May 6, 2013

You call this children's play? The stuff has polyvinyl acetate dissolved in acetone with ethyl acetate plastic fortifiers added.

On a recent trip to the local 5 & 10, I noticed something I hadn't seen since I was a wee one wearing a patch over my eye in some opthomologist's effort to straighten my crossed eyes.

Were those B'Loonies??? 


Raise your hand if you remember this toxic viscous plastic substance that was a children's "toy" manufactured in the 1970s. Bobby? Jimmy? Suzy? Twiggy? Anyone out there remember?

It is highly likely the fumes from the stuff obliterated all memories.

In the event you forgot, let's review "How to Blow B'Loonies":

. Squeeze  a blob of the liquid plastic onto the tip of the provided pink plastic straw.
. Blow gently to inflate the plastic into a bubble.
. Pinch the bubble from the straw so that the hole is closed and the air is sealed inside.

Now let's review what not to do:
Do not blow B'Loonies in an enclosed area. (B'Loonies can impact your breathing and respiratory system. In addition, fumes concentrate inside the straw and light-headedness will ensue.)

So my questions are this:

#1. The smell of the plastic goop is absolutely toxic. Just because it comes in green, yellow, red and blue, doesn't mean it's friendly. It contains polyvinyl acetate dissolved in acetone, with ethyl acetate plastic fortifiers added. How did this stuff ever get approved as a  toy? 

#2. How many children in history passed out while blowing B'Loonies?

#3. And how many people will admit that they chewed B'Loonies after the bubbles deflated?

#4.  Weren't B'loonies in play about the same time as Agent Orange?  (Is there a connection?)

#5. (I forgot my question.)

B'Loonies were in the hands of children at the approximate period that I remember playing in DNT smoke when "The Mosquito Man" came to our neighborhood to annihilate flying insects every summer.  It was also a time when rogue Slinkies could be used as weapontry.

In any case, B'Loonies are one of the scariest interactive toys ever invented. Along with marbles (which I almost choked to death on when I was 4.) (Not kidding.)

2 comments:

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