Farewell “Space Dog”.
Back in 2024, I bought this for my daughter to use as a night light. We affectionately called him “Space Dog”.
It’s actually a neat piece of engineering. It incorporates a class 1 laser that projects hundreds of laser dots onto the ceiling, simulating a starry night. The results is beautiful and mesmerizing.
I wondered to myself, why don’t American companies make this?
The answer should be obvious. There’s a serious liability problem. If a child stares into the light, even for more than a few seconds, that child will be blinded permanently.
There is a warning label—mandated by the FTC—but it’s hidden by the head of the dog. There’s also a UKCA seal, but that is a self-declaration where the manufacturer claimed compliance, but no one in the UK actually tested it.
Making matters worse, the word “laser” is not mentioned anywhere in any of the product listings. Every seller calls it an “LED light”. It’s not a lie; these projectors also project LED lights to simulate “nebulae”. But it’s the laser that’s the main draw.
I permitted this in my house because my child is old enough to know not to stare into it. We used it often.
But it turns out the laser was not the danger in our house.
This morning, we smelled something burning in the house. We went all over and finally found this.
Now in my mind, I always figured that a USB-C device would be safe to use.
But low-cost electronics from China ROUTINELY have problems like this. The likely problem here was a cheap USB-C receptacle that allowed heat to concentrate at the port, or the device drawing more current than the port was designed for.
Thank God, this happened in the morning, so my daughter could smell the smoke right away. But had this happened late at night, or had started a fire that spread to the carpet and the bed, it would have been a disaster.
It’s likely that tens, or maybe hundreds of thousands of these have been sold on Temu, Alibaba, and Amazon. We escaped disaster, but this is a very real risk in hundreds of American households.
How do China companies get away with this?
So how do China companies get away with this? Let’s take a look.
You’ll notice that there’s not just one listing or brand for these kinds of devices. There are dozens. Why?
It’s simple. If one of these products causes a problem, Amazon will get the seller closed down. But there will be dozens of sellers—and probably the original seller under a different name—ready to continue to sell these to the public.
Notice also how all of these have rave reviews. That’s because when you first turn this device on, it really is impressive. But very few people go back and update the review months or years later. And when they try to, guess what happens? The seller has already closed shop.
Government agencies like the FTC and the CPSC are supposed to protect us from things like this. But let’s face it, they’re powerless.
How do you protect yourself?
1. Look for genuine UL, ETL, or CSA certifications for devices that stay plugged in
First, it’s time to take UL and ETL certification seriously. UL certification would absolutely have prevented this precise failure by rigorously testing abnormal operation, single fault conditions, temperature rise limits, connector and wiring derating, and flammability ratings.
But here’s the problem. Many listings on Amazon say “UL certified” and show a logo, but are not actually listed. Except for large brands like Anker, there is not a single product I have purchased from a China manufacturer that had a UL certification that actually checked out (more often than not, if they even bother to list a certification number, it’ll be a different product). They know that the vast majority of Americans will just trust the logo and not bother to check.
Real UL certification is verified by looking up the product’s UL file number in UL’s public database, not by trusting a logo. If there’s no file number—or the listing doesn’t match the exact model—the product isn’t actually UL certified.
And you may see logos like CE, UKCA, or FCC on products. Those are completely meaningless. They cover paper compliance, but in many cases are self-reported and in all cases don’t involve actual testing.
2. Be extra cautious with always-on or unattended devices
Any device that runs for hours, especially while you sleep, and especially in a kids’ room, require extra caution. It’s time that Americans learned that regardless of how good a “deal” you get on something, you do end up paying for it, one way or another. And in rare but real cases, paying for it with the ultimate price.
3. USB-powered does not mean risk-free
This was the big lesson I learned. Even 5V devices can overheat it the connector, wiring, or solder joints are poor.
4. Avoid no-name brands with disposable listings
If a brand has no website, no support line, and there are dozens and dozens of Amazon listings for this product under different names, there’s a reason for that. Assume that there will be zero accountability if something goes wrong.
The CPSC is supposed to issue recalls of products, but let’s take one example to see how much power they really have.
They issued this “recall” in October 2025 of “Magnet Men” toys by a manufacturer called “Vndueeey”. What probably happened to bring it to the CPSC’s attention, tragically, is that a child probably ingested magnets and was seriously injured or worse.
As the CPSC was patting themselves on the back for saving America from this seller, here’s what was going on at Amazon.
This is just the first page. See how many results it found for “magnet men”
5. Stop buying made in China crap
Think about this. Since China was granted permanent MFN status, has the quality of our lives become better? We may think we’re saving a few dollars on this or that, but think of all the appliances you’ve had to replace, all the gadgets that just broke, and all of us accepting poor quality as the norm.
China is the greatest geopolitical enemy of the West, and of the United States. If an American child is critically injured or worse because he ingested magnets, or his room burned down, or he stared into laser lights, it doesn’t affect them one bit. In fact, it’s well documented that the CCP has intentionally encouraged the flood of fentanyl into the US, encouraged wholesale theft of American intellectual property, and has dreams of imposing its totalitarian utopia on the entire world.
We funded China’s rise to power by buying stupid things like this dog. They stop once we stop.
Spot on