Thursday, May 15, 2008

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

This is a WaterWiggle - a goofy looking toy that you hook up to your garden hose. Once the water hits the orange head -the WaterWiggle takes flight and soaks everyone in the vicinity. Don't let the innocent face fool you - this was a wicked and dangerous toy made by Whamo-O. The Finlayson kids liked playing in the water, sprinklers, whatever. This toy brought on a day we refer to as Black Saturday. Once the water was turned on full blast, the Finlayson children were mercilessly pelted by Satan's toy. None of us could turn off what powered the beast because the demonic toy guarded the water spigot. We finally were able to shut it off, but not without paying the price of being pelted countless times. I still have nightmares.

4 comments:

Greene Street Letters said...

I....Sparky...that one-toothed, orange demon still haunts me dreams....like a white whale. I shall have revenge on the beastie.
mb

Brook said...

These were about as brilliant as Lawn Darts. Remember those? Sort of like a game of horseshoes except with short, plastic-finned javelins. With six kids in the family during the 50s and 60s, if Whamo made it, we were injured by it. Those were the days! Now they make some kind of air-bag lawn dart. It's safe. If it won't put your eye out, how much fun could it be?

David Finlayson said...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 1978
Release # 78-020


Recall Of Wham-O Water Wiggle Toy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Apr. 13) -- Wham-O Manufacturing Co., San Gabriel, Calif., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, today announced it is voluntarily stopping sale and recalling its "Water Wiggle" toy. Approximately 2 1/2 million of these toys have been sold throughout the United States over the past 17 years.

The toy consists of a seven-foot plastic hose attached to an aluminum water-jet nozzle which is covered by a bell-shaped plastic head. The toy is designed to be attached to a garden hose for water fun. It retails for approximately $3.50.

Wham-O stated that the recall is occasioned by the death of a four-year-old child in March 1978. The youngster was playing with some other children in his backyard with a dismantled "Water Wiggle," one from which the bell-shaped head had been removed or had come off. The exposed aluminum nozzle became lodged in his mouth and he drowned. Wham-O stated that it had no knowledge of how or why the toy was dismantled or how the nozzle became lodged in the child's mouth.

A "Water Wiggle" was involved in a similar death of a three-year-old boy in 1975. Parents are advised not to allow their children to play with this product. Wham-O requests its retailers to remove all "Water Wiggles" from their shelves.

Consumers who own a "Water Wiggle" toy should return the product to the retail store where purchased for a full refund or credit toward another product.

Consumers requiring information concerning this recall should contact the Customer Service Department, Wham-O Manufacturing Company, 835 East El Monte Street, San Gabriel, California 91778 (toll free numbers 800/423-4592 and 800/423-4593) or call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission toll-free hotline 800/638-2772.

leslie said...

i found this after remembering how many kids in my neighborhood left blubbering and horrified. i thought the toy was a blast and quite frankly...hilarious. i wish i had one now! thanks for the laugh.