Buckyball Ban

The Feds are Taking Away Buckyballs!

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:30:37 -0400

This isn’t really a political blog, but this is important and topical:

One of the first things I reviewed on this blog were my buckyballs. These small magnets are an AMAZING fidget for us adults who have sensory needs. They are not only extremely useful for keeping my fingers occupied and helping me think, but also they look professional which means that I can use them in the place where I spend nearly every hour of my day: the office.

Although they are dangerous if swallowed and should be kept away from small children, there are some adults for which these things are actually medically helpful. People like me, who have dermatillomania and trichotillomania, need sensory inputs to help us avoid gouging at our skin and pulling hair out of places where we really should have hair. Without that input we are at risk for social and professional problems (due to visible sores or bald patches) and even serious infections. They also help me stay on task at work (I also have attentional difficulties, especially when trying to digest auditory-only information).

As I said in my original post, children and people with pica should not play with buckyballs. But buckyballs need to stay available for those of us who aren’t at risk of swallowing them. While there are other toys available, anyone who’s spent long amounts of time searching for the perfect fidget understands that sensory needs vary from person to person - what is satisfying and useful to one person may not be for another. I have a set of buckyballs already, but at some point I might have to replace or augment them, and it’s very important to me to have that option.

So, if you care, please go to the buckyballs site and sign a petition and/or buy a set to show support. Thanks.

EDIT: I actually had failed to notice there’s no petition on the site (that I can see). But do feel free to circulate this, buy buckyballs to show support, and/or sign a petition if/when one does appear.

cchugg: Dear CPSC: you suck and fuck you.

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:49:17 -0400

cchugg:

Dear CPSC: you suck and fuck you.

jtotheizzoe: So the government wants to ban my magnetic...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:48:27 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

So the government wants to ban my magnetic buckyballs? They can pry them from my cold, dead hands.

(Taken with Instagram, let’s be Instagram friends!)

Best Buckyball Tweets #6 (Response to CPSC)

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:38:34 -0400

@OnSafety 12 ingestion incidents! Good lord, thank you for this ban! 12 out of 500,000,000 is an unacceptable safety record. #saveourballs
— Sam Patterson (@SamuelPatt) July 27, 2012

Best Buckyball Tweets #5 (Response to CPSC with MATH)

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:31:43 -0400

@OnSafety The co. has sold 2.5M sets. So there’s a 0.00048% chance of ingestion incidents. That enough to effectively shut them down?
— Chris Skelton (@redditisfun) July 26, 2012

Best Buckyball Tweets #4

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:24:27 -0400

ProTip: You should not feed honey to babies. It could hurt them. Or, you know, we could just ban honey. For the children. #SaveOurBalls
— Stephen Smith (@smistephen) July 27, 2012

Best Buckyball Tweets #3

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:22:57 -0400

The CPSC is busting our balls & trying to keep ‘em out of your hands. Join the Buckin’ fight here: saveourballs.net #SaveOurBalls
— Buckyballs (@GetBuckyballs) July 27, 2012

Best Buckyball Tweets #2

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:20:26 -0400

@OnSafety Keep your hands off our balls! @GetBuckyballs #SaveOurBalls
— Rex McConnell (@_rexmac) July 27, 2012

Best Buckyball Tweets #1

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:14:40 -0400

I have a right to play with my balls! My balls are clearly not intended for children. #SaveOurBalls #GetBuckyBalls
— David Grossman (@obtusegoose) July 27, 2012

Go Save Their Balls!

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:06:47 -0400

Go Save Their Balls!

"Stand Down, We just want your magnets

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:02:32 -0400

buckyballs: Save Our Balls (and our Cubes, too)! The CPSC is...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:00:50 -0400

buckyballs:

Save Our Balls (and our Cubes, too)! The CPSC is busting our balls, and trying to keep ‘em out of your hands. We’re working hard to make sure Buckyballs stay on the market. Want to help? Visit www.SaveOurBalls.net to learn more about how you can Save Our Balls, and keep Bucky in business!

"First came the slinky. Then LEGOs. Now it’s time for a new toy to sneak up on the unsuspecting..."

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:56:43 -0400

“First came the slinky. Then LEGOs. Now it’s time for a new toy to sneak up on the unsuspecting masses and take away their free time. Thus begins the era of BuckyBalls Magnetic Building Spheres.”

- JOSHUA AXELROD at the KC Star, only 5 days before the product was banned.

Buckyballs Magnets Have Been Banned by the Feds

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:50:23 -0400

Buckyballs Magnets Have Been Banned by the Feds :

igotkittypryde:

Idiot parents can’t be trusted to keep these away from their idiot kids. So NO ONE can have them. ARGH.

speedlimitzero: Buckyballs are off the shelves! “We should...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:50:12 -0400

speedlimitzero:

Buckyballs are off the shelves!

“We should start suing kids for swallowing shit and ruining it for the rest of us.” - Colin

“Magnets don’t kill children; dumb, magnet-eating kids do.” - Munch Hausen

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Stop the lawsuit against and banning of magnetic desk toy Bucky Balls

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:50:01 -0400

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Stop the lawsuit against and banning of magnetic desk toy Bucky Balls:

“The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ordered a halt to sale of Buckyballs magnetic toys on Wednesday, calling them a serious hazard in the panel’s first stop-sale order in 11 years.” (Source)

The Federal Government has overstepped its bounds. It is now, more than ever, telling consumers what they can and cannot purchase in the interest of “public safety”. Banning a magnetic toy because there have been incidences of children swallowing them and having surgery? I ask you, where’s the ban on swimming pools? I’d wager that swimming pools account for more children accidental deaths than these toys account for accidental injury.

I ask this: What’s next? Where does the Fed stop? How about they stop here. Stop telling the People what TOYS we can and cannot purchase for ourselves.

From here.

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:39:47 -0400

From here.

These things are so dangerous, they’ve been banned by the...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:33:10 -0400

These things are so dangerous, they’ve been banned by the government.

Popular Buckyball Toy Banned in America

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:07:07 -0400

Popular Buckyball Toy Banned in America

These popular toys have been banned by the government.

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:06:01 -0400

These popular toys have been banned by the government.