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[Wag the dog parenting] - Or, why Buckyballs are not a snack food.

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  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    The fridge or the magnets? ... or the floors?

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    The fridge or the magnets? ... or the floors?

    Children should be kept in a force field guarded pen outside, with automated shade/heating/cooling so that it is nigh impossible for any other objects to interact with them, nor should any sort of natural danger be able to expose itself to the children.

    banner_160x60_01.gif
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Clearly you can't feed them, they could die from this. Ban it. :rotate:

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    saint2e wrote: »
    bowen wrote: »
    The fridge or the magnets? ... or the floors?

    Children should be kept in a force field guarded pen outside, with automated shade/heating/cooling so that it is nigh impossible for any other objects to interact with them, nor should any sort of natural danger be able to expose itself to the children.

    They might bump their head on the forcefield while moving around.

  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    Donnicton wrote: »
    saint2e wrote: »
    bowen wrote: »
    The fridge or the magnets? ... or the floors?

    Children should be kept in a force field guarded pen outside, with automated shade/heating/cooling so that it is nigh impossible for any other objects to interact with them, nor should any sort of natural danger be able to expose itself to the children.

    They might bump their head on the forcefield while moving around.

    Clearly the only solution is to have some sort of warping technology employed that whenever they reach the edge of their enclosure, they come out on the other side of their enclosure a la Portal.

    Science, make it happen. For the Children!

    banner_160x60_01.gif
  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    saint2e wrote: »
    Donnicton wrote: »
    saint2e wrote: »
    bowen wrote: »
    The fridge or the magnets? ... or the floors?

    Children should be kept in a force field guarded pen outside, with automated shade/heating/cooling so that it is nigh impossible for any other objects to interact with them, nor should any sort of natural danger be able to expose itself to the children.

    They might bump their head on the forcefield while moving around.

    Clearly the only solution is to have some sort of warping technology employed that whenever they reach the edge of their enclosure, they come out on the other side of their enclosure a la Portal.

    Science, make it happen. For the Children!

    Now I really want this to happen...

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Someone would still find a way to give them something to kill them and find a reason why it should be banned.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    Someone would still find a way to give them something to kill them and find a reason why it should be banned.

    We need to ban carbon and oxygen, the two main ingredients of Carbon Monoxide which kills more children per year than Buckeyballs ever has

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Don't forget about dangerous dihydrogen monoxide.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • KetherialKetherial Registered User regular
    i know you guys are all in the middle of your little circle jerk, but honestly, not wanting this toy like object to be sold to children is not really an unreasonable request. people are comparing them to cigarettes, alcohol, knives and swimming pools. i think that says something.

    does someone get arrested if they sell buckyballs to a 12 year old? im betting not. does someone get arrested for selling any of those other things to children? yes.

    banning is dumb. i think we can all agree on that. but let's not pretend these things are something they aren't. again, you guys are the ones comparing them to knives and poisons and swimming pools. these things are dangerous.

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    No one was ever against that. But adults like toys too. I am personally 100% fine with limiting the sale of these to specialized vendors that deal with adult toys. Like thinkgeek, or even buckyball directly. Do I think we need to ID a person? Not really. At that level the warning labels should be enough, but they shouldn't be in stores like toys-r-us that deal with children's toys, instead of places like brookstone where it makes sense.

    Again, that was never something people were against. They were against knee jerk "ban this toy it's dangerous and serves no function."

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • HounHoun Registered User regular
    Especially the knee-jerk "ban this specific BRAND of toy and ignore all the others making the same damn thing".

  • MortiousMortious The Nightmare Begins Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    Are there actual examples of toys that were banned completely for being unsafe? I know lawn darts where mentioned earlier, but I'm thinking of something closer on the scale to Buckyballs.

    Would be interesting to see the reasoning and lobby groups behind it.

    Move to New Zealand
    It’s not a very important country most of the time
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    Mortious wrote: »
    Are there actual examples of toys that were banned completely for being unsafe? I know lawn darts where mentioned earlier, but I'm thinking of something closer on the scale to Buckyballs.

    Would be interesting to see the reasoning and lobby groups behind it.

    Why aren't lawn darts an acceptable example for you?

    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Ketherial wrote: »
    i know you guys are all in the middle of your little circle jerk, but honestly, not wanting this toy like object to be sold to children is not really an unreasonable request. people are comparing them to cigarettes, alcohol, knives and swimming pools. i think that says something.

    does someone get arrested if they sell buckyballs to a 12 year old? im betting not. does someone get arrested for selling any of those other things to children? yes.

    banning is dumb. i think we can all agree on that. but let's not pretend these things are something they aren't. again, you guys are the ones comparing them to knives and poisons and swimming pools. these things are dangerous.

