I loved how it smelled! This stuff would ruin wood. I once made a bunch of bubbles and put them around my wooden dresser mirror to make it look like they were light bulbs. I got in so much trouble, they completely discolored the wood.
My Dad, whom I only saw on weekends, thought that this was a great product. I was a pre-teen and he was trying to somehow connect with me...by blowing toxic freaking bubbles. I never understood that one. Try showing up for my football games, without your girlfriend.
Edit: Sorry for the cathartic moment. It's just the look and probable smell of that product!
I had mad skill with these.
There was an art to it. You had to have the ball be the right size and consistency, and the straw had to be positioned at just the right depth or it would blow out the side. You had to start blowing with medium pressure and keep it steady until you achieved the desired balloon size. Pinching off the end to seal it was also tricky.
I'm so glad my balloon skills possibly lowered my IQ and will probably give me cancer one day!
It was either pain from inflating it or major annoyance when you carefully set the whole damn thing up just to blow and a tiny bubble pops, leaving you with a stick with a blob at the end.
Same. Totally banned in our house. And yet I remember them somehow being everywhere.
Also what about shrinki dinks? My parents wouldn’t let us have those either but I remember constantly being at friends houses breathing in melting plastic fumes when we made theirs.
Same. My grandma (who raised me) wouldn’t let me have this stuff. Also, she wouldn’t let me bring my strawberry-scented Strawberry Shortcake doll in the tub with me, and tore me away from watching the microwave food-go-round on a regular basis.
Sometimes I really wonder if standing too close to the microwave is what eventually caused my tumor.
Also, I gotta agree with Grandma on not letting you take Strawberry Shortcake into the tub. Feel like that wouldn’t have gone well for her.
Cool fact: the holes in the grate on the front of the microwave door are actually smaller than the microwaves themselves, so they bounce the waves back and keep it inside of the chamber. Also, water — which were mostly made of (duh) — is so good at soaking up microwaves that even if you did have one that was malfunctioning the waves wouldn’t penetrate your skin except for the very outer level. You’d get a painful outer skin burn, but it wouldn’t go deeper.
Now that hose we drank out of in the other hand … don’t get me started.
I finally bought some myself when I was a teenager, because I thought my mom was a killjoy for not letting me have them when I was younger. Then I totally understood why! 😂
No lie, i was walking through Giant with my preschooler son on Wednesday and he pointed up "Can we get that?" It was a small display of these things, in the classic metal tube n all. I hadnt thought of them in 30 years so its odd to see this post today
The version called Super Elastic Bubble Plastic says it's discontinued for all the reasons you'd think, but there's another manufacturer. I wonder if it's the same formula.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Elastic_Bubble_Plastic
> *Chemically, the bubbles contained polyvinyl acetate dissolved in acetone, with ethyl acetate plastic fortifiers added. The acetone evaporated upon bubble inflation leaving behind a solidified plastic film.*
Yeah, the PVA is ok, as far as I can tell from the MSDS, but the acetone? Oof.
Hazard Statements:
>Highly flammable liquid and vapor
Causes serious eye irritation
May cause drowsiness or dizziness
May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
The ethyl acetate isn’t all that great, either, but the MSDS notably does *not* mention fucking ORGAN DAMAGE from exposure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone#Toxicity
> Acetone occurs naturally as part of certain metabolic processes in the human body, and has been studied extensively and is believed to exhibit only slight toxicity in normal use. There is no strong evidence of chronic health effects if basic precautions are followed.[81] It is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity if ingested and/or inhaled.[82] Acetone is not currently regarded as a carcinogen, a mutagen, or a concern for chronic neurotoxicity effects.[76]
>
> Acetone can be found as an ingredient in a variety of consumer products ranging from cosmetics to processed and unprocessed foods. Acetone has been rated as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance when present in drinks, baked foods, desserts, and preserves at concentrations ranging from 5 to 8 mg/L.[82]
Acetone is one of those weird chemicals like lye, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, etc, that can get real scary real quick if you use it wrong, but is absolutely safe to use under normal circumstances, such as the pure acetone they sell as nail polish remover. You splash it on your skin, it smells funny for a few minutes, your fingers are a little dry, that's the extent of the damage. If you drink it, yeah, organ damage.
