Bunchems: Reviews slam bastard toys that get tangled in hair
STEPPING barefoot on a piece of Lego is one of life’s greatest frustrations. Now there’s a new toy inflicting pain on children, and some adults, around the world — Bunchems.
Bunchems are colourful, marble-sized spheres that have dozens of small hooks that allow the squishy balls to grip to each other.
“They stick and stay then pull apart for endless play!” reads the product description on the 406-piece ‘Mega Pack’, which retails for $59.99 at Toys R US.
They’re the hot new toy of 2015. The popular toy review website TTPM listed Bunchems in their annual list of the Most Wanted Toys for Christmas, and they’re up for the famous Toy of the Year award for best activity toy. On the Target Australia website, the Mega Pack has sold out.
Like Lego, the pieces stick together to create anything — animals, a car, — but they also stick easily to hair and are a nightmare to remove.
Hundreds of frustrated parents have left scathing reviews on Amazon and Facebook, detailing the tantrums and expensive haircuts endured after Bunchems got caught in their children’s locks.
The review voted ‘most helpful’ on Amazon is titled ‘A Toy Spawned From the Darkest Depths of Hell’.
“Horrible, horrible, horrible toy for kids,” wrote reviewer Ethan Benoiton. “I just spent the last TWO AND A HALF hours (absolutely, 100 per cent not an exaggeration) attempting to remove 14 of these bastard balls out of my daughter’s hair.
“Buy this toy for someone if you hate them or their child. They bring pain and misery, tears, fighting, broken and ripped hair, and questions of one’s sanity in handling life in general.”
One Amazon reviewer called Bunchems the “worst toy ever”.
Another wrote: “TAKE THIS OFF THE CHRISTMAS LIST! No idea these were so EVIL! Gift from grandma turned violent when caught in her hair! 2 hours of ripping and pulling, the in the trash. She screams when she sees the commercial now.”
Many parents describe their child’s horror at having to have most of their hair cut off.
“My poor niece with long beautiful hair begged me not to cut it. Soldiered for 9 hours on her birthday before gracefully giving up. Her butt length hair is now chin length I was lucky to save that much. These toys are ridiculous,” one woman wrote.
The most entertaining review doesn’t come from a parent, but a bloke who “got in a drunken stupor” and tried to construct a G-string from Bunchems.
“HUGE MISTAKE! These little balls got stuck everywhere. They stuck my butt cheeks together and made my nether regions look like clown hair. I then had the precarious task of having to drive myself to the hospital.”
He continued: “Upon arrival at the E.R I was laughed at by the nurses and witnessed the doctors snickering at me. I had to be put under and shaved. The plus side to all of this I found some really good aftershave ointment on Amazon. These balls suck, and stick to all HAIR! Buyer beware :(”
The problem has become so widespread that Bunchem’s parent company Spin Master released a short video called ‘How To Remove Bunchems From Your Hair’, which has 84,000 views on YouTube. Hot tip: Try conditioner and vegetable oil.
Bunchems, which are recommended for children aged four or older, were tested with children, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The product includes several warnings. “Caution: Keep Away from hair. May become entangled,” appears on the back of the box and twice in the instruction book.
“We’re trying to figure out ways to make it more obvious,” Arlene Biran, vice president of marketing at Spin Master, told The Wall Street Journal.
News.com.au has contacted Spin Master for comment.
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