    They're already not being sold to children? Even the news articles saying they should be banned describe them as "executive toys." They are not being marketed to children in any way.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Ketherial wrote: »
    i know you guys are all in the middle of your little circle jerk, but honestly, not wanting this toy like object to be sold to children is not really an unreasonable request. people are comparing them to cigarettes, alcohol, knives and swimming pools. i think that says something.

    does someone get arrested if they sell buckyballs to a 12 year old? im betting not. does someone get arrested for selling any of those other things to children? yes.

    banning is dumb. i think we can all agree on that. but let's not pretend these things are something they aren't. again, you guys are the ones comparing them to knives and poisons and swimming pools. these things are dangerous.

    They're already not being sold to children? Even the news articles saying they should be banned describe them as "executive toys." They are not being marketed to children in any way.

    I'm not convinced that phrases like "desk toy" or "executive toy" particularly reinforce a sense that these are dangerous for children.

    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
  • MortiousMortious The Nightmare Begins Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    Feral wrote: »
    Mortious wrote: »
    Are there actual examples of toys that were banned completely for being unsafe? I know lawn darts where mentioned earlier, but I'm thinking of something closer on the scale to Buckyballs.

    Would be interesting to see the reasoning and lobby groups behind it.

    Why aren't lawn darts an acceptable example for you?

    The argument made earlier was pretty compelling, with the proper/inproper use determining whether something is dangerous.

    Well personally, I don't care if lawn darts are banned or not, unless a neighbour throws one into my yard, or hits my cat.

    I was just more interested in something that was only dangerous if improperly used. But extremely improperly used if that makes sense. Knives/lawndarts are dangerous in an accident situation, i.e. tripping and falling, or running with scissors. Eh, probably not making myself clear, but hopefully you get the gist.

    Move to New Zealand
    It’s not a very important country most of the time
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    Feral wrote: »
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Ketherial wrote: »
    i know you guys are all in the middle of your little circle jerk, but honestly, not wanting this toy like object to be sold to children is not really an unreasonable request. people are comparing them to cigarettes, alcohol, knives and swimming pools. i think that says something.

    does someone get arrested if they sell buckyballs to a 12 year old? im betting not. does someone get arrested for selling any of those other things to children? yes.

    banning is dumb. i think we can all agree on that. but let's not pretend these things are something they aren't. again, you guys are the ones comparing them to knives and poisons and swimming pools. these things are dangerous.

    They're already not being sold to children? Even the news articles saying they should be banned describe them as "executive toys." They are not being marketed to children in any way.

    I'm not convinced that phrases like "desk toy" or "executive toy" particularly reinforce a sense that these are dangerous for children.

    Category: Danger Sphere

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Feral wrote: »
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Ketherial wrote: »
    i know you guys are all in the middle of your little circle jerk, but honestly, not wanting this toy like object to be sold to children is not really an unreasonable request. people are comparing them to cigarettes, alcohol, knives and swimming pools. i think that says something.

    does someone get arrested if they sell buckyballs to a 12 year old? im betting not. does someone get arrested for selling any of those other things to children? yes.

    banning is dumb. i think we can all agree on that. but let's not pretend these things are something they aren't. again, you guys are the ones comparing them to knives and poisons and swimming pools. these things are dangerous.

    They're already not being sold to children? Even the news articles saying they should be banned describe them as "executive toys." They are not being marketed to children in any way.

    I'm not convinced that phrases like "desk toy" or "executive toy" particularly reinforce a sense that these are dangerous for children.

    There seems to be plenty of warning on the website that sells them as well as the packaging.

    Sorry, I'm just not seeing that the outrage is called for, here. NOT FOR CHILDREN means not for children, yes?

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Sorry, I'm just not seeing that the outrage is called for, here. NOT FOR CHILDREN means not for children, yes?

    The question here is how much you have to change of a product marketing before consumer behavior changes.

    I don't think that changing the wording from "toy" to "desk toy" and adding a warning label are sufficient to change consumer behavior.

    People typically make emotional impressions about products very very quickly - this is why marketing works! This is why packaging is important. Corporations pay marketers a lot of money to make sure that the style and imagery of their website and packaging evoke the desired emotions in their target audience.

    The marketing, branding, and packaging are still very similar to a construction toy or a science-themed toy like Hexabug. Until the CPSC got involved, they were still sold through vendors that sell toys (like ThinkGeek). The dominant message of the website is still "hey, look at all the neat things you can build!" The feeling here is still that it's a science-themed toy.

