Dangerous Toys and Christmas Shopping in 1960s Britain (1966)

[@smadaf]

7:15 "The chairman of the British toy-manufacturers' association, Mister Ralph Ehrmann, disagrees violently." That sounds dangerous.

[@jojojojo4332]

it sounds as german as his name.

[@MrDavey2010]

This is remarkable that back in the day no laws prevented dangerous toys!

[@OofusTwillip]

Even worse: In the Victorian era, other countries banned the use of arsenical dyes in wallpaper. But Britain has NEVER banned it, because the government didn't want to stifle industrial growth.

[@OofusTwillip]

I got a pair of those high-heeled shoes for Christmas, when I was 4. There's a photo of me wearing them on the day, but they disappeared soon afterwards. It seems my mother saw me wobbling in them, and realized I could break an ankle.

[@OofusTwillip]

We hear the same arguments every time safety laws are proposed: "You're only punishing law-abiding people; the scofflaws will keep doing whatever they want." It always takes a catastrophe to make public outrage drown out the industry's powerful lobbyists. One of the most striking examples was the Elixir Sulfanilamide Disaster, in the USA, in 1937, which finally resulted in laws requiring all medicines to be tested for safety and efficacy, before they could be put on the market.

[@woodyspooner]

Thank goodness there isn't any plare-stick and metal spikes in any 21st-century toys.🧸

[@AnnetteMorris-x1q]

I had those plastic high heels , they were pink , didn't hurt me😂

[@jordanhunt4867]

Why would they make toys that dangerously bad for anyway, were they made of spikes and plastic bags themselves?

[@OofusTwillip]

Profits are all that matter to them. T'was ever thus. Watch the "Hidden Killers" series of documentaries about dangers in the home, throughout history. The one about the Postwar era is the most frightening, because it's still fairly recent, compared to the Tudor, Victorian, and Edwardian eras.

[@DaveLowe28]

Full of straw man arguments from those in charge. It's good to see that some people were willing to accept the dangers and make changes despite there being no law. Of course, back in my day ... grumble grumble ... something about kids today going soft.

[@ukraine7249]

They don’t have any gender neutral toys either!!

[@OofusTwillip]

Sure they did: Teddy bears, chiming balls, wagons, rocking horses...

[@pigsymagic4741]

When all we had to worry about were dodgy toys

[@jojojojo4332]

bad food, dreadfull healthcare. rebuilding britiain. northern ireland. the removal of industry. but keep stupid.