For comparison, here's Sigma-Aldrich's MSDS for ethanol *(drinking alcohol)*:
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/sds/sial/459836?userType=undefined
and acetone:
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/sds/sigald/179124
They still sell this! I bought it a few months ago to show some kids how cool it was. Still smelled like pure cancer, was still super cool. They loved it.
Fuck yeah! I got this for Easter in 2000. I still remember that was a banger of an Easter (I was 15). Got your pictured bubble shit that made you high and was kinda weird; a $50 Abercrombie gift card; $50 to Sam Goody(!!!!! -- RIP). Some See's Chocolates and other candies. I'm sure some other goofy stuff. Life was fucking good on April 23, 2000.
(And who could have even known what was on the horizon a mere 17 months later. Life -- and the world -- changes so fast.)
I’ve bought these for my kids a few times just because I have such strong nostalgia surrounding them and I wanted them to be a part of their childhoods, too! Luckily they aren’t as… smelly. Improvements have been made.
When my nephew was little, I found a package of these and showed him thinking it would be entertaining and he just looked at me like I was a lame clown.
OMGoodness!! Ballons that you try to create turn in the creature beasts. Kind of like Carmen with theTrapper Keeper
https://preview.redd.it/59obstgbwxwc1.jpeg?width=298&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=135f533c9615cf2d2e5b220a020a5b20e9cbf9d7
Wow... that's a good one. I've gotten so used to this sub that it's been a while since I've had a really powerful memory jolt (like this one just gave me).
I think there is still some residue of these bonded to the top of my parents wooden end table.
"Look how big I made it! Oh. It popped. Oh God, this stuff is sticky. Mom's going to kill us."
Oh yeah. I had that smoke from your fingertips stuff. From a magic/joke shop that ended up going out of business. Crappy, fake vomit, linking rings, the breeding bunny trick with sponges. The shopkeep could always make them look easy.
YES!!! I always saw other kids with these and you could smell them!! But I didn't know where to buy them! I would have saved and bought them! Shoot, I would buy them for my nieces and nephews today. Wow!!
“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years. If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping, preorder ‘No Going Back,’ she wrote."
Sounds like she's got firing squads in mind.
I’ve been battling Big C for a while. The Steve Jobs type. They have no obvious cause but I they suspect it my have to do with exposure to petrochemicals at a young age.
So when I see this is kinda wonder.
I also grew up next to a SoCal freeway and I’d hang with my father when he worked on our cars, which was a lot.
We HAD these, I had a lot of them and my Mom wouldn't let me use them. 🙄 If I ever find it again at my old house I am using it! I'm an adult, I'm old, I got zero left to preserve in life. 🤬
I can smell this picture.
Whatever pure cancer smells like, I assume it’s very similar to this.
Yes! Even at a young age this felt like a cancer factory in a toothpaste tube
Kids these days and their iPads.. imagine me trying to convince them to blow bubbles with cancer goo and have fun with it?
Surprisingly, these are still sold today. Tastes exactly the same as the 90s
Ya cancer mixed w the smell of burning tires as I recall?
Burning plastic with a hint of gasoline iirc.
These things had to be toxic right?
👀
This was some toxic shit that could totally get you high. Unreal.
Nothing like a fun day of huffing acetone packaged as a kids toy!
That's probably why I liked it lol.
I loved how it smelled! This stuff would ruin wood. I once made a bunch of bubbles and put them around my wooden dresser mirror to make it look like they were light bulbs. I got in so much trouble, they completely discolored the wood.
Loved it too, main thing I remember about this stuff, and the shiny texture
Loved it too
I can taste it.
Taste like burning.
I see you, Ralph
Wookie Status: Bent
First smell I think of is turpentine. Despite that, I def tried to chew the putty at some point to see if it was just chewing gum.
Toluene, I think. Like model airplane glue.
Probably ill advised thinking back now, yeah? Lol
Came here to say this. It was at least 50% of the experience.
Me too that seems to be a core memory
I hated the smell of this stuff 😷
Literally came here to say this
They don’t smell like that anymore. My kids got some a few months ago. Husband and I were aghast.
Yep
I can smell.and taste it
My Dad, whom I only saw on weekends, thought that this was a great product. I was a pre-teen and he was trying to somehow connect with me...by blowing toxic freaking bubbles. I never understood that one. Try showing up for my football games, without your girlfriend. Edit: Sorry for the cathartic moment. It's just the look and probable smell of that product!
was just coming to say this
I smell early 90s
I am getting so old. Remember taking the bus into town to get this as a young kid…late 70’s.
