect until after the holiday...

Crikey! Bindi Gets Her Own Doll
Crikey!
Bindi Gets
Her Own Doll
Jul 5, 2008 10:27 PM CDT

Crikey! Bindi Gets Her Own Doll

Crocodile Hunter's daughter continuing in dad's footsteps

(Newser) - Bindi Irwin isn't yet 10, but she's got her own TV show, an Emmy, and now, a doll in her image. An Ohio company is making 10-inch replicas of the young Australian star, the daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Bindi inherited her...

Abigail Breslin: Little Miss a Serious Actress

Tweener still candid despite Oscar nod and new starring role

(Newser) - Pint-sized Abigail Breslin swears that her Oscar nod and whirlwind career have barely changed her life, Vanity Fair reports. She will admit that her best supporting actress nomination for Little Miss Sunshine “was really exciting," but so are the 12-year-old's veterinary dreams. “I got to ride a...

Fisher-Price Courts Far-Flung Fans

Firm adjusts to shifting global sales patterns

(Newser) - Fisher-Price has tackled some unexpected challenges lately, from perfecting a recording of the phrase “It’s learning time!” in Mandarin to removing pig illustrations from Turkish kids’ books. In the past 5 years, Fisher-Price’s sales abroad have more than doubled while sales drop domestically—as traditional toys...

Wal-Mart Tightens Toy Safety Standards

Retailer goes beyond government requirements

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is adopting stricter toy safety standards, going above and beyond existing government requirements, the Wall Street Journal reports. The standards set hard lead limits, and encourage “traceability information,” to show where toys are from. Complying could boost toymakers’ costs by 5%-7%, but since Wal-Mart is the world’...

Iranian Lawman Blasts Barbie
 Iranian Lawman Blasts Barbie 
Apr 29, 2008 7:42 AM CDT

Iranian Lawman Blasts Barbie

Top prosecutor calls for ban on Western toy imports

(Newser) - Barbie, Batman, and Harry Potter have no place in the Islamic Republic of Iran, says the nation's top prosecutor. He warned of the "social danger" that toys and other Western cultural imports pose to his country and has called for a ban, the BBC reports. Barbie is a big...

Still Clicking, Lego Turns 50
Still Clicking, Lego Turns 50
Jan 29, 2008 8:57 AM CST

Still Clicking, Lego Turns 50

Addictive bricks survive video game threat to mark a half-century as a timeless hit

(Newser) - When a Dane filed a patent for interlocking toy bricks 50 years ago yesterday, it began a revolution that has produced enough Legos to stretch to the moon 10 times over, writes Time. The toy, named Forbes' "Toy of the Century" in 1999, survived stiff competition from higher-tech playthings...

Father of the Hula Hoop, Frisbee Dies

Richard Knerr's Wham-O also produced Slip 'N Slide, Silly String

(Newser) - Richard Knerr, co-founder of the company that launched the Hula Hoop, Frisbee, and Silly String, died of a stroke Monday at 82. Knerr went from selling slingshots out of his parents' garage with lifelong pal and business partner Arthur Melin to creating the hugely profitable Wham-O toy company. The story...

Screw G.I. Joe and Barbie, Gimme an iPod

Tech toys fly off the shelves, as young kids imitate grown up gadget lovers

(Newser) - Toddlers are getting their geek on, thanks to the rash of technological toys flying off the shelves this Christmas. The long-stagnant toy industry has found a growing market in kiddie versions of grown-up gadgets like laptops and digital cameras, the Times reports. “Toy companies don’t even call it...

Ten Christmas Wishes From Wired
Ten Christmas Wishes From Wired
Nov 23, 2007 12:34 PM CST

Ten Christmas Wishes From Wired

Number one is a slinky, and that's awesome

(Newser) - Wired editors have picked out their gadget wish list for the holidays this year, and while the list includes some high-tech toys like TVs and palmtops, it starts out with a standby: a slinky.
  1. Slinky (everyone knows it's slinky)
  2. Nokia N810 (open source palmtop)
  3. Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean (invincible wristwatch)
...

