Forget fidget spinners — there's a new toy craze scaring parents
Forget about the supposed dangers associated with the fidget spinner -- there's a new toy fad taking China by storm that is making parents scared.
It's called the toothpick crossbow.
The tiny toy shoots little sharpened skewers that can apparently pierce through several layers of cardboard, apples, and lightbulbs.
With the toothpick replaced by a metal needle, meanwhile, the devices can even punch holes in soda cans.
Here's one in action.
Lightbulbs don't stand a chance.
What's worse is the crossbow only costs the equivalent of one dollar. So they're not hard to come by.
There are even online videos that instruct how to make your own crossbow out of pens, because they're apparently so popular that stores are frequently sold out.
Some schools (and even cities) have started to ban these mini-weapons before too many people lose an eye. Distraught parents have taken to social media to express their concerns.
"Hurry up (and ban them), pupils do not understand and are just shooting people for fun. It will cause accidents sooner or later," one parent reportedly wrote on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.
Another dumb, destructive toy then - expect it all over the U.S. soon.
Maggie was a Real Time News Intern in Mashable's Los Angeles office. She is originally from the suburbs of Chicago, and she is currently studying journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She previously freelanced for the Chicago Tribune, and enjoys petting dogs and drawing pictures in her spare time.
