Safety Group Sues Buckyballs Founder In Product Recall Case
By
Ilya Marritz |
WNYC
Friday, January 10, 2014
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The government is going after Craig Zucker, the creator of a "desk toy" consisting of small round magnets that wound up being swallowed by a lot of children. The Consumer Product Safety Commisision initiated a recall but rather than go along, Zucker shut down his company.
Transcript
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
A federal government agency has taken and unusual step. They are suing the founder of a toy company over product safety concerns - and recently, he filed a countersuit. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says Buckyballs - if you're not familiar with them - these are clusters of magnetized balls, are a serious danger to children.
Ilya Marritz from member station WNYC has the story.
ILYA MARRITZ, BYLINE: Call them brainteasers, amusements, or gifts for dad, just don't call these little magnetic beads a toy.
CRAIG ZUCKER: Well, first of all, it was never a toy, so I wouldn't use that word; it was always an adult desktop gift item.
MARRITZ: That's Craig Zucker, CEO of the now-defunct company that sold Buckyballs.
What exactly is a Buckyball? It's a high-power nickel-plated magnetic bead.
ZUCKER: And they're really about -I would say - the size of a BB, is what I'd compare it to.
MARRITZ: Starting in 2009, Craig Zucker's Buckyballs started to appear in gift shops, in packs of 125 or more. They quickly became a hit, complete with YouTube videos.
(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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