The 1970s were a golden age of creativity in toy design, and in hindsight, a surprisingly risky one. Many popular toys of the decade were exciting, innovative, and wildly unsafe by today’s standards. Some were recalled, others were redesigned, and a few were outright banned. Here are seven of the most notorious examples.

Several popular toys of the 1970s caused enough injuries to trigger recalls or packaging overhauls. Many involved projectiles, breakable materials, or heat sources that would fail modern safety testing. Some toys, like Jarts, were so dangerous that they are still banned in the U.S. today.

1. Jarts (Lawn Darts)

Nothing represents the “how was this ever allowed?” spirit of 1970s toys quite like Jarts, which were foot-long weighted lawn darts meant to be thrown high into the air so they could stick in the ground.

The darts had heavy metal tips. Injuries were frequent, and several were catastrophic. After years of emergency-room reports and safety complaints, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned lawn darts outright in 1988. Even today, it is illegal to sell them in the United States.

2. Clackers / Click-Clacks

These toys consisted of two solid acrylic balls attached to a string. Kids would swing them up and down until they smacked together, creating a rhythmic “clacking” noise… or a flying shard of acrylic.

The balls had a tendency to shatter on impact, sending sharp pieces in all directions. Numerous injuries were reported, including eye injuries. By the mid-1970s, safety concerns forced manufacturers to redesign them with softer materials, effectively ending the classic hard-ball version.

3. Battlestar Galactica Missile-Firing Toys

In the late 1970s, several Battlestar Galactica ships were sold with small plastic missiles that children could fire from spring-loaded launchers. Unfortunately, the missiles were small enough to be a choking hazard.

In 1978, a child tragically choked to death on a missile from the Colonial Viper toy. Mattel issued a recall, and the entire toy industry quickly shifted away from realistic projectile launchers. This event directly influenced U.S. toy-safety regulations and changed how action figures and playsets were designed going into the 1980s.

4. Super Elastic Bubble Plastic

This toy came in a tube of colorful, sticky plastic “goo.” Kids would mold it into a bubble on the end of a small straw, then blow into the straw to inflate it. The issue: the material contained toxic solvents, including acetone.

The fumes were strong, flammable, and hazardous to breathe. Children frequently inhaled the vapors from the straw, which led to headaches and dizziness. Super Elastic Bubble Plastic disappeared from shelves in the 1980s as safety standards tightened around chemical-based toys.

5. The Thingmaker (Creepy Crawlers) – Original Hot-Plate Version

Mattel’s Thingmaker allowed kids to pour liquid plastic (“Plasti-Goop”) into metal molds and bake them on a hot electrical plate that reached high temperatures. The toy produced rubbery bugs, flowers, and shapes — and also burns.

The heat source was open, unshielded, and hot enough to scorch skin. The product remained popular, but later versions introduced enclosed heating units to reduce burn risks. The original 1960s–70s design would not pass modern safety testing.

6. Water Wiggle

This backyard toy connected a hose to a plastic head that whipped wildly around as water sprayed out. The idea was fun, unpredictable spraying and running around, but the execution turned out to be hazardous.

If the nozzle detached, the hard plastic head could swing with enough force to injure a child. After at least one fatality linked to the toy in the 1970s, the Water Wiggle was recalled and discontinued.

7. Belt Buckle Derringer Toy Gun

Part toy, part fashion statement, this miniature derringer-style cap gun was worn as a belt buckle. With a concealed trigger mechanism, a kid could activate it without touching the “gun” directly, and without warning to anyone standing nearby.

The small caps could misfire or fire unexpectedly, and the close proximity to the wearer’s body (and face-height for other kids) made the design particularly risky. Toys with similar concealed firing mechanisms were eventually phased out under updated projectile-safety rules.

Why These Toys Vanished

The 1970s were filled with clever ideas and bold designs, but the safety standards we now take for granted did not yet exist. As injury reports increased, the CPSC and similar agencies began issuing recalls, banning certain products, and rewriting safety guidelines.

By the early 1980s, toy design had changed dramatically. Softer materials replaced shattering ones, choking hazards were tightly regulated, solvents were restricted, and projectile-based toys were redesigned or removed from shelves.

A Different Era of Play

While nostalgic for many adults, these toys remind us how much childhood safety has improved. What was once considered ordinary backyard fun would be unthinkable today — and in some cases, outright illegal.

Featured image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 / Jasonbook99