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 over 150 children fell prey to Sky Dancer’s helicopter-blade arms and erratic “Oh-Jesus-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.
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