How Tampered Halloween Candy Affected ’90s Trick-or-Treating

In 1991, police in central Ohio confirmed a series of disturbing reports from concerned parents. They were finding thin pins that had been inserted lengthwise into rolled-up Tootsie Rolls. The slender shape of the candy made the pins especially difficult to detect from the outside. The news caused such a local panic that area fire stations stepped in to help. They set up temporary X-ray scanners, offering a free service for parents to have their children’s entire Halloween hauls checked for any hidden metal objects.