11 Most Annoying Toys Ever Invented

Toys bring a tremendous amount of joy to children, but sometimes, while entertaining them, these toys can get pretty annoying, so we wondered about which are the most annoying toys ever invented. Those toys create a mess, they flash like a disco stroboscope, they sound too loud and make us more and more annoyed with time. Imagine hearing the same 30-second melody for more than five hours – a scenario of complete insanity. Never get a toy that plays music; that melody will make you want to pull your hair out.

The toy industry in the US is expected to have one of the strongest years in sales for a decade after several years where video games and mobile apps took the prize in shopping. (While on the subject of video games, we listed the most expensive virtual items in video games for you to check out – you won’t believe the sums that some in-game items generated in sales.) Toy sales are projected to rise this year, especially during the holiday season. According to the NPD Group Inc., the rise will be measured in billions. The new era of toys is at the door, and with the new era, the new possibilities to annoy us are coming as well.

While it’s tough to measure the level of how infuriating a toy can be because every individual can be bothered by something different, we took the analytic approach and considered several factors; the noise, the potential mess they make, and possible injuries. One of the biggest contributing factors we took into consideration ranking the most annoying toys ever made were the feedback the toys received from moms at Baby Center Community. With the combined stats and comparison of the reviews and feedback, we list you the 11 most annoying toys that have ever been invented.

11. Crayons

Learning to draw is an unforgettable experience for children and parents as well. As your toddler begins to draw for the first time, crayons are the most common choice for plain fun. The thing is, a simple sheet of paper isn’t enough for your toddler, and that wall is such a lovely surface to continue with the art creation process. Same goes for furniture, floors, your patio, your car…A beautiful artistic day will turn your house into a horrible mess that will make you crazy.

10. Lego

LEGO bricks are great toys for your child. They stimulate the creativity, imagination, cognitive processes and logic in children’s brains. The brilliant idea of manufacturing LEGO bricks started in 1949, and since then there were thousands of products, hundreds of product lines, collections, unique items, and themed pieces that brought new dimension to the toy industry. You can have a lovely time playing LEGO with your child, but when the game is over, you’ll have to collect all the parts to the package, and we promise you, you’ll step on at least one of them in bare feet. Welcome to the agony. Your whole home will be scattered with LEGO, and you’ll find them at every possible space: in your bed, beneath the kitchen table, on the bathroom floor, on the stairs…

9. Bumble Ball

Here’s a blast from the past! The Bumble Ball was a big-time fashion in the 90s when everybody rushed to buy it. This toy does nothing besides vibrating and zigzags on the floor when the power is turned on. The funny thing about it would keep the child’s attention for about an hour when it ends as a potential danger to people around the household. Stepping on it would produce a significant amount of pain and frustration that usually ends in kicking it hard, hurting the foot even further. Some versions of the toy even played some music that would repeat all over again.

8. Teddy Ruxpin

The top-selling toy of the 80s was so influential that it got its own TV cartoon in 1987. The bear was so hot that people were waiting in huge lines to get it. There were several packages to buy with the big teddy, which operated in combination with audio played from cassettes – the bear “read” the stories to kids simultaneously moving his mouth and eyes accordingly. Now, electronics weren’t as actually made as today, and weren’t such high quality; they often failed, activating themselves in the middle of the night. Imagine the situation: you are having a good sleep, everything is quiet, and then a creepy voice of a Teddy Ruxpin creeps the heck out of you and your child as well.

7. GAK

Here’s the first slimy contender on our list, one of the first products of this kind in the toy market, which was a hit with young boys. Gak was endorsed by the idea that it produces sounds of farting when being squeezed and handled. A perfect toy for a young rebel to annoy you all day. Children love the idea of mounting a slimy GAK to a plastic inflation mechanism and create “balloons” to pop, thus creating funny fart sounds. Very entertaining. Using all different colors of the slimy stuff will mean even more to get stuck on clothes, bedding, and carpet. Well done, Nickelodeon, for making us wash our kids even more.

6. Crazy Legs Learning Bug

This toy is a sound-torturing machine. Age-appropriate learning products are useful and entertaining at the same time. Your kid will have fun learning some basic elements, shapes, and images, and entertain themselves by just dragging the toy, which will play different music and speak several different definitions to your kid. It can help keeping your child entertained and amused, but after some time, you’ll freak out from hearing the same melodies all over again. This type of toy is helpful, but can get you irritated in time, and you’ll want to kick the damn thing out of the house like a football.

5. Corn Popper

This is the one that irritated our parents for sure; the Corn Popper was a big thing in the 50s. It was invented in 1957, by Arthur Holt. The toy is made to stimulate children to walk and be active, and the mechanism was designed to act like a popper, popping the balls like popcorn. The thing about this toy is, the sound is loud and annoying, and you’ll regret buying it after a while. Because it’s designed for toddlers of 36 months and above, you can’t let them walk around freely using their Corn Popper and you will have to withstand that awful noise as long as they show interest in this toy.

4. Singing Puppy

Another terrorizing sound on our list; the Singing Puppy is a learning toy that helps your child to learn colors and phrases through music. Nobody in the world would expect that a toy this big can be such a big harassment for your mind, especially if your child gets to love it – then get ready for weeks and months of same melodies and annoying sound. This puppy toy will respond to every touch, repeating the same song over and over. Children in these periods are so energetic; the same old sound will entertain them but at the same time torture you to the deepest levels of despair.

3. Furby

As we approach the top of our list, the toys we speak about are the most popular and most discussed. The Furby is one of the worst nightmares of young parents worldwide; this furry hamster-owl creature has a life of its own, “behavior,” and language. These toys brought interaction into the toy industry, and the innovation resulted in vast numbers of sales. The thing about the Furby is that the thing didn’t have an OFF switch, often turning on in the middle of the night, scaring the child and you as well. The reason for this horror was the sound sensors which enable Furby to respond to your voice.

2. Chicken Dance Elmo

Let’s do the chicken dance, everybody! And let’s do it for hours! The “Chicken Dance” Elmo is an adorable little robot designed with a single purpose – to entertain your child and make it dance. He moves his legs and wings while singing the “Chicken Dance” song. Elmo is one of the most famous characters in US television history, and toys and merchandise with his character continue to be successful. This toy was sold in millions and provided fun for the whole family – for the first 4 minutes. Every second after that turns into the dull, and later annoying chorus of the song you once cherished and despise now. Thanks a lot, Elmo.

1. Elmo’s Rock & Roll Guitar

Our ultimate champion comes from Sesame Street, and it’s the Elmo Rock & Roll Guitar. All the music instrument toys can be classified as the top annoying toys you can buy for your child, only because the toddler will use it randomly, just smashing the buttons, creating an unpleasant mixture of sounds in an endless cycle. This guitar toy is at the top of our 11 most annoying toys ever invented list for a reason – this toy received the biggest amount of complaints and reviews from moms going insane without a doubt. The toy functions with four buttons to press and “automatic play” button that starts the flurry of songs. The sound of this toy is very unpleasant – you’ll have a headache-creating machine in your house if you buy it. So many of them got accidentally broken or stepped on by the father (always to blame when the problems need solving), just to get that freakish noise out of the house.