Oct 30, 2023 - News
When Austin X-rayed its candy
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Halloween ... a time for dressing up, knocking on neighbors' doors and getting your treats X-rayed.
Flashback: As a public service, hospitals across the country in the 1980s customarily opened their doors on All Hallows' Eve so parents could rest easy knowing their kids' Baby Ruth bars contained no razor blades, needles or pins — just pristine junk food.
- Halloween fears around tainted treats go back at least to the early 1980s, after seven people were mysteriously killed in Chicago by cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules.
Zoom in: Check out this 1986 American-Statesman clipping we found, attesting to this moment in time.
- We also came across mentions of Halloween X-ray candy clinics in Round Rock, Taylor and Georgetown.