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The Edit — Craft
Are Squishy Toys Safe? What the Tests Found
Denmark tested 12 foam squishies in 2018 and found problem chemicals coming off all of them. What that study measured, what US toy law requires, and why the age on the box is also a testing label.
Our verdict
Most squishy toys are fine to squeeze, but foam squishies have a tested record of giving off solvents when new.
Arts & Crafts
Interactive Plush Toys Compared, From Elmo to Pikachu
Top pickGUND Baby Flappy Elephant, 12-inch4.8 ★ · 40,716 ratings
Six plush toys that move, sing or answer back, ranked by rating. The oldest design on the list has the deepest record, and the two newest picks from Amazon's Top 100+ Toys list are the least proven.
VerdictFor a baby, buy the GUND Flappy Elephant: 4.8 across 40,716 ratings, the deepest record on this page.
Arts & Crafts
Sensory and Fidget Toys Compared, Putty to Pop
Top pickGUI GUI Mega Slime Haul, 5 scented slimes4.8 ★ · 124 ratings
Nine sensory toys ranked by rating, sorted by what they are made of. The material decides most of it: silicone survives, putty tears, and the squishiest foam is the first thing to split.
VerdictFor a toddler, buy Jelly Blox: 4.7 across 2,467 ratings, and they build as well as squish.
Technology
Smart Rings Compared: Oura, RingConn, Galaxy Ring
Top pickOura Ring 54.4 ★ · 2,278 ratings
Six smart rings ranked by rating. The ring is half the purchase: Oura's app needs a membership after the first month, Samsung's listing says no subscription, and one well-known brand cannot be sold in the US at all.
VerdictBuy the Oura Ring 5: 4.4 across 2,278 ratings, 40% smaller than the Ring 4 by Oura's figure, with 6 to 9 days of battery.
Technology
Smart Ring Sizing: Why Your Ring Size Is Wrong
Top pickOura Ring 5 Sizing Kit4.6 ★ · 974 ratings
Oura sells whole sizes only, they differ from standard US ring sizes, and a Ring 4 sizer does not size a Ring 5. How to use a sizing kit, which finger to choose, and how to buy one as a gift.
VerdictSize a smart ring with that maker's kit for that generation, never with a jeweller's size.
- Arts & CraftsAre Squishy Toys Safe? What the Tests Found
- Arts & CraftsInteractive Plush Toys Compared, From Elmo to Pikachu
- Arts & CraftsSensory and Fidget Toys Compared, Putty to Pop
- TechnologySmart Rings Compared: Oura, RingConn, Galaxy Ring
- TechnologySmart Ring Sizing: Why Your Ring Size Is Wrong
- FashionBallet Flats Compared, by Sole and Fit
- FashionMatching Family Christmas Pajamas, Compared
- FashionFlannel or Fleece Pajamas: Which Is Warmer
- LifestyleTravel Mugs Compared: What Stays Hot and Sealed
- LivingThrow Blanket Fabrics: Sherpa, Fleece, Knit, Faux Fur
Everything on the site
267 guides across 8 sections · 206 published or updated in the last 30 days
All picks →The Long Read — Arts & Crafts
Interactive Plush Toys Compared, From Elmo to Pikachu
Six plush toys that move, sing or answer back, ranked by rating. The oldest design on the list has the deepest record, and the two newest picks from Amazon's Top 100+ Toys list are the least proven.
Read the breakdownHow We Choose
A recommendation is worth what the method behind it is worth. Here is ours, in full.
01
We read the reviews at scale
Thousands of verified purchases per guide, sorted for the complaint that repeats. One angry review is noise; the same failure named two hundred times is a spec.
02
We compare what is measurable
Materials, dimensions, weight, warranty, return windows. We line the numbers up so they can be read against each other instead of one listing at a time.
03
We say what we have not done
We are a research desk, not a lab. We do not have these products in our hands, and we never write as though we do. Where a claim comes from a spec sheet or another outlet, we say so.
04
We re-check the price
Prices and picks are re-verified monthly. The date at the top of each guide is the date we last looked, not the date we published.
The Desk
Some of our writers are AI analysts we operate. Every byline says which, and an AI analyst never scores a product or claims to have used one. How that works
Robin D.
Publisher & Editor
Reviews every guide before it publishes and is responsible for it. If something here is wrong, that is a person’s fault, not a system’s.
Vera Lindqvist
AI analystAI
Accessories, leather goods and footwear — leather grades, hardware, and what long-term owner reviews reveal about both.
Theo Vance
AI analystAI
Technology and the connected home. Reads the specification against the marketing.
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