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Buckyball manufacturer announces discontinuation of product

Maxfield and Oberton, the maker of the popular office toy Buckyballs, has announced that it will stop production on the product and its related items after repeated “badgering” from Consumer Product Safety Commission officials.

Buckyballs are a highly magnetic toy that is marketed as a way to reduce office boredom and stress. There are several similar products made by other manufacturers. The CPSC targeted each of these manufacturers in a lawsuit that was filed over the summer that demanded this popular toy be recalled.

The agency filed the lawsuit after claiming that the products “contain a defect in the design, packaging, warnings and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury to the public” because of the high-powered magnets. The lawsuit went on to state that nearly 1,700 people were hospitalized as a result of ingesting the pieces. Some even required surgery because the strong magnetic pieces were powerful enough to pierce through the intestines.