US Stores Riddled With Unsafe Toys
US Stores Riddled With Unsafe Toys
Nov 21, 2007 3:22 AM CST

US Stores Riddled With Unsafe Toys

Lead, choking hazards could be home for the holidays

(Newser) - Despite massive recalls, hazardous toys still crowd US shelves, warn consumer watchdog organizations. Dozens of toys pose choking hazards, contain toxic chemicals, or use dangerously strong magnets, according to an annual toy survey by the US Public Interest Research Group released yesterday. Nine of 100 toys tested by the Center...

10 Things a Kid Had to Have
10 Things a Kid Had to Have
Nov 18, 2007 4:50 AM CST

10 Things a Kid Had to Have

We all know Furbies, but what were our parents' must-haves?

(Newser) - Demanding kids have been sending crazed parents on a quest for the must-have toy for decades, says CNN. A list of past faves that made shoppers go wild:
  1. Mr. Potato Head, 1952
  2. Easy-Bake Oven, 1964
  3. G.I. Joe with kung fu grip, 1974

Prices in Toyland Are Going Up
Prices in Toyland Are Going Up
Sep 14, 2007 7:04 AM CDT

Prices in Toyland Are Going Up

Consumers will pay for testing toys

(Newser) - Toyland is about to become a more expensive place, as price hikes of 10% or more kick in to pay for heightened vigilance by toy makers following the recall of millions of lead-tainted and otherwise unsafe playthings imported from China. The added costs, which  won't kick in until after Christmas,...

Toymakers Play Games With Regulations
Toymakers Play Games With Regulations
Sep 12, 2007 12:01 PM CDT

Toymakers Play Games With Regulations

Call for more safety testing a cynical move, Slate critic contends

(Newser) - The toy industry’s new safety-testing push may succeed in rebuilding trust, but it’s likely to leave dangerous ways unchecked—and the big guys know it, argues Slate’s E. Marla Felcher. The current scandals are matters of enforcement, not of the regulations themselves, but the new call for...

China Agrees to End Lead Toy Imports

After third Mattel recall, Beijing seeks to end fallout

(Newser) - After three recalls by Mattel and growing nail-biting among parents, Chinese officials have signed an agreement with Washington to stop using lead paint in imported toys, CNNMoney reports. Although the US outlawed sales of lead-painted toys in 1978, Chinese-made products containing the hazardous metal continue to seep into the market....

SpongeBob? Not You, Too!
SpongeBob?
Not You, Too!
Aug 23, 2007 9:43 AM CDT

SpongeBob? Not You, Too!

Another recall of 300,000 Chinese toys hits America

(Newser) - Some 300,000 more toys and other children's items made in China have been recalled due to safety concerns about lead. That includes 250,000 SpongeBob journals and address books with lead paint on the metal bindings. The journals, imported by privately held Martin Designs Inc., were sold in US...

Mattel Recalls 18M More Toys Made in China

9M sold in US; toys contain hazardous magnets, lead-tainted paint

(Newser) - Mattel today announced a second, much bigger recall of Chinese-made toys that may be hazardous: 18 million of them worldwide, and 9 million in the US. The recalled items  include play sets containing magnets that can be dangerous when swallowed and die-cast cars that contain lead paint. The play sets...

Chinese Toy Exec Commits Suicide After Recall

China banned exports from the company

(Newser) - The head of a Chinese company that made a million of the lead-tainted toys recalled by Mattel last month hanged himself in his warehouse this weekend. Zhang Shuhong's  suicide followed the announcement Thursday that China banned exports from his company because of the defects. Colleagues reported that Zhang had been...

Mattel Recalls 1.5M Toys Made in China

Lead-tainted paint the culprit in Sesame Street, Nick items

(Newser) - Mattel is recalling some 1.5 million Chinese-made toys found to have "excessive levels" of lead in their paint. The Elmo's Guitar, Ernie Splashin' Fun Trike and 81 other  types of toys, mostly Nickelodean and Sesame Street products, were marketed under Mattel's Fisher-Price brand and cost between $5 and...

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