Quotes of the Morning: For Kids

“Well, we found out yesterday that Skippy Jr. is doing just fine and still on schedule for arrival at the end of December. We also found out that Skippy Jr. shall be a man-child. I am trying to think whether ‘Thor’ or ‘Beowulf’ is a more appropriate name… In the meantime I’ll just sit here and dream of finally being able to play with toys again without seeming.. you know.. kinda creepy.”
-Skippy

“Mattel is recalling nearly one million toys in United States due to use of lead paint; all affected products were made in factories in China; more than 300,000 have already been purchased by consumers; this is toymaker's 17th recall in 10 years.”
-New York Times, August 2, 2007

“Um.. a million toys?
Still, it was a one time deal. Nothing to worry about.”
-Skippy

“Mattel, the world’s largest toy company, yesterday announced the biggest recall in its history.
In a double-barreled announcement, the company said it was recalling 436,000 Chinese-made die-cast toy cars depicting the character Sarge from the animated film ‘Cars’ because they are covered with lead paint.
At the same time, the toy maker said it was recalling 18.2 million other toys because their small, powerful magnets could harm children if swallowed. The magnetized toys were also made in China, but they followed a Mattel design specification.
[…]
Separately, laboratory tests have found that some Chinese-made vinyl baby bibs sold at Toys ‘R’ Us stores appear to be contaminated with lead.
Industry analysts said Mattel’s woes are part of a much larger problem.
‘If I went down the shelves of Wal-Mart and tested everything, I’m going to find serious problems,’ said Sean McGowan, managing director and the toy analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. ‘The idea that Mattel — with its high standards — has a bigger problem than everybody else is laughable. If we don’t see an increase of recalls in this industry, then it’s a case of denial.’”
-New York Times, August 15, 2007

“Whoa.. 18.6 million toys? This is insane.”
-Skippy

“Its first recall of more than a million toys drove a Hong Kong-based Mattel subcontractor to commit suicide over the weekend.”
-Forbes.com, August 15, 2007

“I take that back. A recall is sane. Killing yourself over it isn’t. Luckily the problem has been dealt with and now we can all rest easy.”
-Skippy

“’No system is perfect,’ Robert A. Eckert, Mattel’s chairman and chief executive, said in a conference call. ‘There’s no guarantee that we will not be here again.’
[…]
‘We do realize the need for increased vigilance, increased surveillance,’ said Jim Walter, senior vice president of worldwide quality assurance at Mattel, in an interview.”
-New York Times, August 15, 2007

“I’m going to just let Skippy Jr. play with something safe.. Maybe knives or something like that.”
-Skippy

“You know.. for kids.”
- Norville Barnes, The Hudsucker Proxy