by Mattel

The Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kid is ironically one of the best-functioning Cabbage Patch dolls ever made. The doll comes with plastic food that it “eats”. When you put the plastic food in the doll’s mouth, the food reappears in the doll’s backpack. The coolest part is that when the doll “eats”, its mouth moves up and down like it’s chewing. It was no surprise that when these first came out, people went gaga over them. According to Mattel, around 500,000 units were sold in a matter of months. They became the “must have” for Christmas, 1996.

Here’s what you listened to in 1996!
Here’s what you watched on TV in 1996!
Here’s what you saw at the movies in 1996!

Interestingly, it seems that when the people at Mattel thought up the idea for this doll, they didn’t take into account that there might be kids with underdeveloped common sense playing with these. The youthful minds of these children wondered what other objects their dolls could eat; objects like their own fingers and hair.

It turns out these lovable little creatures could eat both; and they did. The battery-powered steel traps Mattel installed instead of mouths clamped down on hair and fingers–and anything else the kids could think of to put inside–and didn’t let go. In one case, an owner called 911 for assistance to pry the hair of a seven year old girl out of an adorable little Cabbage Patch “Chucky”. “But Mommy, it’s so cute!” At least “Talky Tina” from the Living Doll episode of the Twilight Zone warned you up front if she didn’t like you.

After some additional testing, Mattel voluntarily recalled the dolls and offered a full $40 refund. Turns out Mattel’s eating doll not only eats plastic food, fingers, and hair. It also eats money. Mattel sold the rights to the Cabbage Patch Kids just five years later.

Link to U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission Recall Notice

Link to New York Times article.