Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

usatoday.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 88 posts

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#21

Post by Sanddancer »

The CPSC does some fantastic things for product safety, but this isn't one of them. In fact, some of the items they're complaining about are just plain ridiculous; griping that a product was in a child-safe container seems beyond silly.

Though this did bring up two thoughts near simultaneously. The first was an onion article of ten years ago ( http://www.theonion.com/articles/fun-toy-banned-because-of-t... ). The second being someone I know who recently had emergency surgery after deciding that they would be an excellent thing to sound with. While protecting kids is important, at the same time, kids can and will do stupid things, and a few people swallowing them a year does not seem to rise to the level of requiring a ban.

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#24

Post by knowtheory »

So, what happens in animals who swallow magnets is that on occasion, two magnets or a magnet and another object can be in different windy bits of the intestinal tract and stick together, pinching two otherwise unconnected parts of the intestine together, sometimes kinking them together sufficiently to cause a blockage, which doctors say could cause perforation of the intestine or other very bad things.

So as many wild accusations folks want to level at the government over this there is a medical rational for their action.

See: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57390647-10391704/3-y...

(and sure you can claim this is just bad parenting, but look how many folks in this thread don't understand that this could be a threat)

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#25

Post by adriand »

evdawg wrote: post #17
patio11 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On investigation, and somewhat surprisingly to me, it seems that medical experts legitimately believe that swallowing these particular small metal objects are worse than swallowing garden-variety small metal objects because if you swallow e.g. 5 BB pellets then you'll pass 5 BB pellets but if you swallow 5 high-powered magnets you now have one single clump o' metal which is large/heavy/sharp enough to damage your int…

I think the big difference is that thumb tacks are not a toy. These are a toy. They're marketed as a toy. They're given to children as a toy .

Also, children are - rather obviously - more likely to put a smooth object in their mouths than a sharp pointy one, and also more likely to swallow it.

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#27

Post by Cd00d »

patio11 wrote: post #4

One wonders how many children swallow, say, thumb tacks and whether this makes a prima facie case for the government to sue the manufacturers of all small pointy things. Sure enough, if one Googles [swallowed thumb tack]...

To be fair, swallowing magnets (multiple) is far more of a health risk than other small things babies tend to swallow (coins and detritus). I believe this is because the can stick together in a way that causes intestinal blockage makes holes in the intestines.

The same high risk comes in watch and hearing aid batteries - it's not the size, but in this case the chemistry in the gut.

I don't know the right solution. I love playing with Buckyballs, but am wary and hide them away when my 1 year old niece is around. I think an unfortunate problem is that toy stores are treated by many parents as "all of this is for children", even when labels say 3+ or adults only or whatever.

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#28

Post by jlarocco »

csmeder wrote: post #13

Why is swallowing them so dangerous? Don't kids swallow pennies and what not? Then it leaves the body through normal bodily function?

Supposedly some types are strong enough to stick together through intestine walls an can cause damage or blockages [1].

Still, a ban and lawsuit seems a little over the top.

http://www.usrecallnews.com/2007/01/swallowed-magnets-stick-...

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#29

Post by esrauch »

anigbrowl wrote: post #5

This is a nonsense suit. The first time we bought a box of these, one of the first things we noticed was the warning about the dangers of strong magnets and the risks of swallowing them in particular.

I think the issue is that no parent can reasonably stop their kid from swallowing these if the kid wants to; do you disagree with that? Note that every McDonalds toy that is actually perfectly safe for young kids has a swallowing/choking hazard, so it's pretty much guaranteed that people can't know that they have to take those seriously in this case.

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#30

Post by esrauch »

loceng wrote: post #11
slig wrote: post #7

Won't someone think of the children?

I think we should ban knives, and hot surfaces - to protect children of course.

This is a totally ridiculous comparison. I'm not in favor of the ban, but comparing a knife (something dangerous that no sane parent would let their kid play with) to this (something less dangerous that is explicitly a toy that most parents would have no problem letting their kids play with) is ridiculous.
Post reply on HN