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Is your child's teething toy filled with mold?
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embed - photo by Kristina Tieken
This beloved and popular Sophie The Giraffe teething toy has parents outraged.

Several parents discovered a musty smell emitted from the small hole on the giraffes belly. Upon cutting open the small giraffe, black mold spotted the entire inside.

If youve ever purchased a Sophie Giraffe for your baby, you know she is advertised as a perfectly safe and pain soothing teething toy made with 100% natural rubber that is supposed to help develop a babys five senses.

What you didnt know is that toxic molds could be living in this cute, innocent looking giraffe.

What you might have missed

Instructions included in the packaging from Vulli, the French manufacturing company that makes Sophie, recommended cleaning the surface of the giraffe with a damp cloth and not immersing it in water to prevent damage.

However, allowing moisture into that nasty little hole may be unavoidable for those with drooly babies.

Amazon reviewer, Stephanie Oprea, tried to warn parents of the ugly, smelly mold. Beware!! If you have a drooly baby, moisture will get in the hole and youll end up with mold! Weve had our for two years and the entire inside is coated with black mold!

Dana Chianese, a pediatric dentist, used to recommend Sophie The Giraffe to her patients. After she "discovered a science experiment living inside her child's Sophie giraffe, she said that it hurt her heart to know that she had been giving her child moldy toys and stopped recommending them to patients.

Would you risk your child to mold?

A statement was given by Laurie Schraenen, a spokeswoman for Vulli, that the quality department had assessed and concluded that saliva could not cause the mold type that was shown in photos they had received.

How can you prevent mold in toys:

Carolyn Forte from the Cleaning Lab at the The Good Housekeeping Institute, says, The only way to prevent mold inside plastic toys is to make sure they are cleaned and thoroughly dried.

If your child uses these toys on a daily basis, Forte recommends cleaning your childrens toys at once a week and disinfecting them with a cup Clorox bleach per gallon of water. She says to soak them for five minutes, rinse thoroughly and allow them to air dry.

Your child's safety is such an important priority. Hopefully, this helps you become aware of how to better prevent hazardous mold in your child's toys.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Street musician killing it on clarinet

She must have lungs of iron! Its inspiring hearing the upper registers being played so well.

Posted by Clarinet Life on Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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