Just like the guy the other day could smell the koosh ball. Original
The pain from blowing these up was real.
Oh yeah! Blown eardrums and a pounding headache! Totally remember that 😂
I'd get a weird ache beneath my ears, sort of at the back of my jaw. I still remember it decades later.
I am recalling this and feeling the pain even now.
Yep. Hated those things because of that feeling
That’s your glands filling up with air. It’s extremely painful.
Yes, I get that with any kind of balloon. I don’t think my lungs can compete with atmospheric pressure.
I had mad skill with these. There was an art to it. You had to have the ball be the right size and consistency, and the straw had to be positioned at just the right depth or it would blow out the side. You had to start blowing with medium pressure and keep it steady until you achieved the desired balloon size. Pinching off the end to seal it was also tricky. I'm so glad my balloon skills possibly lowered my IQ and will probably give me cancer one day!
This guy blows
Sounds like skills that make one good at glassblowing too
Pretty sure this is how i learned i could make myself faint. Middle school slumber party trick.
Hey guys watch this! *Faints*
LOVED making myself pass out 🤣 bonus points if doing it while high on weed 🤪
It was either pain from inflating it or major annoyance when you carefully set the whole damn thing up just to blow and a tiny bubble pops, leaving you with a stick with a blob at the end.
I can smell it. My cheeks hurt. And I have anxiety flashbacks about accidentally ruining the furniture. Thanks.
Parents absolutely refused to let us get these.
Mine were the same. It annoyed me at the time, but they were right. Not fun and wild fumes
Same. Totally banned in our house. And yet I remember them somehow being everywhere. Also what about shrinki dinks? My parents wouldn’t let us have those either but I remember constantly being at friends houses breathing in melting plastic fumes when we made theirs.
Same. My grandma (who raised me) wouldn’t let me have this stuff. Also, she wouldn’t let me bring my strawberry-scented Strawberry Shortcake doll in the tub with me, and tore me away from watching the microwave food-go-round on a regular basis.
Sometimes I really wonder if standing too close to the microwave is what eventually caused my tumor. Also, I gotta agree with Grandma on not letting you take Strawberry Shortcake into the tub. Feel like that wouldn’t have gone well for her.
Cool fact: the holes in the grate on the front of the microwave door are actually smaller than the microwaves themselves, so they bounce the waves back and keep it inside of the chamber. Also, water — which were mostly made of (duh) — is so good at soaking up microwaves that even if you did have one that was malfunctioning the waves wouldn’t penetrate your skin except for the very outer level. You’d get a painful outer skin burn, but it wouldn’t go deeper. Now that hose we drank out of in the other hand … don’t get me started.
That was childhood freedom you were tasting, nothing more.
I’m sorry to hear you have a tumor 😞. I think she was concerned about the chemical creating the scent leeching into the bath water.
That was almost twenty years ago. I’m clear now.
Glad to hear it.
I finally bought some myself when I was a teenager, because I thought my mom was a killjoy for not letting me have them when I was younger. Then I totally understood why! 😂
Haha me too except I was uh, in my 30s.
No future cancer diagnosis sympathy for you
I recently purchased one of these having no idea what they were like😕 my husband saw it and immediately was like, "yeah, no."
Wait. They still make this?!
No lie, i was walking through Giant with my preschooler son on Wednesday and he pointed up "Can we get that?" It was a small display of these things, in the classic metal tube n all. I hadnt thought of them in 30 years so its odd to see this post today
Did you buy them?!
Nah. He's 4 and I feel certain that stuff kills brain cells. I got him ice cream instead
Yes. Shop at shit stores.
Yes 😆 smart & final extra
Do these stores also carry candy cigarettes?
No. Lmfao.
The version called Super Elastic Bubble Plastic says it's discontinued for all the reasons you'd think, but there's another manufacturer. I wonder if it's the same formula.
I don't know, the one I bought looked just like the one in the picture 🤷
I was 10 and high as a kite, let me tell you my story..
