Buckyballs and Cubes, RIP

Sad news to report today: Buckyballs have finally succumbed to government thuggery. This showed up in my inbox today.

There are a few thousand sets still available. I have two sets of the cubes. They’re a lot of fun, and a great way to unstick your brain when you run into things like writer’s block. By buying up some of the last stock, you’re also donating to Hurricane Sandy relief.

Buckyballs have been under government assault since July, when the Consumer Product Safety Commission declared them unsafe for children. The CPSC ended up admitting that government-imposed warning labels tend to be useless. The fact that Buckys aren’t made for or marketed to children has not hindered the CPSC’s campaign to ban the products, and wreck the company and the jobs that it supported.