Let’s find out “How Many People Died From The Water Wiggle?” Two kids’ deaths were used to create Water Wiggle, a beloved children’s toy from the 1970s. Is it still accessible right now?
Between the early 1960s and the middle of the 1970s, kids in America loved the toy called “Water Wiggle.” When it was first released in 1962, Wham-“Water O’s Wiggle” was a major hit. Over the course of 17 years, Wham-O sold little over 2.5 million water wiggles.
The toy was constructed from a seven foot long plastic hose that was joined to an aluminum water-jet nozzle and finished with a bell-shaped plastic head.
In order for people to enjoy the water, it was designed to be used with a garden hose. The asking price was roughly $3.50 at the time.
However, the popularity didn’t last forever. In two separate cases in the 1970s, one in 1975 and the other in 1978, kids died after removing the toy’s head and inserting the metal connector into their mouth.
How Many People Died From The Water Wiggle? Victims Who Lost Their Lives To The Infamous Toy
The toddler was utilizing a disassembled “Water Wiggle,” from which the bell-shaped head had been cut off or removed while playing with other children in the garden.
The exposed aluminum nozzle became lodged in the 3-year-mouth old’s and caused him to suffocate. Wham-O claimed that it had no knowledge of the events leading up to the toy’s breakdown or how the nozzle wound up in the kid’s mouth.
The boy’s father, Robert McCabe, used a butter knife to try and cut out the “Water Wiggle” toy that was fast swelling inside the child’s neck.
Additionally, that was not the only deadly accident caused by “Water Wiggle”. The product was responsible for the 1975 drowning of three-year-old Marcus Maloney of Baton Rouge, Los Angeles. Nevertheless, the dispute was resolved following a lawsuit and a monetary settlement.
A $1 million lawsuit against Wham-O was brought about by the horrifying mortality accidents. The parents sought legal fees and damages totaling over USD 1 million. The toy’s potential for harm was acknowledged by the Wham-O researchers.
The toy, however, was confirmed to comply with federal safety regulations, according to Whan-attorney O’s Craig Cameron, and came with sufficient caution regarding its use.
A Wham-O representative stated that when a recall notice was issued in the wake of the McCabe boy’s passing, around 85,000 of the toys were returned. The number of backyard water toys sold since 1961 is about 3 million.
Is Water Wiggle Still Available? Details
When the incident occurred in 1975, the popularity of the toy “Water Wiggle” was not affected. However, Wham-O had the toy recalled and the remaining stock removed from stores following the second tragedy.
Until 1986, Wham-O briefly reintroduced the toy in a (likely) subsequent version. That would mark the end of the water wiggle. The market eventually released the new products, but they never matched their prior success.
But as of right now, the Wham-O website makes no mention of this toy. It seems as though they’d want people to forget it ever happened.
To ask the normal child of the 1970s to forget about such a popular toy is a difficult order. The Water Wiggle may have been a touch cruel in its splashing antics, but for the majority of us, it was also a whole lot of fun and gave millions of kids pleasant summertime memories.
