Black Raven Dragoons

So it appears that our lovely government agency CPSC has ordered another ban of the popular adult magnetic toy Buckyballs. This comes on the heels of a 2010 ban and recall of the product that resulted in the attachment of a warning label stating rather plainly that the product isn't intended for anyone under the age of 13 and that swallowing the magnets can be harmful or fatal.

But, apparently parents continue to let their toddlers play with these magnets, and toddlers continue to swallow them. (It should be noted that the CPSC doesn't cite actual medical reports which seems dubious at best.) So, the CPSC has issued a voluntary ban on sales of the product stating that, in spite of the company's cooperation with regards to corrective labeling, there is no other remedy as children (and supposedly teens) continue to be injured by the magnets. Never mind that food-related choking hazards are more common than that of Buckyballs-related hazards; obviously, the only remedy is to punish all consumers, including those who don't have children.

Yeah, fantastic.

Interestingly, the CPSC's notice doesn't just apply to Buckyballs. Other companies, including Zen Magnets, (who have, as of this writing, never received noticed that their products have been involved in ingestion-related injuries) have received notices, too, and have had their products pulled from store shelves. (Petition available here.)

Now, it seems to me that this is a consequence of combined stupidity and lack of adult supervision. If kids are ingesting these things or choking on them, maybe parents should keep them out of reach? I mean, holy cow, how did our generation(s) manage to make it into our teens without dying from all these "hazards?!" Tiny magnets certainly aren't new...

Ok, so using this logic we should ban swimming pools, lakes, rivers, streams, flash floods, toilets, buckets of water, puddles, bathtubs, and oceans because kids drown sometimes. Now I'm not downplaying the tragedy of losing a child to any accident, but when it boils down to it, parents are responsible for watching what their children are doing. I used the water examples because the public awareness campaign is "Watch your kids around water," aimed at the parents, reminding them to, well, parent. No one in their right mind would suggest banning any of the listed things.

In fact, according to the CDC, Unintentional Injury was the most common cause of death for children (>1-18yrs), and within that drowning was the second highest specific cause of death behind car accidents.



Banning products instead of addressing the one part of the equation that is actually causing the issue (coughcoughPARENTScough) is a knee-jerk reaction to avoid being sued, nothing more, nothing less.

Maybe we need a public awareness campaign to "Watch your kids around magnets!" Which then presents the question: Where do we stop?

"Watch your kids around badgers!"
"Watch your kids around car doors!"
"Watch your kid around the neighbor's dalmation!"
"Watch your kids around that creepy skinny guy who works at 7-11!"
"Watch your kids around paper!"
"Watch your kids around Gobstoppers!"
"Watch your kids around Scrabble pieces!"
"Watch your kids around aglets!"
"Watch your kids around tile floors!"
etc etc etc.

Mmmm, magnets. *salivates*

Damorte wrote:Banning products instead of addressing the one part of the equation that is actually causing the issue (coughcoughPARENTScough) is a knee-jerk reaction to avoid being sued, nothing more, nothing less.

Maybe we need a public awareness campaign to "Watch your kids around magnets!" Which then presents the question: Where do we stop?

"Watch your kids around badgers!"
"Watch your kids around car doors!"
"Watch your kid around the neighbor's dalmation!"
"Watch your kids around that creepy skinny guy who works at 7-11!"
"Watch your kids around paper!"
"Watch your kids around Gobstoppers!"
"Watch your kids around Scrabble pieces!"
"Watch your kids around aglets!"
"Watch your kids around tile floors!"
etc etc etc.

I can't agree more! Maybe we should just ban stupid people? That might actually solve the problem! It's funny you should cite those statistics, because the number of things that DO kill children and often have no advocates against them (food, buckets, etc.) turns this magnet ban into something of a travesty. Why should we responsible adults (and parents) be held hostage at the whim of some idiots who can't control their own children?

Ultimately, the biggest part of the problem, IMO, is that we're now living in a litigocracy--a society ruled and controlled by litigation.

Oh, I dug up some more information you might be interested in. The ban was started by a Dr. Marsha Kay from Cleveland and was pushed in part because some stupid 12 year old was trying to act as if she had a tongue piercing, swallowing 4 of the magnets shortly thereafter. From the article (and you'll love this):

In March, Sabrina Lopez of Bakersfield, Calif., was simulating she had a tongue piercing at school when she swallowed four of the Buckyballs pieces a friend brought to school. Lopez, 12, was hospitalized for six days and required two surgeries to remove the balls from her bowels.

And, of course, in an emotional interview, the mother's response was:

Betty Lopez, Sabrina's mother, says her daughter never saw the warning on the Buckyballs packaging and says it "wasn't sufficient enough for the parent who did buy them."

"Any child's life is worth more than $50 million," adds Lopez.

IMO, if she can't teach her 12 year old daughter to keep strange balls out of her mouth, she's going to have a helluva time when that kid reaches puberty and enters high school...

My horrible sense of humor aside, thanks for posting that chart as well as reminding me about public awareness campaigns, Damorte. It's enlightening, but it's also very saddening. Are people so inept that they actually expect the government to parent for them? Also, cut/pierce weighing in at 4 deaths a year? If that's piercings and not actual impalement, then wow... That one actually surprises me.

Please share the stories about this magnet ban, if you don't mind, because TWO companies have already closed their doors (in this economy, no less) as a result of this ban. Worse, it has gone under the radar since July 25th, and I think everyone needs to know that the CPSC has WAY too much power to regular consumer products.

Grimblast wrote:Mmmm, magnets. *salivates*

Hey now, someone actually claimed that their toddler supposedly thought the magnets were chocolates.

Man, imagine if you owned a rabbit...

Here's a humorous caricature of all the CPSC members including their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. If you oppose this ban, feel free to send them an e-mail. I'll likely be drafting something up this weekend. I realize it won't matter, they've made up their mind and we average people are too stupid to comprehend the nature of such a ban, but it's worth a shot. Sure beats entering a police state where you can't even sell magnets without being arrested.

Magnetic crack cocaine, what?

had to

Well, Matt, what else did you expect to happen if someone sticks strange balls in their mouth?

the chipmunk!