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Beware the authenticity of your squishy dumpling

Have you ever heard of squishy dumplings? Along with NeeDohs, Squeeezys, Butters, and big fruits and carrots, these adorable dumplings toys are part of the viral squishy trend going on right now.

Although squishy dumplings are fun, some are dangerous. Though this might be hard to believe, it is true. Screaming at the top of your lungs when you get the glitter dumpling from a mystery dumpling case is not worth it.

If you own a squishy dumpling, there is a crucial step I recommend you do before continuing to play with it.

You know the little basket thing, or "house," the dumpling comes in? Examine the bottom of the basket thing. If the bottom has "RMS" engraved into it, keep playing! If there is nothing or something else on the bottom, DO NOT. Throw it away immediately.

Scientists have confirmed that the fake dumpling squishies (the squishies that don't have RMS on the bottom) have chemicals such as benzene, styrene and toluene. In case you are unsure, benzene is a dangerous chemical that causes cancer. Another way to know is if your dumpling smells like chemicals or anything unusual, this is another sign to throw it away.

Let me tell you a story. This summer I was doing the Summer Enrichment program at Marquette Senior High School, and my grandpa picked me up one Thursday. There was a fake squishy dumpling waiting for me.

It was blue, and I actually really liked it! I was playing with it a bit for the following week or two, then my mom picked me up from Summer Enrichment. Once I got in the car, my mom told me she had bad news. I was like, "What is the bad news? I hope it is not too bad."

She told me she had to throw away my squishy dumpling. I was like "Why did you throw it away?!" She said that the squishy dumpling that I had contained benzene and other toxic chemicals. So now I am dumpling-less.

Another time that I was thinking about the dumplings was when I was recently camping in Caledonia, Wisconsin, at a place called Jellystone Park. At the campsite store, I discovered a whole shelf of fake NeeDohs. And at the bottom, there were about 30 fake squishy dumplings.

Then I saw two kids who looked like they were about 6 or 7 years old -- no pun intended -- digging through them with smiles on their faces. I was going to tell them not to get those, but they looked happy, so I didn't.

I got a fake NeeDoh Nice Cube from there, and I definitely regret that. It smelled just terrible. I threw it away almost instantly after I got it.

This article is mainly about the fake squishy dumplings, but they are also about other squishies too, like big butters, big carrots and fruit, and fake NeeDohs, too. If they smell like chemicals, throw them away.

Being all caught up in the squishy craze with a bunch of fake squishies is not worth risking your health for. Thank you for reading (and hopefully following) my article. I hope you have a great rest of your day!

June Forester is 9 years old and a squishy lover, but she does not like fake dumplings. Her favorite NeeDohs are the fuzzball, the nice cube and the sploot splat. Her favorite food is mac and cheese, then tacos. Cheese, meat and lettuce are clearly the best toppings.