10 – Push to Ban Gender-Specific Toys,
- Australian political party The Greens created controversy when they attempted to ban gender-specific toys.
- According to the Greens, buying traditional gender-specific toys – such as dolls for girls and trucks for boys – will lead to domestic violence and contribute to pay inequality.
- The idea was met with universal backlash, with most finding the suggestion ludicrous. While gender roles are an issue worth discussing, only those with rocks in their heads buy into this correlation.
- Now, when this video’s over, I’m gonna don my favourite frilly apron and bake the meanest cake you ever saw – ’cause that’s the kind of man I am.
9 – SpongeBob Address Book and Homosexual Agenda,
- In 2007, the officially licensed SpongeBob SquarePants Address Books were banned by the CPSC.
- You might think conservatives banned the absorbent, yellow and porous sponge’s address book because they disliked his campy nature, but the real reason was the paint on the metal spiral bindings contained excessive levels of lead.
- While we’re on the subject, though, there is a legit ban on all things SpongeBob in the Ukraine. According to the National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality, shows like SpongeBob and Family Guy promote the homosexual agenda and the ‘destruction of the family’.
- The commission is particularly concerned by squeaky-voiced SpongeBob’s homoerotic relationship with pink sea star, Patrick.
8 – Swearing Baby Smurf,
- In 1997, an Ontario mother claimed the Berry Lovin’ Baby Smurf doll she bought for her grandchild said, ‘Who gives a fuck?’ Others chimed in hearing similar things. A few people distinctly heard their dolls say ‘I want to cut you’.
- Manufacturer Irwin Toy refuted the claims, saying people were simply mishearing, or had overactive imaginations. They insisted the dolls only speak in garbled baby talk, which consumers may have been interpreting as swear words. Like when you and a friend look up at the clouds and you see a palm tree but your friend sees an elephant penis.
- Amidst the controversy, the Smurfs doll was pulled off the shelves in small numbers.
7 – Steve the Tramp Figure,
- Steve the Tramp, an action figure from the 1990 film Dick Tracy, was recalled when Reverend Donald Wildmon complained the figure was insensitive towards the homeless.
- In a dazzling display of political incorrectness, Steve the Tramp’s package described him as an ‘Ignorant bum’ who ‘you’ll smell before seeing him’. It also claimed that he was ‘stinking up the city sewers’.
- The figure was banned so quickly that it became a valuable collectible.
6 – Monster Science Colossal Water Balls,
- No, Monster Science Colossal Water Balls weren’t banned for having the most convoluted toy name ever, but for being a serious health hazard.
- These tiny capsules’ claim to fame was that they could magically grow up to 400 times their original size in water. Somehow, the creators didn’t realise that little kids eat everything – especially things that resemble gelatinous lollies.
- Sure enough, a boatload of kids swallowed them and the toys expanded inside their bodies. There were numerous cases of life-threatening vomiting and severe dehydration. Even worse, these things were impossible to x-ray and required surgery to remove.
- After hefty lawsuits, Colossal Monster Water Science Balls were pulled after two years on the market.