Beados

Bindeez (also marketed as Aqua Dots,Beados, and Pixos) are a children's toy. It was subject to a multi-national product recall after it was found that the Wangqi Product Factory in Shenzhen, China had, in some shipped toys, used a cheap chemical that was a pharmacologically active sedative prodrug instead of the safer one specified by the designers, resulting in the illness and hospitalization of some children who ingested the beads.

Bindeez contains a craft kit that allows children to create various multi-dimensional designs using small colored beads. "Bindeez" can refer to either the toy itself or the small beads. The beads are arranged into various designs on a plastic tray. When the beads are sprayed with water, their surfaces become adhesive and they fuse together. The beads are then left to dry and the whole design becomes fixed and can be removed from the tray.

The beads are approximately five millimeters in diameter and come in a wide range of colours. Bindeez are available in various different kits with accessories such as a drying fan, applicator pen, design templates for the beads, and water spray bottles. The product is labelled for ages four and above.

Bindeez were first withdrawn from the Australian market, and subsequently from the North American market by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as European markets in early November 2007. They were recalled in Australia after a two-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl became seriously ill after they swallowed large numbers of the beads and the connection between the illness and the product was discovered by a doctor at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney. Two children in North America became unconscious after similar ingestion. U.S. safety officials recalled about 4.2 million of the toys.

The Aqua Dots recall is one of the most serious announced by CPSC in recent years. When we first announced the recall on Wednesday, we knew of two children who had fallen into non-responsive comas after ingesting the beads used with this arts and crafts toy. Since the recall was announced, we have learned of seven additional incidents, some involving children who had to be hospitalized (this is now being reported on the AP wire). We urge all parents and caregivers who have this recalled toy to immediately take it away from children and ensure that no one else takes possession of it.

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Wikipedia