What Happened to Austin Magic Pistol?
ℹ️ Fate: Discontinued in the mid-1950s after burn and eye injuries; never relaunched due to inherently dangerous mechanism.
Toy gun that created real explosions using calcium carbide and water
The Austin Magic Pistol was a toy gun that was released in 1946. The gun used calcium carbide and water - a dangerous chemical combination - to shoot a plastic ball out of its barrel. When the two elements combined, they created an acetylene gas fireball. As a result, numerous children received burns and eye injuries.
Production began to slow down in the late 1950s before it was eventually removed from stores. The toy was officially banned after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission was created in 1972.
Timeline
- 1946
Introduced in the post-war toy market.
- 1950
Injury reports (burns/eye injuries) accumulate amid chemistry-toy craze.
- 1956
Production/distribution tapers off; toy disappears from shelves.
- 1972
The newly established United States Consumer Product Safety Commission regards the toy's concept as inherently hazardous
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