    Buckyballs didn't stumble across their website design and brand identity and product packaging by chance. It's not an accident that they're evoking similar feelings of fun and discovery and creation as Lego.

    Altering one phrase in the description text and slapping a warning message on the box are not sufficient to reverse that marketing.

    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    edited August 2012
    Just as an example... to me, this would be a safer way to sell neodymium magnets: http://www.teachersource.com/product/ferrofluid-adventure-science-kit/magnetism-ferrofluid

    It's being marketed as a science project through a website dedicated to teachers. That immediately implies parental adult supervision. We're used to science projects sometimes involving materials that are mildly dangerous if handled improperly - moreso than toys, anyway.

    And I'm presenting this not as what I'd like to ideally see (because I'm not sure what I want to see happen) but just as a reasonable compromise to land on.

    Feral on
    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    Feral wrote: »
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Sorry, I'm just not seeing that the outrage is called for, here. NOT FOR CHILDREN means not for children, yes?

    The question here is how much you have to change of a product marketing before consumer behavior changes.

    I don't think that changing the wording from "toy" to "desk toy" and adding a warning label are sufficient to change consumer behavior.

    Neither are the consequences of blatant misuse, sadly.

  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    Feral wrote: »
    Just as an example... to me, this would be a safer way to sell neodymium magnets: http://www.teachersource.com/product/ferrofluid-adventure-science-kit/magnetism-ferrofluid

    It's being marketed as a science project through a website dedicated to teachers. That immediately implies parental adult supervision. We're used to science projects sometimes involving materials that are mildly dangerous if handled improperly - moreso than toys, anyway.

    And I'm presenting this not as what I'd like to ideally see (because I'm not sure what I want to see happen) but just as a reasonable compromise to land on.

    I'm not sure if a comparison between a product whose goal is to educate children and a product whose goal is to provide a cool toy for desk jockeys is the most apt, but somewhere in the middle could be good.

    banner_160x60_01.gif
  • MortiousMortious The Nightmare Begins Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    Mortious wrote: »
    Feral wrote: »
    Mortious wrote: »
    Are there actual examples of toys that were banned completely for being unsafe? I know lawn darts where mentioned earlier, but I'm thinking of something closer on the scale to Buckyballs.

    Would be interesting to see the reasoning and lobby groups behind it.

    Why aren't lawn darts an acceptable example for you?

    The argument made earlier was pretty compelling, with the proper/inproper use determining whether something is dangerous.

    Well personally, I don't care if lawn darts are banned or not, unless a neighbour throws one into my yard, or hits my cat.

    I was just more interested in something that was only dangerous if improperly used. But extremely improperly used if that makes sense. Knives/lawndarts are dangerous in an accident situation, i.e. tripping and falling, or running with scissors. Eh, probably not making myself clear, but hopefully you get the gist.

    Just remembered a better example. Kinderjoy.
    It was mentioned earlier in the thread I think. Small parts, actually aimed at kids. However the rest of the world doesn't seem to be suffering depopulation due to it (excluding diabetes I guess)

    Move to New Zealand
    It’s not a very important country most of the time
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
  • Giggles_FunsworthGiggles_Funsworth Blight on Discourse Bay Area SprawlRegistered User regular
    Man just rename them to "Buckyballs: High Power Will Kill You Dead Magnets" and call it a day. Anybody who puts them near a child that is likely to put them in their mouth has been warned, and sales would probably go up.

  • DetharinDetharin Registered User regular
    I think we should rebrand them "Dr. Darwins Murder Spheres" and include advertisements such as "Shreds children's intestines 40% better than the next leading competitor", "For external use only because internal use means internal bleeding.", "Skip the pills and chase a bottle of these babies with a bottle of Jack.", and finally "Take the Murder Sphere Suicide Pact Challenge. How long can you play with them without eating one!"

  • Giggles_FunsworthGiggles_Funsworth Blight on Discourse Bay Area SprawlRegistered User regular
    Detharin wrote: »
    I think we should rebrand them "Dr. Darwins Murder Spheres" and include advertisements such as "Shreds children's intestines 40% better than the next leading competitor", "For external use only because internal use means internal bleeding.", "Skip the pills and chase a bottle of these babies with a bottle of Jack.", and finally "Take the Murder Sphere Suicide Pact Challenge. How long can you play with them without eating one!"

    Give this man a job on their marketing team.

  • UltimanecatUltimanecat Registered User regular
    "Are you man enough to handle two minutes in the ring with Buckyballs? Buy a set and see how long it takes your grown ass to be whimpering like a child as they destroy you and everything you love. They speak only in violence, and their poetry shall be wrought upon your meagre soul. And then - once you have watched it all burn - then you will have their permission to die.

