29 August 2012

We are too stupid to have fun magnets

| johnboy
Join the conversation
32
buckyballs

Justice and Community Safety have announced they’re not going to let us have small high powered magnets:

ACT Commissioner for Fair Trading, Brett Phillips, has today announced that certain adult magnetic products that are unsafe for children will be banned from sale in the ACT.

Most Australian States and Territories are proposing to impose an interim ban on the products. This follows the signing of a Draft Notice for the imposition of a permanent ban on these products by the Assistant Treasurer on 22 August 2012.

The products contain small, high powered magnets and are sold under various brand names including ‘Buckyballs’, ‘Neocubes’ and ‘Neodymium sphere magnets’. They are designed to sit on a desk and the user can mould the balls and cubes to create patterns and build shapes.

“The products are intended for use by adults, and come with warning labels, but children and teenagers have been attracted to the items. It is of grave concern that I have read reports indicating that parents are purchasing these items for children as young as eight,” said Mr Phillips.

“Other reports indicate that teenagers have been known to simulate face and tongue piercings with the magnets.

Buckyballs have a website explaining what we’re going to be missing out on.

Join the conversation

32
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

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!

colourful sydney racing identity8:20 am 30 Aug 12

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.

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.

When can we exect a ban on the sale of white Holden Commodores?

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.

Poetix, help! Words fail me…

Elizabethany5:30 pm 29 Aug 12

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…

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.

I’m sure I saw Gungahlin Al eat some Lego last night.

Excellent. If not for the ban, I’d probably never have known about these. Now I just want to get me some!

Holden Caulfield3:45 pm 29 Aug 12

I think this is a good idea for Canberra.

The risk of being attracted to and ultimately stuck to temporary fencing is far too high.

IT’S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD!!!

They should ban marbles too…..

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.

SnapperJack said :

Why was this ever allowed into this country in the first place?

because they’re an adult toy? Seems we can’t have nice things

OpenYourMind2:46 pm 29 Aug 12

Jivrashia said :

No one is going to take away my collection of magnets obtained from disassembled hard disk drives!

And, believe you me, they are not for unwary adults due to the extreme strength of the magnets, which does pose real danger to your fingers if handled incorrectly.

But, no, they aren’t easy to swallow…

Yeah, I’ve got a few from the really, really old chunky hdd’s. You can stick an encyclopedia to the fridge with one and I’m not talking about the lame arsed J-K, I’m talkin A or maybe M.

I’m pretty sure that these items are very easy to buy online and a ban won’t help that much.

Next target of the fun police…

Cartwheel ban in schools.
STUDENTS have been banned from performing handstands and cartwheels in the playground of a Sydney primary school.

This pisses me off. If children eat magnets and die, then fine, don’t sell/give magnets to children. You know, just like we don’t sell/give them knives because they cut themselves.

Damned government infringing on my civil liberties again.

ACT Commissioner for Fair Trading, Brett Phillips, has today announced that certain adult magnetic products that are unsafe for children will be banned from sale in the ACT.

I thought adult products were already banned from sale to children? Plus, wouldn’t they tend to stick to your prince albert/??ï? ring?

No one is going to take away my collection of magnets obtained from disassembled hard disk drives!

And, believe you me, they are not for unwary adults due to the extreme strength of the magnets, which does pose real danger to your fingers if handled incorrectly.

But, no, they aren’t easy to swallow…

Does anyone know if this ban will affect me buying them online? I assume it won’t be illegal to possess rare earth magnets, just to sell them in retail shops.

When I was younger we spent a long time in ED with my younger sister, probably 10 or 11. She had magnetic faux earrings, butterflies – definitely designed for kids. My sister seemed to have thought it would be a good idea to imitate those with nose rings and ended up inhaling the magnets that she had placed on the inside of her nostrils (she put one on each side of her nose). The Drs were very concerned that if she had inhaled two magnets separately they could do significant damage trying to come together inside her digestive system.

Luckily that did not happen and she just pooped out the magnets which were together. I am not sure I agree with the ban but agree that magnets that are easy to swallow should not be given to kids/ adolescents stupid enough to do stupid things with them.

Why was this ever allowed into this country in the first place? Blind Freddie could have foreseen that kids would swallow it. I can remember years ago when there was talk of banning 35mm film canisters because kids might try to swallow them. Time to be more vigilant.

*sigh* Next we won’t be able to buy kebab skewers because kids can poke their eyes out.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.