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springbloggy · 7 months

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Found out about this story from the lost media wiki forums and thought it was so interesting and funny. I am hoping toyblr can have more info on this toy.

In 2003, there was a toy recall at Walmart, but not for any of the expected reasons. The toy was a baby's sound machine, meant to soothe babies to bed. The toy was shaped like a tugboat, with some cute sea critters to top it all off.

The problem? Many parents listening to the ocean wave sounds heard a faint voice repeating "I hate you" over and over again. Whether the audio of a voice saying "I hate you" was actually in the sounds, or if it is a case of pareidolia is unknown, however interestingly in one news article*, Walmart did not chalk it up to the phenomenon, calling the noise parents were concerned about "beeps" instead.

The toy was very quickly recalled, no evidence of its existence is documented outside of photos and news articles from the time period. It is a miracle the high quality photo displayed above exists at all.

This is where I think toyblr could step in, if any of you guys have collected toys from 2003 or know someone who has, see if you have this toy and if its audio still works. It would be an incredible find for such a bizarre and somewhat funny search.

More important info:

This toy was under Walmart's "Kid Connections" brand and was presumably manufactured in China. However, the toy could have been manufactured anywhere outside of America as stated in a rant against the brand:

To save money, Wal-Mart contracts with manufacturers to make several private label toys, which are sold under names such as Wal-Mart's Kid Connection. Profit margins on these products, many of which are manufactured outside the United States, are often twice those of brand-name toys, said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he continues to do business with the retailer.

This toy was made as a cheaper alternative/competitor to Fisher Price's Ocean Wonders Aquarium toy. While there's similarities in design and function, Ocean Wonders Aquarium does not share the same audio as the recalled toy.

I would love for this to be found some day, for the novelty factor and curiosity if the audio really did include that "subliminal message".

*which I will not link to due to it coming from a very alt-right news source, however is linked in the lost media wiki post for those truly curious on the full story

#toyblr #lost media #recalled toys #walmart #fisher price #toys #interactive toys #toddler toys #toy #bootleg toys #bootleg #springy thoughts #cursed toy boat saga

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legbootlegit · 2 months

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