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Buckyballs Throws In the Towel
RenderSeven writes "As previously reported the immensely popular Buckyballs office toys have been targeted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Last week Maxfield and Oberton, the maker of Buckyballs gave up the battle and announced they would discontinue sales and close. However, being driven out of business is not enough for R Buckminster Fuller's estate, who has filed yet another lawsuit that they own all rights to the name "buckyballs" despite widespread use of the term. If you still haven't bought your own yet, a few thousand sets in stock are still available."
So if you want rare earth magnets before they're officially banned, get them from zenmagnets.com. Cheaper and higher quality. Also, they're not jerks like the buckyballs guys are.
Fun video here comparing the two http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Tka4NUmUo
I know it looks like an advertisement posting, but as someone who owns a crudload of rare earth magnets, zenmagnets seem to me to be the best. I keep a mandala set on my desk at work for downtimes, and I have a manager who keeps trying to make the perfect soccer ball when I'm not looking.
- and if you get the colored ones, just beware - the color tends to come off very easily if you're rough at all with them. You've been warned.
Actually 12 year olds are a decent size group that is eating these. They use them to simulate tongue, cheek and labret piercings.
Limiting it to 18 plus might stop some of those idiot preteens. It would also make it more clear that these products have some level of danger involved.
Not just toddlers, we also had natural selection at work in pre-teens. Now how are we going to thin the herd? Start handing out guns?
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
Well I think it's the coating.
the magnets are rather brittle and wont hold up well to being banged together from it's own magnetic field, so they are coated.
Cheap ones use cheap coatings that flake off easily, and expose the magnet underneath and it ends up breaking.
Not particularly, but I'd like to (for instance) buy a real chemistry set or halfway decent fireworks. Except that I can't. Because...of...this...very... same...argument.
Also I'm fairly sure flamethrowers are legal. They even have practical applications that don't involve setting people on fire. People use them for weed control in rocky soil.