Glo Worm is a stuffed toy for young children, designed by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

Playskool Playskool is an American company that produces educational toys and games for children. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and is headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. History The Playskool Institute was established by Lucille King in 192 ...

division, and made in Pawtucket,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Introduced in 1982, the plush, pajamaed worm body contained a battery-powered device that when squeezed would light up the toy's vinyl head from within, creating a soft glow. The original toy, upon release, was such a success that Hasbro released a new Musical Glo Worm, a series of story books, night lights, videos and other merchandise that continued until the early 1990s. However, in late 2005, the product was criticized for harming children; its plastic head was softened with

phthalate Phthalates (, ), or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid. They are mainly used as plasticizers, i.e., substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. They are used primarily to soften ...

s, which can be dangerous if swallowed by children.

Glo Friends

In 1986, Playskool released a number of "Glo"-based toys that glowed but were made of soft vinyl. These toys, collectively known as

the Glo Friends ''The Glo Friends'' is an American television series that originally aired in 1986 as a segment of ''My Little Pony 'n Friends''. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation, the 26 segments of ''Glo ...

, were so successful that American fast food chain

Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was t ...

in 1989 also released a series of 13 soft vinyl toys to advertise their chain. Their names were: Glo Snugbug, Glo Snail, Glo Doodlebug, Glo Bug, Glo Grannybug, Glo Clutterbug, Glo Bashfulbug, Glo Butterfly, Glo Bopbug, Glo Cricket, Glo Skunkbug, Glo Bookbug, Glo worm, and Glo Nikkibug. Additional characters included: Glo Nuttybug, Glo Sniffle Snail, Glo Firefly, Glo Hopper, Glo Spider, Glo Bopbug, Glo Flutterbug, Glo Turtle (shell opens to carry Glo Friends) and Glo Shark.

References

{{Hasbro Fictional worms Hasbro products 1980s toys Products introduced in 1982 Toy animals Stuffed toys