    By eating them."

    SteamID : same as my PA forum name
  • KetherialKetherial Registered User regular
    Detharin wrote: »
    I think we should rebrand them "Dr. Darwins Murder Spheres" and include advertisements such as "Shreds children's intestines 40% better than the next leading competitor", "For external use only because internal use means internal bleeding.", "Skip the pills and chase a bottle of these babies with a bottle of Jack.", and finally "Take the Murder Sphere Suicide Pact Challenge. How long can you play with them without eating one!"

    i actually love this.

    i think they should have skulls and crossbones and shit on the packaging too. and not in a cutesy way. like in a really scary but cool to adults design. there is no fucking way any parent would mistake it for a child's toy and adults would think it's really cool. win-win.

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Ketherial wrote: »
    Detharin wrote: »
    I think we should rebrand them "Dr. Darwins Murder Spheres" and include advertisements such as "Shreds children's intestines 40% better than the next leading competitor", "For external use only because internal use means internal bleeding.", "Skip the pills and chase a bottle of these babies with a bottle of Jack.", and finally "Take the Murder Sphere Suicide Pact Challenge. How long can you play with them without eating one!"

    i actually love this.

    i think they should have skulls and crossbones and shit on the packaging too. and not in a cutesy way. like in a really scary but cool to adults design. there is no fucking way any parent would mistake it for a child's toy and adults would think it's really cool. win-win.

    See I can see a problem with this.

    The problem being that "thrill seeking young men" (ie, idiots) will view that as a challenge, and will start swallowing them for youtube or something even dumber.

    At least now they look nerdy and sciencey and adult, not at all the kind of thing you'd give to a child, unles the child was at least 12 or 13 and therefore intelligent enough not to swallow metal.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • KetherialKetherial Registered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    The problem being that "thrill seeking young men" (ie, idiots) will view that as a challenge, and will start swallowing them for youtube or something even dumber.

    win win!!!

  • BagginsesBagginses __BANNED USERS regular
    I love how the posts here are divided into calling the parents idiots for allowing the kids to eat the little magnets and anecdotes about how they totally survived doing much more obvious and obviously harmful stuff to themselves as kids. I can only assume that many people on this thread have low opinions of their own parents.

  • HounHoun Registered User regular
    Every generation has stories of shit that they got away with that their kids never will. That's not a big deal.

    The problem here is that, because a very small number of children have ingested magnets, people want to ban them. Further, all of the example cases so far have highlighted either parental negligence or pre-teen idiocy, which does not make for a compelling emotional plee. Finally, add on top that only a SINGLE manufacturer (who has taken increasingly dramatic steps to educate the public out of it's own pocket) has been targeted by regulatory bodies, and you have a case of hyper-emotional irrationality dictating unjust public policy.

    The only story here is that kids do stupid shit sometimes, adults do stupid shit sometimes, and knee-jerk reactionaries need someone to blame so that they can rationalize that they and/or their children are blameless in this situation.

    Because seriously, you left tiny metal things (don't even need to be magnets) within the reach of a three year old? You stuck bits of metal in your mouth to try to look cool? Man, that shit is embarrassing, no wonder they don't want to take responsibility for their fuck-ups.

  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    Detharin wrote: »
    I think we should rebrand them "Dr. Darwins Murder Spheres" and include advertisements such as "Shreds children's intestines 40% better than the next leading competitor", "For external use only because internal use means internal bleeding.", "Skip the pills and chase a bottle of these babies with a bottle of Jack.", and finally "Take the Murder Sphere Suicide Pact Challenge. How long can you play with them without eating one!"

    Does it come with a free jagged metal Krusty-O? Because if it does, I'm sold.

    (also @Detharin, your Avatar makes me want to fire up one of the five CDs of the game that I currently own. Yes, I own five of that game.)

  • DetharinDetharin Registered User regular
    Strife was awesome, never got the respect it deserved. Tons of voice acting including cutscenes, a branching storyline with two completely different endings, and man was the flamethrower satisfying.

    Anyway back to the Murder Spheres really there are lots of things that can be misused that can harm children. We cannot legislate child safety any more than we can common sense. Should children be eating solid metal anything? Probably not. Are unfit parents going to stop having kids? Nope. Therefore children are going to die.

  • Magus`Magus` The fun has been DOUBLED! Registered User regular
    Man I really want some Buckyballs but holy shit are they costly.

  • CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    Ketherial wrote: »
    i know you guys are all in the middle of your little circle jerk, but honestly, not wanting this toy like object to be sold to children is not really an unreasonable request. people are comparing them to cigarettes, alcohol, knives and swimming pools. i think that says something.

    does someone get arrested if they sell buckyballs to a 12 year old? im betting not. does someone get arrested for selling any of those other things to children? yes.

    banning is dumb. i think we can all agree on that. but let's not pretend these things are something they aren't. again, you guys are the ones comparing them to knives and poisons and swimming pools. these things are dangerous.

    While you can't sell cigarettes and alcohol to minors, I'm pretty sure that the set of things you can't legally sell to a minor in the US is limited to: cigarettes, alcohol, porn, and guns. And I'm not actually sure about guns. Kids can buy knives all day long, and if they somehow had the cash for it, they could buy themselves a swimming pool, too. Considering that you can buy cigarettes, alcohol, knives, and swimming pools from your local WalMart, I'd say that purchasing any one of those items is actually easier than buying a box of Buckyballs Murder Death Orbs. You have to go to the internet, weird specialty shops at the mall, or (rarely) a bookstore to buy those. And god knows kids don't go to bookstores.

    PSN,Steam,Live | CptHamiltonian
  • DelphinidaesDelphinidaes FFXIV: Delphi Kisaragi Registered User regular
    Bagginses wrote: »
    I love how the posts here are divided into calling the parents idiots for allowing the kids to eat the little magnets and anecdotes about how they totally survived doing much more obvious and obviously harmful stuff to themselves as kids. I can only assume that many people on this thread have low opinions of their own parents.

    Parents are idiots for allowing the kids to eat the little magnets. However it's more because they introduced the magnets to the environment in the first place, or gave them to their under aged kids. I don't expect parents to watch their kids 24 hours a day and stop them from eating stupid stuff, I expect them to take precautions and not bring things that are obviously labeled as dangerous for kids into their home. I expect them to not place those dangerous magnets on their refrigerator within reach of their toddler. I expect them to educate their kids if they feel it's absolutely necessary to give them the product despite them being under the recommended age.

    I expect people to be intelligent. I expect people to read a label and realize the label is there to inform them of something. I expect people to take responsibility when they purposefully ignore the warnings and not shift blame.

    And most people do. A very few do not, a very few are irresponsible, and I do not think the product should be banned because of it. If the very use of the product was dangerous in some way then I would support a ban, but it's not. The product is safe on it's own, it's safe when used properly, it's safe in pretty much ANY situation that doesn't involve EATING it.

    I think parents are fearful of the product, I think it's easy to imagine your own kid eating something they shouldn't (Most do) and I think that scares people along with the imagery of shredded intestines. I think that fear is what is the driving force behind this ban coupled with the misconception of "What's more important: The life of a child or a toy?". The fact of the matter is that there are very few cases of this actually happening, of the cases that did happen very few of them required surgery and there are no recorded fatalities in any of the incidents. The worst thing is that you don't even need to ban the product to reduce the incidents, you just need to not buy it if you have kids under age 14 or so. the parents are in complete control of the product already and it is their negligence that is causing these incidents. Heck even the girl who got them from her friend falls in that category as the friend got them because the parent bought it specifically for the kid. (Who was again, under the age recommendation)

    I get that parents have a tough job, I know we should cut them some slack, and I think they deserve a break on a lot of things. I don't think this is one of them because the incident rate is so low and the actual medical intervention needed is low, and despite it being portrayed as such, it's not some epidemic sweeping the nation and leaving kids dead in the street.

    In short the ban is an overreaction fueled by fear, a lack of responsibility, and ignorance for the far reaching ramifications of such an arbitrary ban.

    NNID: delphinidaes
    Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
    delphinidaes.png
  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    Not to muddie the waters, but I have an anecdote!

    One weekend while working a long stretch at the office, a coworker brought his son in with him as he popped by to provide some support to the project we were working. We had a few "office toys" about that I busted out to keep the little guy occupied while we worked on spreadsheets. I was, at the time, unfamiliar with Buckyballs to any great extent, and was completely unaware that they were widely viewed as a swallowing hazard. So I happily handed a pile of them off one of the exec desks to an 8 year old! It was certainly not self evident that they posed a greater risk as a choking hazard than your average legos, etc., since there was no packaging with warning labels for them.

    Although the question remains: Are they actually more dangerous to have around than legos?

    Darkewolfe on
    What is this I don't even.
  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    Although the question remains: Are they actually more dangerous to have around than legos?

    Yeah. If two are swallowed, they can line up in the folds of the intestine and stick together, causing damage to the intestinal wall.

    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
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