In an age of heightened safety concerns, even simple pleasures can seem risky. But sometimes, a little danger adds spice to life. However, the products on this list took risk to a whole new level. These dangerous items were once available for purchase. Buckle up, because some of these might shock you!
10. Norodin (A.K.A. Speed)
Who knew meth could be marketed for weight loss? Norodin, a legal brand of methamphetamine, was once prescribed to women looking to shed pounds. Imagine the energy! Robbery, proclaiming oneself the messiah, and everything else! It was readily available, until people started abusing this drug like crazy. High-profile criminal cases highlighted the dangers, eventually moving the business from pharmacists to local drug kingpins.
9. A.C. Gilbert Company’s Questionable Toys
A.C. Gilbert made cool toys, but some were incredibly dangerous. Besides the choking hazards and pinching injuries, radiation poisoning was also an option. The ‘Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab’ let kids play with uranium ores, emitting gamma, alpha, and beta radiation. There was also a glass blowing kit and a chemistry set that included sodium cyanide—perfect for taking out neighborhood spies or a really terrible milkshake.
8. 1920s Hair Removal via X-Rays
Forget waxing and laser treatments; in the 1920s, ladies used X-rays for hair removal. ‘Tricho’ machines in beauty parlors focused X-ray doses on faces, leading to permanent hair removal after about 15 treatments a year. The side effects? Malignant carcinomas and possible death. So, think twice before asking for an X-ray back, sack, and crack.
7. The Empire Little Lady Stove
Remember the Easy Bake Oven? Now, imagine one that reaches temperatures hotter than your regular oven. The Empire Little Lady Stove could hit 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Modern ovens have mechanisms to prevent overheating, but not this toy! It’s hot enough to whip up chocolate chip cookies in 35 seconds. A surefire way to end up at the burns unit.
6. The Zulu Blowgun Game
This game included a blowgun, paper targets, and metal-tipped darts. It’s like giving a kid a loaded Glock 17 without training. Unsafe? Absolutely! Tone deaf? You bet! It’s the equivalent of handing a child an actual weapon and calling it a ‘new shooting game.’
5. Incredibly Flammable Clothes
Victorian ladies loved flammable fabrics like muslin and gauze, which were basically matchstick dresses. One of the worst was flannelette. A Manchester coroner in 1898 noted several deaths of children burned because their flannelette clothing caught fire. He compared it to gunpowder, but hey, at least the dresses looked pretty!
4. Roman Blinds with Pull Cords
Window coverings might seem harmless, but these fancier blinds with traditional pull cords were incredibly dangerous. Data from 2015 showed that pull cords on window coverings caused over 200 child deaths. Retailers like Target and IKEA have since removed them from shelves. A necessary step for safety.
3. Agene-Treated Flour
Before sourdough and fancy loaves, white bread was king. To make it extra white, bakers used nitrogen trichloride, or agene, to bleach the flour. By 1949, they discovered this caused neurological disorders. How? Dogs eating agene-treated flour in dog biscuits started showing signs of hysteria. Hysterical dogs? Definitely something wasn’t right.
2. Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Released in August 2016, this phone quickly became a hot property—literally. Faulty batteries caused these phones to explode. Samsung recalled them and issued replacements, but these new phones also overheated and blew up. Samsung eventually pulled the plug, losing about $17 billion. A costly and explosive mistake!
1. Any Car Before the ’90s
Old cars were death traps. Take the Ford Pinto (1971-1980), for example. Its fuel tank was right next to the bumper, making even a light bump potentially explosive. Or the Briggs & Stratton Flyer, a wooden go-kart with no doors, windscreen, or safety tech. And if you drove a car before 1968, the non-collapsible steering column could impale you in a crash. Even iconic cars like the DeLorean were unsafe, as the gull wings couldn’t open upside down.
From radioactive toys to exploding phones, these products remind us how much safety standards have evolved. It’s hard to believe some of these items were once considered safe enough for everyday use!
Which of these products surprised you the most? Leave your comment below!
