Althouse: "So the product is being deliberately misused despite a specific warning label, and y'all are complaining that Sissy had to have an unplanned haircut to fix the problem?"

November 23, 2015

"So the product is being deliberately misused despite a specific warning label, and y'all are complaining that Sissy had to have an unplanned haircut to fix the problem?"

"Nobody was irreparably broken or even like stubbed their toe? BURN BUNCH EMS DOWN. Bomb this company back to the stone age before the hair of one more angelic little blonde girl is forever temporarily shortened!"

A comment at Buzzfeed's "Little Girls Are Ruining Their Hair With This Hot New Toy/'Her butt-length hair is now chin length. I was lucky to save that much.'" (There is a no-cutting solution you can easily find on the internet — you use a comb and some vegetable oil.)

36 comments:

Deirdre Mundy said...: So far, I've had 3 3 YO girls. They all screwed up their hair at some point. And I had an 11 YO who tried to cut her own hair because she wanted a 'new style.'

And we won't even count the number of times we've had to cut gum out, because that hardy counts.

A mom who freaks out and sues over "This got tangled in my kid's hair" obviously needs more experience with children.

Heck, we had to cut a BARBIE out of a child's hair once. Not mattel's fault. Kid's fault.

I think the problem comes because too many parents these days see their kids as accessories instead of as people with free will who use it to do dumb things.

Personally, I prefer the "tangled in hair" crises to the "ER for stitches!" crises. Hair grows back, and you can take them to the salon to clean up the mess.; 11/23/15, 10:54 AM
Achilles said...: We don't have so many things because of whiny losers. BUNCH EMS are apparently an intelligence test but lawyers will make sure we all pay for the failure.; 11/23/15, 10:55 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Man-made cockle burrs.; 11/23/15, 11:12 AM
The Godfather said...: I don't sympathize with either the company or "the little girl". What a non-crisis! But I do object to an adult (an aunt, I think) referring to a little girl's hair as "butt length". Rude and crude.; 11/23/15, 11:17 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Warning! Do not put this product under your saddle.; 11/23/15, 11:17 AM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/23/15, 11:18 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: The opportunity of rubbing your balls on a woman's luxurious hair should never be overlooked.

As such, I have never had my balls tangle in a woman's hair.

Pubic hair between her teeth, maybe.

I am Laslo.; 11/23/15, 11:23 AM
MikeR said...: Neat. It _can't_ be that hard to get the things out, can it? I'm tempted to try it on my son's cat.; 11/23/15, 11:27 AM
CStanley said...: Deirdre is absolutely right. These episodes come with the territory.

I probably shouldn't tempt fate but we've gotten off relatively easy with regard to ER visits. The only standout was the incident involving a small round piece of mint gum that my two year old lodged in his nostril (causing much pain as it melted on the sensitive mucosal lining.) I'd done the retrieval of peas and corn before, but this thing was impossible to grasp without a special instrument (the PA used one of those wire loops that are meant for cleaning ear wax.)

And even though the size and shape of this gum presented a hazard to toddlers, I didn't sue.; 11/23/15, 11:50 AM
jr565 said...: Things that stick together tend to also stick to other things.
So, be careful how you play with those things.; 11/23/15, 1:09 PM
Levi Starks said...: Looks like most of the "victims" are fair skinned blonds with very fine hair, I wouldn't expect them to get much sympathy.; 11/23/15, 1:12 PM
Anonymous said...: These toys are exactly like cockleburs, I blame the parents for buying them. Why would it be smart to play with cockleburs any where near a head of hair on a child or a dog or cat? If swallowed I can imagine it wouldn't be a good thing either. It's a stupid and dangerous toy.; 11/23/15, 1:42 PM
FullMoon said...: Georgie said... [hush][hide comment]

These toys are exactly like cockleburs, I blame the parents for buying them. Why would it be smart to play with cockleburs any where near a head of hair on a child or a dog or cat? If swallowed I can imagine it wouldn't be a good thing either. It's a stupid and dangerous toy.

Every toy is dangerous. Name one thing that cannot put an eye out, strangle you,
suffocate you, choke or poison you. Or be used to beat a younger sibling to a pulp.

Received a small tool set as a nine year old. Less than a week later, I learned it is best to unplug an electric clock before dis-assembly. Coincidentally learned 110 volts was not fatal, but is best avoided, if possible.; 11/23/15, 2:09 PM
Oh Yea said...: Girls should stick to playing with dolls and let the boys play with Bunchems, LEGOs and other creative and dangerous toys.; 11/23/15, 2:26 PM
Alexander said...: The comment is very obviously mocking little white girls. So Althouse throws up the most racist comment by a third party and then makes it 'relevant' with a 'which of these other two groups do you sympathize with.'

Ah well.

I sympathize with the girls. Contrary to feminist bullshit little girls like to play with their hair and dress up and be pretty. That a girl would try to accessorize with these is as predicable as boys will throw them at one another.

Its for the adults to realize that natural instincts + cockleburs = terrible idea. That's not saying the toy needs to be banned, but it's not a difficult question to figure out who I sympathize with.; 11/23/15, 2:35 PM
Anonymous said...: "Girls should stick to playing with dolls and let the boys play with Bunchems, LEGOs and other creative and dangerous toys."