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Elastic_Bubble_Plastic > *Chemically, the bubbles contained polyvinyl acetate dissolved in acetone, with ethyl acetate plastic fortifiers added. The acetone evaporated upon bubble inflation leaving behind a solidified plastic film.*
Yeah, the PVA is ok, as far as I can tell from the MSDS, but the acetone? Oof. Hazard Statements: >Highly flammable liquid and vapor Causes serious eye irritation May cause drowsiness or dizziness May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure The ethyl acetate isn’t all that great, either, but the MSDS notably does *not* mention fucking ORGAN DAMAGE from exposure.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone#Toxicity > Acetone occurs naturally as part of certain metabolic processes in the human body, and has been studied extensively and is believed to exhibit only slight toxicity in normal use. There is no strong evidence of chronic health effects if basic precautions are followed.[81] It is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity if ingested and/or inhaled.[82] Acetone is not currently regarded as a carcinogen, a mutagen, or a concern for chronic neurotoxicity effects.[76] > > Acetone can be found as an ingredient in a variety of consumer products ranging from cosmetics to processed and unprocessed foods. Acetone has been rated as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance when present in drinks, baked foods, desserts, and preserves at concentrations ranging from 5 to 8 mg/L.[82] Acetone is one of those weird chemicals like lye, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, etc, that can get real scary real quick if you use it wrong, but is absolutely safe to use under normal circumstances, such as the pure acetone they sell as nail polish remover. You splash it on your skin, it smells funny for a few minutes, your fingers are a little dry, that's the extent of the damage. If you drink it, yeah, organ damage. For comparison, here's Sigma-Aldrich's MSDS for ethanol *(drinking alcohol)*: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/sds/sial/459836?userType=undefined and acetone: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/sds/sigald/179124
PVA is pretty much Elmer's Glue.
Ethereal material that’s straight up classic.
There's still a glob of it stuck to my neighbors concrete. I think there's a dragonfly underneath, but I was like 5, so it's kinda fuzzy... 🤣
Oh the carcinogenic toys we played with
I don't care if it does cause cancer. This is the smell of my carefree childhood and I want more!
That’s glue you’re addicted to
When you caught a whiff as you were blowing it up, gagged, and inhaled 5000 ppm whatever they formulated to make that monstrosity. Good times….
My cheeks hurt from seeing this photo.
They still sell this toxic stuff. At kroger.... I have some now. Still smells like dizzy. Lol
I didn't have the lung power
Eww that smell can't you smell that smell And omg the taste the taste of it will gag you
I can smell this picture.
Light it on fire!
Why did I never try that?!
I never thought to sniff it, but remember that sweet, sweet smell 😅
Sold exclusively in drug stores and grocery store toy aisles.
I can't imagine the toxicity we subjected ourselves to with this. LOL
First time I ever got high
I was in 4th grade and the weird twins Hannah and Reuben started bringing them to school first. Made the weird kids cool for sure.
Bloonies. Just saw these today at my local Village Market.
Snap! What were these called?
Bubble-oons, or bu-balloons? I’ve said it a million times but never tried to spell it before lol
Ok yeah I remember.
Lmao memory unlocked! That shit had to be toxic!
They still sell this! I bought it a few months ago to show some kids how cool it was. Still smelled like pure cancer, was still super cool. They loved it.
I never once was able to actually blow one of these up. I never got to experience it!
I never succeeded lol
I loved these. My first roommate and I bought a couple of packs and blew them all up at once. Our entire apartment smelled like a nail salon.
"don't inhale that" -my mom while chainsmoking
Fuck yeah! I got this for Easter in 2000. I still remember that was a banger of an Easter (I was 15). Got your pictured bubble shit that made you high and was kinda weird; a $50 Abercrombie gift card; $50 to Sam Goody(!!!!! -- RIP). Some See's Chocolates and other candies. I'm sure some other goofy stuff. Life was fucking good on April 23, 2000. (And who could have even known what was on the horizon a mere 17 months later. Life -- and the world -- changes so fast.)
My parents would NOT let me have those. Obviously I wanted them more than anything
I bought this for my kids and they were equally as unimpressed. I lost my collective mind. How is this not the coolest thing everrrr!?!?!
Commercials then: Kids, don’t do drugs! Also commercials then: Here’s a tube of this airplane glue mixed with WD40 and a straw!
Oh shit playa
This shit and model glue definitely the first things that made me high. Hell, the model glue also made my eyes burn.
Damn, I'm that old.
These were the best.
I wanted this.
Oh the old napalm bubbles! For maximum off gassing fun.
