50 Interesting Facts about Recalled Products

"Toxic Waste" sour candy which was imported from Pakistan into USA and many other countries was recalled in 2011 after it was found that it actually contained toxic levels of lead.

27. In 1999, a product recall was issued for 19 million dive sticks, a pool toy that sinks to the bottom and stands straight up underwater, after several injuries involving rectal and vaginal impalement were reported.

28. In 1979, action figure company Kenner released an 18" Xenomorph action figure (from the movie Alien). It was recalled shortly afterward due to complaints from parents about it being "too scary" for children, leading to it living in infamy in the action figure community.

29. Airbags by Takata (an auto parts manufacturer) had to be recalled in 2008 because faulty inflators exploded and shot shrapnel-like material at vehicle’s occupants. At least 37 million vehicles were affected.

30. In 2007, there was a massive worldwide recall of a children's arts and crafts toy called Aqua Beads. Around 4.2 million units were recalled in USA alone after it was found that its production facility in China had used a cheap chemical that was a pharmacologically active sedative drug which left kids comatose after they ingested the beads.

In 1997, Mattel and Nabisco collaborated to make an "Oreo Fun" Barbie. In the African American community, Oreo is a derogatory term meaning that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside". After much criticism, Mattel recalled the product.

32. In 1999, Burger King recalled Pokeball containers after an 18-month-old girl suffocated on the promotional item for Pokemon: The First Movie. This led to one of the most expensive recalls in history in which the containers were returned to a local Burger King for small-fries.

33. In 2012, Banana Boat recalled their spray-on sunscreen after 5 people caught on fire. Investigation found that the product took longer to dry and remained flammable until it was completely dry.

34. In 2017, the FDA recalled around half a million pacemakers due to the possibility of them being hacked to alter the patient's heartbeat or drain their battery.

35. The Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun was recalled because using its safety level would sometimes discharge the firearm.

The band Dream Theater's live album "Live Scenes from New York," released on September 11, 2001, originally had cover art featuring the World Trade Center in flames. It was quickly recalled, and the album art was redone.

37. In 2011, a drug company named Reckitt Benckiser recalled all remaining stock of its ‘Nurofen Plus’ drug because a codeine addict had been stealing pills from the box and replacing them with his anti-psychotic medication.

38. Following the 2004, £26.5 million Northern bank robbery in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Northern Bank recalled £300 million worth of banknotes of £10 or more and reissued them with a different design.

39. In 2005, Costco sent out a recall notice for punching bags that were filled with used men's and women's underwear instead of sand. Everyone that purchased the bag got a replacement and a shipping label to return the bag.

40. In 1982, when 7 people died after taking cyanide-laced Tylenol, CEO James E. Burke ordered a universal recall, costing $100 million. All in all 31 million bottles of Tylenol were recalled and they re-launched the product 2 months later in tamper-proof packaging.

Shares in Lululemon Athletic Inc. fell more than 3% in 2013 after the yoga clothing maker said it was recalling some of its black pants because they were too see-through.

42. Ford has had 6 out of 18 of the biggest safety automotive recalls of all time.

43. Kaavya Viswanathan was a freshman at Harvard when she landed a $500,000 two-book contract and a movie deal. Her book (How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got A Life) was released with good reviews but was soon revealed she plagiarized sections. Kaavya said her "photographic memory" was the problem. The book was recalled and both deals were canceled.

44. In 2009, the largest food recall in the US took place after hundreds of people got salmonella from peanut butter made in Peanut Corporation of America’s dirty facility. The recall involved at least 361 companies and 3,913 different products manufactured using PCA ingredients.

45. In 2008, a Mad Cow Disease beef recall was impelled by a whistleblower who took illegal, undercover footage of the sick cows.

In 2010, Toyota recalled more than 9 million cars, and paid nearly $3 billion in settlements and fines, due to unintended acceleration problems in its vehicles.

47. A recalled obesity drug, fenfluramine, had a remarkable effect on a boy with autism. Before taking fenfluramine, Joshua's I.Q. was so low it could not be measured. After, he was able to read and do mathematics at a 4th-grade level.

48. In 1985, millions of bottles of Austrian wine were recalled after it was found that they had been artificially sweetened with diethylene glycol (a prime ingredient of anti-freeze). The scandal affected the Austrian wine industry for over a decade and would later inspire a Simpsons episode.

49. The first major vehicle recall due to a deadly defect was the Chevrolet Corvair. GM recalled the car after unsuccessfully threatening Ralph Nader to retract his book 'Unsafe at Any Speed.'

50. A drug named Vioxx (Rofecoxib) was released in 1999 as a painkiller. It was recalled in 2004 after it was found to have caused between 88,000 and 140,000 cases of serious heart disease.