A very popular toy in Australia, Bindeez, is being recalled for a very strange, but serious reason. Two Australian children were hospitalized unconscious after swallowing some of the Bindeez beads, which got the attention of government officials and doctors, who discovered something very odd and troublesome:
The beads not made with the ingredients they were supposed to have been made with. Rather, the non-toxic glue that should have been used was replaced with a less-expensive glue made from 1,4-Butanediol. The reason that particular chemical is not supposed to be used in toys is because the human body metabolizes it into Gamma-Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB), otherwise known as “liquid fantasy” or the “date rape drug”.
GHB’s drug properties were first discovered by the bodybuilding community in the late 80’s. They took it in small doses to help them sleep, and because it is believed to raise growth-hormone levels. It only took a few overzealous bodybuilders to find out that larger doses produced a state similar to being drunk, but with a slight euphoria. Soon GHB was termed “liquid fantasy” and made its way into the rave and club scene in the mid-90’s. By the year 2000, however, a few male college students began using it as a date-rape drug, thus replacing the harder-to-obtain ruhypnol (ruphies) for the purpose of inebriating women.
That WAS the story of GHB, as sinister and sick as it is. But now it looks like we’ll be adding a new chapter to its story. It has found its way into our children’s toys. If the pre-cursor to GHB is found in Australian toys, rest assured there will be some major recalls involving the same substance in toys right here in the US. It is, after all, a world of global trade. (NOTE: We were correct about this, unfortunately. Click here to read about the US Recall of Aqua Dots.)
For those of you who want SAFE toys this year, try some of these or some of these.
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