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March 3, 2016

Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Science | Volume 3 | SCI-NEWS 7

Simon & Schuster recall Scratch-n-Sniff Periodic Table of the Elements children’s book

NEW YORK, NY – After receiving hundreds of complaints from parents, the publishing company Simon & Schuster has decided to recall a recently published Scratch-N-Sniff children’s book featuring all the elements in the Periodic Table.

The 118 page book, entitled Let’s Smell the Smell-Ements!, presents one element per page, along with a simple description, and a small scratch-n-sniff pad that contains materials made from the featured element. Allegedly, children began to get sick after scratching and sniffing the scratch pads of certain elements such as Uranium, Fluorine, and Rubidium. Although no deaths have been reported yet, several children remain hospitalized.

In a statement released today by Simon & Schuster, the publication giant apologized and took full responsibility for any sicknesses caused by the book: “While we stand by our original concept of kids interacting with elements in a fun, novel way, we do concede that we should have done some more basic research on the safety of various elements.”

That statement, however, did not address the hundreds of complaints from factory workers and bookstore employees that exposure to the book’s radioactive elements caused significant health issues. A spokesperson from Simon & Schuster said that that situation is under a current investigation.

Perhaps the only saving grace for Simon & Schuster is that the extraordinary price of the book—$2,999.99, or $3,499.99 Canadian dollars—has limited the number of customers who may have been exposed to the toxic elements.

 

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