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Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

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Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#61

Post by pessimizer »

mistercow wrote: post #47
pessimizer wrote: post #40

I can't believe they waited this long. I'd be surprised if a lot of adults haven't swallowed these, too. Everybody knows that BBs and pennies pass easily, so why wouldn't you think that about magnets? It isn't like the warnings are printed on every ball, and there's nothing intuitive about their danger. Tiny, strong BB magnets can have no place in a house that ever has kids in it. It's not safe to have them in or on…

They're also both an educational and creative toy that can introduce kids to the counterintuitive ways that magnets interact, while teaching them to build things within unusual constraints. Yes, they are dangerous if swallowed, just like a lot of other things that we have around our houses all the time. Keep them out of reach of young children, sure, but this is a tiny risk that has been blown out of proportion by th…

>As for "why would you assume that you can't swallow it?", I just don't even what to say. Don't just assume that you can safely swallow shit?

Because you can safely swallow things that look identical to them in every way, maybe? Would you rush your child to the emergency room because you found out they swallowed a ball bearing?

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#62

Post by pessimizer »

mistercow wrote: post #55
pessimizer wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being deceptive. How many deaths per bicycle, per battery, and per bottle ?

That isn't actually deceptive though, if the question is of how the government should be spending its time and getting involved with our business. If buckyballs are a relatively rare novelty toy with a clear warning label but a minuscule number of injury cases nonetheless, while a number of other products are more popular and are hurting more kids, then why should the government screw around with buckyballs at all? A…

Why regulate toys at all while there are so many car accidents?

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#63

Post by mindslight »

midwestwebdev wrote: post #59

If parents don't understand why a small magnetic ball bearing would be bad for their children to play with, then they're --- hate to be rude --- stupid. And their stupidity should not be used to punish private companies who make a perfectly safe product when used correctly by its intended audience. They already have warning label, why isn't that enough? With the economy hurting like it is, I can't figure out why the…

> With the economy hurting like it is, I can't figure out why the US government would be doing something as stupid as this.

Because agency funding is dependent on the agency's relevance. If government actually worked as advertised, every solved problem would result in it shrinking. In reality, it identifies new "problems" to perpetuate its existence.

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#64

Post by joechip »

beedogs wrote: post #38

I know this is going to sound harsh, but maybe if your kid choked to death on a magnetic toy, he or she just wasn't of sturdy enough stock to begin with. In the brains department. I wish the Feds would go after actual problems with the same fervor they tackle this kind of crap.

Clearly you don't have any children!

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#65

Post by [deleted] »

pessimizer wrote: post #41
andrewfelix wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other things marketed as playful or safe for kids in the US; - Bicycles (Over 500 deaths a year) - Battery powered toys (Roughly 2500 battery ingestions a year, Roughly 2% Fatality Rate) - Bottles, Pacifiers etc. (2200 ER Injuries per year)

You're being deceptive. How many deaths per bicycle, per battery, and per bottle ?

[deleted]

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#66

Post by jobu »

msie wrote: post #16

Children will do the craziest things if left unwatched for even a second. This year alone I've heard about kids drowning in backyard pools, a kid dancing on an air conditioner on a window sill (was caught by a passerby) and a kid dying because a soccer net fell on her.

Agreed. If my youngest makes it to adulthood it will be a miracle - she's very active and even more impulsive. I love her like crazy, but every day she survives is a combination of luck and (I like to think) good parenting.

Last week I was talking to her while I was grilling and when I turned around she was standing on the railing of our deck (15 feet above a concrete patio).

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#68

Post by jobu »

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.

Another issue is that they're about the same size and shape as Sixlets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixlets).

It was actually mentioned in the Reuters story that one 4yo thought the BuckyBalls looked like chocolates. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/25/us-usa-buckyballs-...)

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#69

Post by jobu »

lambda wrote: post #49
deliciouscoffee wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your last line is an excellent point and really the crux of the issue. These buckyballs are marketed as a toy and widely understood to be a toy. Just glancing at the website there's "NOT A TOY" in large font but a little further down is a quote saying "There's no better desktoy". It's not surprising that there is some confusion. People just don't associate magnets with danger and the toy-ness of this product certainl…

But toys aren't necessarily for kids. There are many toys which are intended for adults. Now, in some cases they may be called things other than toys (fashion accessories, schwag, sports equipment, sex toys), but at their heart, they are toys, just toys targeted to adults, not kids. Should every one of those that's dangerous be banned because it might be mistaken for a toy for a kid? Does the fact that a vibrator or…

Agreed, but BuckyBalls look very harmless to most adults and kids (they're basically beads), so most people don't put much care into hiding them from young kids.

Also the Reuters story mentions one kid thought they were chocolates: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/25/us-usa-buckyballs-...

Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

#70

Post by mkramlich »

mturmon wrote: post #42
unreal37 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a set of these. They are not given to children young enough to put them in their mouth. Parents who do so are irresponsible.

I have a set too, and they are cool. I let my six-year-old play with them, because I trust her. She knows not to let her friends play with them. In the light of this suit, I'll have to reconsider that. They are really easy to lose, and if lost, they can be picked up and swallowed by a kid, and their parent would never know. The particular danger of strong, tiny magnets is quite non-obvious (inspecting the comments he…

> I have a set too, and they are cool. I let my six-year-old play with them, because I trust her.

kids are random. much more so than adults. I strongly recommend you never let her access those things again. there's only downside, and the upside (fun, diversion, learning about magnets) can be had from alternate things, or at some future date when her judgment is better. plus give something to a kid, and it could easily end up in the hands/mouth of other kids. kids are random. they/we start life in fact with our heads full of all sorts of irrational/mythical beliefs, and a blurry line between imagination and reality. For example, the classic kid thought meme: if something looks like candy, it probably tastes like candy, it probably is candy.

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