The Chinese government has cracked down on these popular toys, with police now raiding toy shops to confiscate the devices, CNN reported. The products have yet to take off in the United States, but have become a huge fad in China, where kiosks near elementary schools sell the toys for as little as $1, CNN reported. Tests conducted by the Shanghai Daily newspaper showed the crossbows easily piercing cardboard and popping balloons.Īnd because these toys can be hidden, kids can take the crossbows into locations, such as schools, where traditional projectile-firing toys (other than a slingshot) could not be concealed for long. Videos online show that these projectiles not only have a large range, but can also pierce the flesh of an apple. As a result, unlike traditional crossbows, the new toys can fit in one hand and be fired single-handed they can launch projectiles as far as 30 to 40 feet (9.1 to 12.2 meters), according to. JD.com and haven’t immediately responded to a CNN request for comment.įollowing parents’ outrage, local governments across the country are clamping down the toy.Įducation boards in several provinces have requested schools confiscate the toy if it turns up in class.ĬCTV, the state broadcaster has asked people to tip-off about any “evil-minded” manufacturers or retailers of the crossbow.The products work like traditional crossbows, only smaller. However, the listings of the crossbow are now nowhere to be found on these sites. Until this week, it could be easily purchased on China’s leading e-commerce site like JD.com and. A 10-year-old in Xinjiang, west China was hurt by a toothpick crossbow in his right eye last Sunday, resulting in an irreversible eyesight loss, reports the local Urumqi Evening News.Īccording to state media, the toothpick crossbow costs as little as $1 and is sold in in kiosks near elementary and middle schools in China. Handheld crossbows that can fire out needles and nails are the latest must-have toy in China but anxious parents want them banned. It can cause even more damage if loaded with harder ammunition like needles. “ĭespite its tiny size, a toothpick launched by the crossbow is powerful enough to pierce an aluminum can from 20 to 66 feet, according to toy packaging shown in a video by China’s state broadcaster CCTV. “Once found, the products will be pulled from the shelves and the businesses will be punished. “Business owners shouldn’t sell toys that are physically or mentally harmful to minors,” said the Administration for Industry and Commerce of Chengdu, in the provincial capital of Sichuan. Police in Yunnan and Sichuan, in China’s southwest, conducted similar operations. Police in the eastern province of Zhejiang sent 3,973 officers to check businesses and confiscated 528 miniature crossbows. “This is not a toy, but a mini weapon of destruction,” Yan Yan, a mother commented on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. Parents have taken to social media to express their concerns as they fear the crossbow can be loaded with sharp objects and cause real harm. Police in three Chinese provinces are raiding toy shops to seize miniature crossbows that shoot toothpicks. China has a much more dangerous toy fad driving adults crazy.
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