This is why we can't have nice things.
Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
71–80 of 88 posts
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some animals are purposely fed magnets to improve their health. For example, the Cow Magnet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_magnet
It's only one magnet though, more could span a pipe and cause a blockage or trap internal linings as described above.
The cows have magnets because they eat metal. The danger for humans isn't just 2 magnets, it's 1 magnet + something ferrous, of which a magnet is just one possibility.
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
Cars are regulated.
You need a license to drive them.
The fact that most accidents are caused by licensed drivers[0], though, is an interesting discussion point.
[0] I don't have any data to back this up, it just seems reasonable...
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#74In the UK, this is called the Nanny State. I though the USA was immune to this rubbish.
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#75This 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.
After reading the complaint ( http://i.usatoday.net/money/_pdfs/cpsc-complaint-buckyballs.... ) I'm doubling down on that. This is one of the most asinine things I've ever read. Per paragraph 36, the CPSC complains that the product warnings are ineffective because parents and caregivers don't appreciate the hazard and will continue giving the magnets to children. So adults fail to keep the product say from children,…
nails, screws, buts, bolts, and coins
It's interesting, and important, that you read right over the part of the complaint where it is explained that tiny high-powered magnets are qualitiatively different and more dangerous than the other metal objects that children might typically ingest.
Why? Because the completely nonintuitive nature of the danger is itself part of the danger. People think these things are less harmful than, say, tiny screws. After all, they're smooth and round and clean-looking. They'll just pass right through, yes? It's not as if humans have metal parts inside for things to stick to, right? You didn't realize the danger. I, until ten minutes ago, didn't realize the danger.
But the danger is there. From paragraph 18:
If two or more of the magnets are ingested [at slightly different times - ed] and the magnetic forces of the magnets pull them together, the magnets can pinch or trap the intestinal walls or other digestive tissue between them, resulting in acute and long-term health consequences. Magnets that attract through the walls of the intestines result in progressive tissue injury, beginning with local inflammation and ulceration, progressing to tissue death, then perforation or fistula formation. Such condition can lead to infection, sepsis, and death.
I love my buckyballs and I wish I didn't find this argument compelling. But I do. I've dissected intestines (in mice); they have very thin membranes. I've had too many magnets pinch me. I've tried to separate buckyballs on purpose with my fingers; they don't separate by accident. If they capture a piece of tissue between them they aren't coming apart until the tissue dies and a hole forms. If that hole spans your intestinal wall you have a very big problem.
Meanwhile, this is apparently not just speculation. There are data. This has actually happened. Presumably it can be made to happen again in laboratory rats if necessary, though I frankly doubt this complaint will get to that point.
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 easil…
Woah, this totally reminded me of the time when i ate a brufen tablet when i was little thinking that it was candy. It even had the sugar coating. So basically kids are usually dumb and prone to random acts of craziness .
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#77This 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-... )
Even more than that, they look exactly like silver dragees.
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#78One 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]...
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…
One of the other risks with magnets is that they'll be swallowed at slightly different times and be in the intestines slightly location (=time) shifted. Perforation and doom.
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
Fine, but you said that in the context of adults swallowing them, which is what I was addressing.
Re: Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
I'm all for regulating toys, and this toy has been adequately regulated. It has a big warning label saying that it's not for kids, and that it's dangerous if you swallow it. The step that goes too far is trying to ban them outright.