Equating these cocklebur toys to Legos or Lincoln logs is a bit silly. Of course girls should play with building toys if that is what they enjoy doing.; 11/23/15, 3:12 PM
FleetUSA said...: Normally I would go with the company (consumers can be idiots) but when it comes in the form of an attractive nuisance for small children I think there should be clearer instructions - warnings to parents who might not see the potential problems.; 11/23/15, 3:14 PM
Rusty said...: Bob Boyd said...
Man-made cockle burrs.

Exactly what I thought.

And yes. Deirdre nailed it.; 11/23/15, 3:26 PM
Bryan C said...: Corrected headline: "Little Girls Ruin Hot New Toy With Long Hair"; 11/23/15, 3:58 PM
jr565 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/23/15, 4:04 PM
jr565 said...: I remember having an erector set at school. And we had one teacher (Ms. Jackson) who would actually get physical with the students from time to time when she got pissed off. She threw a book at my head once, as an example. anyway, my friend and I were acting up one day and she took the metal rod from the erector set and started hitting us on our butts with it.

Takeaway - erector sets can be dangerous if you use them improperly. So, don't beat people with the metal rods from erector sets.

(As a side note, I can't believe she wasn't fired. Different times I suppose); 11/23/15, 4:54 PM
Wince said...: So, just put the toy away until they grow a bush - and then let it rip for a in-home Brazillian!; 11/23/15, 5:22 PM
Tina848 said...: There was this incident with Superlastic Bubbleplastic in elementary school. I went from hair down to my butt, to a short Dorthy Hammil bob. Then there was that time I attempted to cut my bangs.....I am sure I am not alone.; 11/23/15, 5:31 PM
Fernandinande said...: Bryan C said...
Corrected headline: "Little Girls Ruin Hot New Toy With Long Hair"

Fun Toy Banned Because Of Three Stupid Dead Kids; 11/23/15, 5:53 PM
Big Mike said...: Hmmm. My grand-niece needs a Christmas present. Yes, I am evil!; 11/23/15, 6:19 PM
Big Mike said...: My wife's take: how do we know the mother didn't deliberately tangle the toys in her daughter's hair in hopes of a big payday from the lawsuit?

You women aren't a gender; you're a conspiracy.; 11/23/15, 6:25 PM
Sydney said...: Toys tangled in hair seems a pretty minor problem. Does anyone remember a toy from about 12 years ago that consisted of superstrong small magnets? Kids were swallowing them and the magnets would stick together in their intestines. Now, that's a dangerous toy.; 11/23/15, 7:50 PM
Unknown said...: I have a younger friend that wanted to market a toy called "Tiny Pieces." Just a big bucket of little plastic parts that would drive parents nuts with clean up, stepping on them, jamming the vacuum. I told him that Legos had already been invented.; 11/23/15, 8:47 PM
Unknown said...: Perhaps now Spin Master reshapes and markets the same basic pieces as hair styling pieces? I know that most girls hate hair clips because they always fall out.; 11/23/15, 8:52 PM
Phil 314 said...: I prefer bag of glass.; 11/23/15, 9:17 PM
wildswan said...: Obviously there is a market for a toy that lets you put rainbow colored objects in your hair but then afterward you can get them out.; 11/23/15, 9:33 PM
Carnifex said...: I think the production company is missing a golden oppurtunity here. You could develop an air powered bunch em's gun and the police could use them to "tag" perp's. Keep shooting the bunch em's till visibility is impaired. This would mean the end of BLM, and all that other horse shit. /sarc; 11/24/15, 2:20 AM
tim maguire said...: Right now it's 450 for the company and 57 for the kid. From that I surmise that 450 people either didn't follow the link or don't have kids. The comment you quoted, in context, is retarded. From this day forward, it is the standard by which obtuseness shall be judged (or until the next Buzzfeed comment thread).; 11/24/15, 5:01 AM
tim maguire said...: Reading the comments here, I had to go back and read the article again. What's this lawsuit crap so many here are going on about? Nobody's banning anything, either. Some parents are warning other parents about a danger with this toy. That's it. And while we're on the subject, Deidre did not nail it, she asserted a false choice.; 11/24/15, 5:07 AM
dbp said...: I just about spit my coffee all over the keyboard when I saw some of the pictures at the link!

Some of the girls had dozens of those things stuck in their hair. I have three girls and they have done some boneheaded things, but even they would know enough to stop adding more of these things if they already had one stuck in their hair.

I feel bad for the parents but they should look on the bright side. Little precious will grow back her hair or they could finally read the label and learn that they come out with oil and a comb...; 11/24/15, 7:20 AM
SeanF said...: tim maguire: Right now it's 450 for the company and 57 for the kid. From that I surmise that 450 people either didn't follow the link or don't have kids.

I'm one of the 450 who voted for the company. I followed the link, and I have kids.

I certainly do feel for the kids, but not at the expense of the company, which has done nothing wrong.; 11/24/15, 8:44 AM