Save Buckyballs Rare Earth Magnet Desk Toys!
Consumer Safety Protection Commission FAIL!
This blog is all about making things, tinkering, DIY, etc. It's not a political site. However, when I heard that the Consumer Safety Protection Commission was filing a lawsuit against Buckyballs, I had to join the fight to keep the Nanny State out and help push personal responsibility. Please join me in joining the fight against the Nanny State and for personal responsibility. Tweet, post on Facebook, email friends, or simply responsibly purchase a set of balls for yourself at GetBuckyBalls.com to help this innocent and excellent little company stay in business.
Lemme 'splain... I'm all for an agency to watch out for shifty products for me using tax money I send to Uncle Sam. However, I am NOT for said agency regulating on behalf of what should be personal responsibility. That smells of horse pucky and, more importantly, I think it's bunk that people aren't taking responsibility for themselves and those for whom they are responsible (minor children, pets, etc.).
If you find ADULT-level toys like, say, little round super-strong magnetic balls to be really fascinating, the first thing YOU should do AS AN ADULT is understand that the little magnetic balls are LITTLE. Repeating: LITTLE. As in, little enough for pets and children and STUPID teenagers to SWALLOW. Repeating: YOU. YOU should understand this AS AN ADULT WITH A BRAIN and YOU, the person responsible for the children and pets and STUPID teenagers, should be smart enough to store them away or NOT PURCHASE THEM AT ALL FOR FEAR YOUR CHILDREN OR PETS OR STUPID TEENAGERS MIGHT SWALLOW THEM.
The concept of YOU understanding that something is wrong or bad is your personal responsibility speaking to you. If you do not hear that little voice or vibe from within, you are NOT a responsible adult and, therefore, you probably should not be purchasing very strong little rare earth magnets for entertainment or relaxation purposes. I wrote, "YOU" to be sure I was NOT writing, say, a government agency like the Consumer Safety Protection Commission or some other Nanny State entity.
OK, back to Buckyballs. They are a tiny company that has done well and that EMPLOYS people. Last time I checked, our country was running a little low on employment. Seems that what they're doing is good for the people they employ. I also firmly believe, having played a plenty with the aforementioned little super-strong rare earth magnetic ball desk toys, that Buckyballs is doing many, many other people a service by providing a calming little pile of stress relieving building balls for their desks or man caves (in my case) or whatever.
What's even dumberer about this story is that the imbeciles at the CSPC APPROVED the safety program in place at Buckyballs in 2011 (per the Buckyballs website). Over 500 million balls sold. Less than two dozen incidents. There are MANY other for-adult toys or toy-like items that produce WAY more "incidents," I'm sure. Hell, hundreds of kids are sent to the ER for swallowing BALLOONS!!! Tens of thousands of stupid people swallow COINS that are minted by... THE U.S. GOVERNMENT!!! The CSPC needs to go after the U.S. Treasury and stop them from minting any more coins NOW!!!
The CSPC appears to be on a rampage against this little company and that's completely unfair, IMHO. Buckyballs have even created a safety website for rare earth magnets. They've done everything they can to make sure that consumers understand how to properly handle their product. They're not an evil corporation. They're a company of about 10 people plus a bunch of sales reps.
OK, I'm finished with that rant. Carry on and BUY BUCKY BALLS!!!