bindeez
{{short description|Craft toy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2011}}
Bindeez (also marketed as Aqua Dots,{{cite news
|url=https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/news/0709/gallery.hot_toys/2.html
|title=12 Best toys of 2007: Aqua Dots Super Studio
|date=September 2007
|publisher=CNN Money
|access-date=2007-11-09
| first1=Parija B.
| last1=Kavilanz}} Beados,{{cite web |title=Beados Beads!! |url=http://www.mooseworld.com.au/content/beados_beads/home.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720222853/http://www.mooseworld.com.au/content/beados_beads/home.aspx |archive-date=20 July 2008 |access-date=2008-03-23 |website=Moose Beados Site}} PixOs,{{Cite web |date=2010-12-29 |title=PixOs! |url=http://www.pixos.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229012339/http://www.pixos.com/ |archive-date=29 December 2010 }} and Aquabeads) are a children's toy, consisting of small coloured plastic beads that can be arranged in designs created by Canadian toy company Spin Master.
In 2007, Bindeez was subject to a multi-national product recall after it was found that the Wangqi Product Factory in Shenzhen, China had, in some shipped toys, used a cheap chemical that was a pharmacologically active sedative prodrug instead of the safer chemical specified by the designers, resulting in the illness and hospitalization of some children who ingested the beads.{{Cite web |title=China reveals producer name of toxic bead toy -- china.org.cn |url=http://www.china.org.cn/government/central_government/2007-11/11/content_1231508.htm |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=www.china.org.cn |archive-date=7 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707214721/http://www.china.org.cn/government/central_government/2007-11/11/content_1231508.htm |url-status=live }} Since then, safer replacements have been marketed.
Description
Bindeez contains a craft kit that allows children to create various multi-dimensional designs using small colored beads. "Bindeez" can refer to either the toy itself or the small beads. The beads are arranged into various designs on a plastic tray. When the beads are sprayed with water, their surfaces become adhesive and they fuse together. The beads are then left to dry and the whole design becomes fixed and can be removed from the tray. Unlike iron-fusible beads, they do not require heat to be fused.Bindeez instruction manual, Moose Toys 2006
The beads are approximately five millimetres in diameter and come in a wide range of colours. Bindeez are available in various different kits with accessories such as a drying fan, applicator pen, design templates for the beads, and water spray bottles. The product is labelled for ages four and above.
2007 recall
Bindeez were first withdrawn from the Australian market,{{cite web
|url=http://www.mooseworld.com.au/files/7171b79e-a007-4783-b39d-99de017cd56c/BindeezMediaRelease20071106.pdf
|title=Moose press release
|date=6 November 2007
|publisher=Moose Enterprise P/L
|access-date=2007-11-09
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106011929/http://www.mooseworld.com.au/files/7171b79e-a007-4783-b39d-99de017cd56c/BindeezMediaRelease20071106.pdf
|archive-date=6 January 2009
}} and subsequently from the North American market by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission{{cite web
|url=http://www.spinmaster.com/aquaDots.html
|title=Spin Master Ltd. Takes Precautionary Measures in Wake of Australian Recall
|date=7 November 2007
|publisher=Spin Master Ltd.
|access-date=2007-11-09
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109074049/http://spinmaster.com/aquaDots.html
|archive-date=9 November 2007
|url=http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08074.html
|title=U.S. CPSC recall notice
|publisher=Consumer Product Safety Commission
|access-date=2007-11-09
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109054310/http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08074.html
|archive-date=9 November 2007
}} as well as European markets{{cite web
|url=http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1373105.php/Bindeez_toy_beads_made_in_China_withdrawn_in_Germany
|title=Bindeez toy beads made in China withdrawn in Germany
|date=12 November 2007
|publisher=Monsters and Critics.com
|access-date=2007-11-13
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321175524/http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1373105.php/Bindeez_toy_beads_made_in_China_withdrawn_in_Germany
|archive-date=21 March 2012
|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSL0815696120071108
|title=Spain joins Chinese toy recall
|date=8 November 2007
|publisher=Reuters
|access-date=2007-11-13
|archive-date=15 November 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115042435/http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSL0815696120071108
|url-status=live
}} in early November 2007. They were recalled in Australia after a two-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl became seriously ill after they swallowed large numbers of the beads and the connection between the illness and the product was discovered by a doctor at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney.{{cite news
|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/06/2082480.htm
|title=Bindeez banned over GHB fears
|date=6 November 2007
|publisher=ABC News (Australia)
|access-date=2007-11-09
|archive-date=15 April 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415164217/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/06/2082480.htm
|url-status=dead
}} Two children in North America became unconscious after similar ingestion.{{cite news
|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/drug-toy-scare-hits-us/2007/11/08/1194329379517.html
|author=Australian Associated Press
|author-link=Australian Associated Press
|title=Drug toy scare hits US
|date=8 November 2007
|work=The Sydney Morning Herald
|access-date=2007-11-09
|archive-date=10 November 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110174512/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/drug-toy-scare-hits-us/2007/11/08/1194329379517.html?
