Toy maker Hasbro has recently been forced to remove an unfortunately shaped part from its Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Cake Mountain play-set. The part singled out for complaints by shocked parents on Facebook was the penis-shaped icing extruder, complete with vein-like ridges and purple insert. The only thing that could make this toy any more phallic would be to squeeze white Play-doh out of the end... ah, but since the toy was used to "ice" the cake in the play-set, presumably white Play-doh was the most common choice... New versions of the play-set will include a different extruder, and Hasbro has offered to replace any sets already sold if customers contact their customer services department. However, as of today's date, the original piece is still visible on their website. Given the obviously questionable shape of the toy, customers can reasonably wonder whether Hasbro executives actually look at the toys produced by their company. This isn't Hasbro's first brush with an inappropriate toy: in 2010, a Transformer's toy was, unbelievably, named Spastic. Due to complaints, this toy (pictured below) was removed from sale in the UK. Here's hoping Hasbro can maintain their "winning" streak and provide the world with another amusing faux pas soon. For more outrageously inappropriate kids toys, click below...
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
