Toy Firm Calls Simpson Wind Sock Harmless

Spectra Star, a Pacoima toy manufacturer, denied charges by a Boston personal injury lawyer that a nylon replica of Bart Simpson that it produces poses a danger to children.

Attorney Edward Swartz, discussing toys that he claimed were unsafe at a Nov. 15 press conference, said that a nylon “wind sock” in the shape of cartoon character Bart Simpson, made by Spectra Star, could be dangerous if hung from the handlebars of a bicycle as pictured on its packaging. But Ted Mayer, vice president of design at Spectra Star, said “no child has been harmed and there is no basis for these charges.” Mayer added that the wind sock was actually meant to be hung “on a patio or in a child’s room.”

Mayer said he did not expect the attorney’s announcement to affect sales of the product because the company has no plans to manufacture any more of the Simpson wind sock, which “wasn’t selling that well to begin with.”