00:00In the 1950s, a cheap 10-cent toy killed dozens of American children
00:04and forced the U.S. to change its safety laws forever.
00:09It was called the Creepy Crawler's Atomic Energy Lab, sold by A.C. Gilbert Company in 1950.
00:16For just $10.7 to $5 and about $0.10 apiece for the parts, kids could play scientist at home.
00:23But this was no harmless chemistry set.
00:25It came with four glass jars of real uranium ore, a Geiger counter,
00:30and instructions to perform radioactivity experiments right in the kitchen.
00:35At the time, America was obsessed with the Atomic Age.
00:39The government encouraged citizens to learn about nuclear power, even children.
00:45But within two years, reports of radiation exposure and contamination fears began to surface.
00:50The toy was quickly pulled from stores in 1951 after fewer than 5,000 units were sold.
00:58Public outcry pushed the government to create the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,
01:03decades later in 1972, to regulate dangerous children's products.
01:09IT IS remembered today as the most dangerous toy ever sold,
01:13proof that even nuclear science could be packaged for play.
01:16A 10-cent curiosity became a national scandal.
01:20And the reason every toy on store shelves now reads,
01:24Tested for safety.
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