We are too stupid to have fun magnets

rosscoact said :

I agree with Antagonist, there should be at least 20 toddlers die from those toys before they ban them

Button batteries have been responsible for 7 deaths and 10,000+ ingestions in the US over the last 3 years, yet we do not ban or control them. So you are right to support a ban on magnets. They are tools of the devil just waiting to catch children unawares. Nanny state much?

http://www.poison.org/battery/stats.asp

I agree with Antagonist, there should be at least 20 toddlers die from those toys before they ban them

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Antagonist said :

chris820 said :

Elizabethany said :

So because toddlers might swallow them, they should be banned for being sold to adults? Should be ban coffee beans too? They are a choking hazard…

It’s not the choking hazard. It’s the fact that two magnets can pinch intestines together and cause blockages. If that happens, you’re gonna have a bad time.

By that reasoning, I anticipate a ban on the flat batteries that you can find in watches, calculators and other electronic devices. Afterall, they can (and do) burn a holes in body parts when ingested.

No, because those serve an important purpose, whereas this is a toy that serves little purpose.

Where does the media release make the distinction between ‘serving an important purpose’ and a ‘toy that serves little purpose’? Oh wait – it does not make that distinction.

One Australian toddler died in 2011 from ingesting magnets. That’s right – just one. Fear the magnets people!

Antagonist said :

chris820 said :

Elizabethany said :

So because toddlers might swallow them, they should be banned for being sold to adults? Should be ban coffee beans too? They are a choking hazard…

It’s not the choking hazard. It’s the fact that two magnets can pinch intestines together and cause blockages. If that happens, you’re gonna have a bad time.

By that reasoning, I anticipate a ban on the flat batteries that you can find in watches, calculators and other electronic devices. Afterall, they can (and do) burn a holes in body parts when ingested.

No, because those serve an important purpose, whereas this is a toy that serves little purpose.

chris820 said :

Elizabethany said :

So because toddlers might swallow them, they should be banned for being sold to adults? Should be ban coffee beans too? They are a choking hazard…

It’s not the choking hazard. It’s the fact that two magnets can pinch intestines together and cause blockages. If that happens, you’re gonna have a bad time.

By that reasoning, I anticipate a ban on the flat batteries that you can find in watches, calculators and other electronic devices. Afterall, they can (and do) burn a holes in body parts when ingested.

Sammy said :

But I don’t see them banning drano or the myriad of other dangerous ingestible items in the home.

Presumably drano rates higher than toy magnets on the “benefit” side of the cost/benefit equation. There’s also the point that even the dimmest of parental bulbs know to keep the drain cleaner out of reach of the kiddies.

Elizabethany said :

So because toddlers might swallow them, they should be banned for being sold to adults? Should be ban coffee beans too? They are a choking hazard…

Well, actually, the hazards of swallowing extremely strong magnets is quite real. Swallowing a coffee bean will result in the offending bean being passed through the system without much incident. Swallowing a single magnet would probably result in much the same. Swallow multiple magnets and suddenly you’re in for a whole world of hurt:

“Yet, because numerous magnets had been ingested, with a slight time interval in between, so that the magnets were divided into groups, they interacted later on, lead by their magnetic strength. This forceful attraction through the intestinal walls initially causes pressure necrosis with ulcers, as seen in our case. Subsequently, this may lead to bowel perforation … or … precede to formation of a fistula between the attracted intestinal loops” (From: “Ingestion of magnets: innocent in solitude, harmful in groups”, Journal of Pediatric Surgery, Vol. 40, 2005)

But I don’t see them banning drano or the myriad of other dangerous ingestible items in the home.

It’s because of Medicare don’t you know?

http://www.menzieshouse.com.au/2012/02/medicare-the-loss-of-personal-freedom.html

farq said :

Common sense seems to pretty uncommon in the ACT bureaucracy.

Planning department, crap.

Education department, crap.

Health department, crap.

Community Services, crap.

None of the local government departments could organise a screw in a brothel with a wallet full of $100 notes.

That’s because those bitches don’t give change.

KB1971 said :

johnboy said :

And cracked have something on this today!

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/5-toy-recalls-that-everyone-should-have-seen-coming/

Websense says that is tasteless.

It’s SFW, but I’m guessing the mention of ‘Super Bang Blast Balls’ is causing it to be flagged.