6 ms·
If people are retarded, it's hardly the fault of that company, is it? You don't blame the gun company when somebody shoots himself ...
by Inufu 14y ago
If people are retarded, it's hardly the fault of that company, is it? You don't blame the gun company when somebody shoots himself ...
- mynameishere 14y agoIf you know anything about small children, they like to pick up stuff off the ground and eat it. I had these in my office and was constantly losing them on the floor. Now, if you do that at a house with kids... Also, a stupid person eating them probably won't eat them in that pattern, finding one by accident, then another an hour later after the first has advanced through the system ahead of the second, which is how the flesh gets pinched eventually.
- Inufu 14y agoWell duh. Same as you make sure no sharp, pointy objects are lying around and electric outlets have child safeties. Should we ban knifes now because children could cut themselves?
- ericb 14y agoHow about Teddy Bears with razor blades for stuffing? Ban or no? The idea is that the product is more dangerous than appearances might let on.
- mynameishere 14y agoKnives are necessary, not toys. Switchblades are useless, dangerous toys, and are often banned. So there you go. Anyway, I'm not advocating banning little magnets anyway--I do own some, you know--but pointing out that ordinary non-stupid use of them + a toddler could result in problems.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoIt's the old "reasonable man" test that the courts use. A reasonable man knows that guns are dangerous. On the other hand, a reasonable man may not realize that swallowing magnets are far more dangerous than swallowing similar objects that aren't magnetic.
- Vivtek 14y agoWhich is why each package has five different warning labels on it. Sheesh.
- makomk 14y agoFrom the comments I've seen in other discussions about this, people are entirely capable of reading all the warning labels and still failing to realise that swallowing these is actually far more dangerous than swallowing other metal objects. They just seem to see the warning labels as an example of "health and safety gone mad" so to speak, of someone putting unnecessary warnings on about something that obviously can't be that dangerous. I can't see a good way of avoiding this problem. Edit: Apparently there were similar comments in the previous HN discussion; at least one person[1] failed to grasp how much more dangerous they were if swallowed than other objects despite reading a 14-page complaint that described in graphic detail the exact mechanism by which they were more dangerous, the serious medical consequences, the long-term health risks even with prompt and successful surgery, and the history of kids being injured in this fashion by them. They're basically impossible to sell safely. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4294215 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4294215
- tptacek 14y agoThis not only seems true, but demonstrably is true. CPSC worked with the vendor of this toy for years getting labels and notifications out; the reports of children requiring debilitating surgical procedures to remove tiny little rare earth magnets from their GI tracts increased over time.
- Foy 14y agoI like to think that a reasonable man would know swallowing magnets is extremely dangerous. It's just that apparently there aren't all that many reasonable men. u_u
- chc 14y agoGiven that many people initially thought this ban was silly until they researched the actual consequences of swallowing the balls, reality does not seem to bear out your hypothesis.
- nkwiatek 14y agoNobody said guns were toys. Also, you can't swallow guns.
- jcromartie 14y agoI love these things. But with a 2-year-old I would simply not want them in my house.
- jack-r-abbit 14y agoThen as a responsible parent you would choose not to buy them. Unfortunately many people are not responsible at all and that screws everybody else.
- marcamillion 14y agoI own this toy and I have 2 kids, both younger than 5. I allow them to play with them a bit - and I put them up, out of reach , when I am not supervising them.
- Dramatize 14y agoI guess you don't have kids?
- marcamillion 14y agoI actually do - 4 & 1 3/4 years old. I also own these magnetic balls, and I haven't had any problems with them and my kids - except them losing some of them. I allow them to play with it for a little, and then I put them in a safe place I know the kids can't get at them. If I leave them on my desk, I know they will get it...so I don't leave them on the desk. If a 12-year old is swallowing these things, there is something else going on in that household that needs to be addressed.
- Dramatize 14y agoI guess it's a hard balance between protecting kids from poor parenting and freedom for good parents like yourself.
- aterris 14y agoNo it is not. The choice is freedom. Giving up freedom for perceived safety is never worth it.
- marcamillion 14y agoHave to agree with this. Sacrificing liberty in chasing security achieves neither.
- tptacek 14y agoGroan. The debate isn't whether you should be free to own these things. The debate is whether companies should be free to market them as toys in the retail channel.
- marcamillion 14y ago
- notJim 14y agoI would guess that almost every parent has had their child swallow a small object at some point. I know my mom has told stories of all of us kids doing it. Pennies, peach pits, etc. The first time they freak out and go to the doctor, who tells them to look for it in their kid's poo. The second time they skip freaking out and the doctor step. Parents may not realize magnets are much more dangerous, because magnets, especially strong ones, are unusual objects that we don't have a lot of experience with, and for their size are unusually strong.