Authorities in China have seized a large number of counterfeit Olympic mascot souvenirs. Bad enough, right? Well, it also turns out that the counterfeits are not only crude knockoffs of the real mascots, some are also made with toxic materials.
Inspectors raided three flats crammed with toys and mascots for next year's Games, the Beijing News said.
"The products were roughly crafted and some were even made using poisonous materials," the paper said, citing a district civil hygiene office. It did not say what poisonous materials were used in the fakes.
We here at Blue Crab Boulevard are always trying to help. So we are providing a handy pointer to what the real mascots look like. We strongly caution readers to stay right away from the ones that look like this:
