CPSC attempting to ban Buckyballs.

[jessica.]

This is weird and all over the news. I'm sure there are worse problems but frankly, I don't get why this even has to happen. They're a toy targeted at adults and I can see why the owner of Buckyballs is upset.

Meredith DelPrete, 10, was at school one day and did something that she said is popular among kids her age: She pretended to have a pierced tongue. The Fairfax County fifth-grader took two magnetic balls from her pocket and placed one on top of her tongue and the other on the underside. The magnets, the size of a BB, are extremely powerful. They made it look like she had a stud. She opened her mouth to show a friend.

That’s when the silver orbs rolled off.

Source & Full Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...g9W_story.html
Additional Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...y.html?hpid=z3

This just in, magnets pose a problem if swallowed.

[yg17]

I ordered 2 sets of Buckyballs last night. I always wanted some and figured I better get them while I can.

Just absolutely stupid. Looking around my desk here at work, there's all sorts of stuff I can swallow. Shall they ban these thumbtacks I have? I bet those would hurt more than buckyballs if swallowed.

[Antares]

Ridiculous. I saw this, too, on the news. The packaging says it is for people age 13 and older. It is not a toy created for young children. If a parent gives something intended for adults/teenagers to a child, it’s their fault, not the product manufacturer. Let’s just go ahead and ban pretty much everything…because, you know, children may get ahold of something not intended for them and harm themselves.

[12dylan34]

Absolutely ridiculous. It's sad that someone's invention/business that they built and put thousands of hours into can be shattered by a single person('s parents) who make a stupid mistake that's entirely their fault.

I almost choked on a ball bearing when I was about that age and it never crossed my or my parent's minds to much such a public spectacle of it. It was solely my fault because I put it in my mouth.

[adildacoolset]

Since they don't sell those where I came from, I thought that they wanted to ban the use of fullerene!!

[doelcm82]

Originally Posted by 12dylan34

Absolutely ridiculous. It's sad that someone's invention/business that they built and put thousands of hours into can be shattered by a single person('s parents) who make a stupid mistake that's entirely their fault.

I almost choked on a ball bearing when I was about that age and it never crossed my or my parent's minds to much such a public spectacle of it. It was solely my fault because I put it in my mouth.

Think of the poor guy who invented Lawn Darts!

[senseless]

While we're at it:

Quote:
"Zinc, a major component of post-1982 US cents, is toxic in large quantities. Swallowing such a coin, which is 97.5% zinc, can cause damage to the stomach lining because of the high solubility of the zinc ion in the acidic stomach.[31] Coins are the most commonly ingested foreign body in children but generally are allowed to pass spontaneously unless the patient is symptomatic.[32] Zinc toxicity, mostly in the form of the ingestion of US pennies minted after 1982, is commonly fatal in dogs where it causes a severe hemolytic anemia.[33] It is also highly toxic in pet parrots and can often be fatal.[34]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)

[RedTomato]

I don't get it. If you swallow two buckyballs (or other powerful mini magnets) at the same time, then they'll just attach to each other and pass through you.

“I could feel them in the back of my throat. I tried to get them out, but I couldn’t. So I just swallowed them,” she said in an interview this week.

That accidental swallowing led to five days at Inova Fairfax Hospital, at least 10 X-rays, three CT scans and an endoscopy. Finally, on Jan. 20, a surgeon used a metal instrument to manipulate the magnets into her appendix, avoiding major surgery. He then removed her appendix, and the magnets, doctors said.

Why all the drama to get them out? The article says that they may trap intestinal wall between them, causing major internal bleeding. I understand this might happen if several magnets were swallowed, several minutes apart, but if they were already joined when swallowed, then they aren't going to magically separate, travel off in different directions, find a loop of intestine, then rejoin across the internal intestine wall.

[iMacFarlane]

Originally Posted by adildacoolset

Since they don't sell those where I came from, I thought that they wanted to ban the use of fullerene!!

Yeah, no kidding! Buckminsterfullerenes (C-60 being the most common form) are a rare allotrope of the Carbon molecule, are actually not good for life as we know it, and are under study for the development of nanotubes and carbon fiber materials research.

They call 'em Buck Balls for short.

Can you ban molecular structures? Look out Neodymium-Hexaflouride! You're next!

[brentmore]

Originally Posted by yg17

I ordered 2 sets of Buckyballs last night. I always wanted some and figured I better get them while I can.

Just absolutely stupid. Looking around my desk here at work, there's all sorts of stuff I can swallow. Shall they ban these thumbtacks I have? I bet those would hurt more than buckyballs if swallowed.

Did the same thing this weekend with a 45% off coupon! Been wanting them for years.

[RedTomato]

Originally Posted by iMacFarlane

Yeah, no kidding! Buckminsterfullerenes (C-60 being the most common form) are a rare allotrope of the Carbon molecule, are actually not good for life as we know it

Yes, romantic evenings are a major cause of buckyball poisoning. You breathe in a good dose of buckyballs from the candle fumes. So next time your significant other suggests a candlelit dinner or a candlelit bath, turn them in for attempted poisoning. And check they haven't updated your will behind your back.

[blueroom]

Didn't they ban Kinder Surprise in the US for the same reason.

They should make a Kinder Surprise with Buckyballs inside.

Safer than the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab toy from the 50s'
http://daily-grind.net/most-dangerou...ic-energy-lab/

[Rodimus Prime]

well after the crap Buckyball pulled and threatening Zen maginets I could care less what happens to them.