Toxic Touch Barbie

December 20, 2007 6:28 PM

Are 30-year-old Barbie dolls dangerous?

No, seriously. Could Barbie and/or her old clothes be toxic or otherwise chemically unstable or carcinogenic due to her age and/or lax 1970s toy standards? They seem fine, but, you know...

posted by RockyChrysler to grab bag (4 comments total)

Are 30-year-old Barbie dolls dangerous?

Only if you take away their vodka.

Seriously: Why There's No Such Thing as a Toxic Barbie
posted by rokusan at 6:37 PM on December 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

As in the article above, the plasticisers may migrate out, causing stickiness or tackiness at the skin. The most common disfigurement on older (post-1960) Barbies (particularly Skipper dolls) is "green ear," where the embedded metal of the earrings or rings built into the doll tarnishes and stains the plastic skin. This looks pretty gross, but may be removable with a variety of solvents.
posted by nonane at 6:49 PM on December 20, 2007

You seem to be assuming that current Barbies are 100% safe.
posted by Caviar at 5:50 AM on December 21, 2007

I gave mine to my daughter and her friends and they're all still alive. The girls, that is, the Barbies suffered terrible losses.

I don't know for sure but I wouldn't be at all surprised if 1970s toy safety standards weren't more stringent than ours are today after several decades of deregulation.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:09 AM on December 21, 2007