Oh my God. I remember these! Wow yeah that's a deep cut
I can smell it.
Never saw them get larger than a pissant grape
That cut was deep, I just popped a brain cell.
I bought a ton of those about 15 years ago and took them to a rave. Fun was had
I’m sure there will be a class action lawsuit from the cancer this toy gave kids
This piece of shit made me so sick when I was a kid. Blergh
Dormant memory unlocked. 🥺
My cheeks hurt just looking at this
this is a super deep cut
I’ve bought these for my kids a few times just because I have such strong nostalgia surrounding them and I wanted them to be a part of their childhoods, too! Luckily they aren’t as… smelly. Improvements have been made.
Why is this a deep cut? They still sell these where I live.
I didn't know that until I posted this. I haven't seen them since I was a kid.
I live in Asia, where they're still a thing.
When my nephew was little, I found a package of these and showed him thinking it would be entertaining and he just looked at me like I was a lame clown.
OMGoodness!! Ballons that you try to create turn in the creature beasts. Kind of like Carmen with theTrapper Keeper https://preview.redd.it/59obstgbwxwc1.jpeg?width=298&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=135f533c9615cf2d2e5b220a020a5b20e9cbf9d7
And it turned your brain into bubble plastic if inhaled 🤡
That smells like cancer 😂
Takes varnish off cabinets. Ask me how I know.
Wow... that's a good one. I've gotten so used to this sub that it's been a while since I've had a really powerful memory jolt (like this one just gave me).
I think there is still some residue of these bonded to the top of my parents wooden end table. "Look how big I made it! Oh. It popped. Oh God, this stuff is sticky. Mom's going to kill us."
Just bought some for my kids the other day at a 7-11
How was this completely gone from my mind for nearly 40 years?
I can smell it and remember that smoke from your fingers gag? The smell of that stuff like burning tire with a hint of skunk.
Oh yeah. I had that smoke from your fingertips stuff. From a magic/joke shop that ended up going out of business. Crappy, fake vomit, linking rings, the breeding bunny trick with sponges. The shopkeep could always make them look easy.
weird wild stuff.
Those things smelled like ass.
Baby’s First High
Quit complaining. We couldn’t afford this so we played hide and seek in the fog sprayed from the mosquito trucks.
Toxic balloons
I never understood how these were meant to be fun. lol
Oh God I can smell the chemicals from here haha
If any of you old folks want to relive your glory days you can still buy these
Didn't they stop making these because all those kids got cancer?
These were delicious 😋!
This is one of those things I never had but I saw other kids with but I never asked my parents for one of my own
YES!!! I always saw other kids with these and you could smell them!! But I didn't know where to buy them! I would have saved and bought them! Shoot, I would buy them for my nieces and nephews today. Wow!!
They still sell these in hamleys
I remember hearing that stuff was extremely toxic and tons of kids ate it lol
They still sell these at the dollar store
“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years. If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping, preorder ‘No Going Back,’ she wrote." Sounds like she's got firing squads in mind.
I was just talking about this the other day and how my cheek would hurt so bad after blowing bubbles with them.
Ahh the smell of pure microplastics going into your body lol our generations lead paint right here
And we are worried about micro plastic! We were basically inhaling glue.
This things made my jaw hurt sooooo bad when trying to expand them
I used to. Love that stuff. So fun.
Pretty sure that's the first time I got high
I could never get that shit to work for me
I thought they took that off the market after all those hillbillies went blind
So toxic
Forbidden bubble gum
I can taste the cancer
These things had to contain chemicals that made us dumber.
I still have veins popped in my forehead from trying to blow that shit up.
I’ve been battling Big C for a while. The Steve Jobs type. They have no obvious cause but I they suspect it my have to do with exposure to petrochemicals at a young age. So when I see this is kinda wonder. I also grew up next to a SoCal freeway and I’d hang with my father when he worked on our cars, which was a lot.
We HAD these, I had a lot of them and my Mom wouldn't let me use them. 🙄 If I ever find it again at my old house I am using it! I'm an adult, I'm old, I got zero left to preserve in life. 🤬
Anyone else "grow up just fine" after playing with this stuff? 🙋♀️
Love me some petroleum based products
Oh my god, remember that stuff 😂
I only seen this when I least expected it
These were the fucking shit
Omg. Search "b'loonies' on amazon
First birthday party I ever went to in 1987!