|url-status=live
}} U.S. safety officials recalled about 4.2 million of the toys.{{cite news
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/09/toy.recall/index.html
|title= Report: China halts export of bead toys tainted with toxic drug
|date=9 November 2007
|publisher=CNN.com
|access-date=2007-11-10}}
{{Quote|The Aqua Dots recall is one of the most serious announced by CPSC in recent years. When we first announced the recall on Wednesday, we knew of two children who had fallen into non-responsive comas after ingesting the beads used with this arts and crafts toy. Since the recall was announced, we have learned of seven additional incidents, some involving children who had to be hospitalized (this is now being reported on the AP wire). We urge all parents and caregivers who have this recalled toy to immediately take it away from children and ensure that no one else takes possession of it. |Scott Wolfson, Deputy Director, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 9 November 2007.|{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&tab=wn&ncl=1123328570&btclp=1&scoring=r |title=Full coverage - Google News |access-date=2017-07-03}}}}
The toy was supposed to contain the non-toxic plasticiser 1,5-pentanediol, but instead contained toxic 1,4-butanediol, which is metabolised into the sedative-hypnotic drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. At the time the substitution was discovered, the non-toxic ingredient was three to seven times more expensive than the toxic one.{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8SPRQR01.htm |title=Family horrified when toy sedates child |date=8 November 2007 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=2007-11-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111040229/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8SPRQR01.htm |archive-date=11 November 2007}} The affected children had seizure-like activity, which is an occasional side-effect of severe GHB overdose.{{cite news|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gN9h2jxbViPDDlsaZyCDi5khBAFwD8SPHKFO4 |title=Mom: Chemical-Laced Toy Made Son 'Drunk' |date=8 November 2007 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=2007-11-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110115332/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gN9h2jxbViPDDlsaZyCDi5khBAFwD8SPHKFO4 |archive-date=10 November 2007 }} Concern has been raised in the press that people may intentionally eat the beads in order to get high, potentially spawning a black market in the recalled toy.{{Cite web |date=2007-11-09 |title='Bizarre' Bindeez scare prompts warnings |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/bizarre-bindeez-scare-prompts-warnings-20071110-gdrk54.html |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=The Age |language=en}}
The Australian distributor has claimed that the medical emergencies "did not result in any long-term effects."{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/recall-for-toy-that-turns-int-drug/2007/11/06/1194329225773.html | location=Melbourne | work=The Age | title=Recall ordered for toy that turns into drug | date=7 November 2007 | first=David | last=Rood}}
The issue was the topic of the second episode of the third season of Elementary, a Sherlock Holmes remake that aired on 6 November 2014. The episode was entitled "The Five Orange Pipz". The murderer was attempting to market the beads after they would be released from evidence.
A similar Japanese product, Aquabeads, which was developed in Japan by Epoch Co., and is produced by a different Chinese manufacturer, has not been recalled and is uncontaminated.{{cite news
|url=http://www.flairplc.co.uk/cgi-bin/flairnews/fullnews.cgi?newsid1194619110,66457,
|title=UK toxicological test proves safety of Flair's Aquabeads
|author=Flair Plc
|date=9 November 2007
|access-date=2007-11-10
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111060511/http://www.flairplc.co.uk/cgi-bin/flairnews/fullnews.cgi?newsid1194619110%2C66457%2C
|archive-date=11 November 2007
|url-status=dead
}}
In Australia, replacement beads were available from March 2008 onwards, based on the interim ban being lifted.{{cite web|title=Bindeez Recall Website for Australian Residents Only, FAQs |url=http://www.mooseworld.com.au/content/bindeezrecall/faq.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114103153/http://www.mooseworld.com.au/content/bindeezrecall/faq.aspx |archive-date=14 November 2007}} The replacement beads will be manufactured using only approved ingredients. To discourage ingestion, the replacement beads will also be coated with the bitter-tasting substance known as Bitrex.States of Jersey (12 November 2007), [http://www.gov.je/EconomicDevelopment/TradingStandards/ProdRecalls/Toys/Bindeez+Beads+Recall.htm Bindeez Beads Recall]{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.{{Cite web |date=2009-01-31 |title=Children's bead set recalled |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/18626/Childrens-bead-set-recalled |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=www.stuff.co.nz}} The name of the product was also changed from Bindeez to Beados in an attempt to extinguish the link between the recall of the old toy and the new toy.{{cite news |date=23 March 2008 |title=Bindeez are back, but now drug-free |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23416015-2,00.html, |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921145434/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23416015-421,00.html |archive-date=2008-09-21 |access-date=2008-03-23 |publisher=The Sunday Telegraph}}
In North America, the beads, previously marketed as "Aquadots", were remarketed as Pixos and marketed as "Safety Tested" in the television commercial as the commercial began hitting the airways in early July. However, the background music is exactly the same. In June 2009, "Chixos" featuring dolls began marketing more towards girls.
Awards
Bindeez was awarded Australian "Toy of the Year" for 2007 prior to the recall.{{cite web | title = Australian Toy and Hobby Fair website | url = http://www.toyfair.com.au/photo_galleries/potya_2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071108215249/http://www.toyfair.com.au/photo_galleries/potya_2007 | archive-date = 8 November 2007}} Toy Wishes magazine named it as one of the products among its 12 best toys of 2007. It is manufactured in China for the Australian-owned company Moose Enterprise P/L, and distributed in North America by Spin Master Ltd. It is distributed in 40 countries, and 12 million packets, containing more than 8 billion beads, have been sold worldwide.{{cite news
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/china/story/0,,2207703,00.html
|title=Global scare after ecstasy-like chemical found in toy
|date=8 November 2007
|work=The Guardian
|access-date=2007-11-10
| location=London
| first=Ed
| last=Pilkington}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080720222853/http://www.mooseworld.com.au/content/beados_beads/home.aspx Official Beados website]