A new must-have toy that’s selling like hotcakes in China is a handheld miniature crossbow that can fire needles and nails. Anxious parents want them banned before a child gets hurt.
The crossbows were originally designed to shoot toothpicks and are selling for as little as seven yuan [NZD$1.40] but according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper, if the toothpicks are replaced with needles they are powerful enough to crack glass.
Other media sources in China have reported that the mini crossbows can fire projectiles a distance of more than 20 metres, and shoot iron nails.
The Shanghai Daily reported: “The ‘toothpick crossbow’ toy has spread across China like wildfire among the nation’s primary and middle school children.”
“The unusual shooting toy may be very small but it is powerful enough to puncture a balloon and pierce cardboard. And when the toothpick is swapped for a metal needle it becomes a dangerous weapon.”
Handheld crossbows that can fire needles and nails are the latest must-have toy in China but anxious parents want them banned before a young child gets hurt.
Sales of the product have reportedly been stopped by police in Chengdu, one of China’s major cities. Meanwhile, concerned parents want the government to ban them.
One parent wrote on Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter: “Hurry up [and ban them], pupils do not understand and are just shooting people for fun. It will cause accidents sooner or later.”
Another wrote: “Our primary school began to investigate this from Monday and they’re very dangerous.”
