Magnetix was a magnetic construction toy consisting of a combination of plastic building pieces containing embedded neodymium magnet

Neodymium magnet

A neodymium magnet , the most widely-used type of rare-earth magnet, is a permanent magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron to form the Nd2Fe14B tetragonal crystalline structure. Developed in 1982 by General Motors and Sumitomo Special Metals, neodymium magnets are the strongest...

s, and steel bearing

Bearing (mechanical)

A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...

 balls which can be connected together to form various geometric shapes and structures. Designed to be a cheaper version of the Geomag

GEOMAG

Geomag is the brand name of a toy construction system created in 1998, consisting primarily of nickel-plated steel balls and short connecting sticks with a magnet on each end . With these two basic elements, a huge number of geometric shapes and structures can be built...

 magnetic construction set, Magnetix' image suffered severely when an early manufacturing defect caused a death, and was subsequently sold under several different brands after the defect was corrected.

Popularity

According to TD Monthly, a trade magazine for the toy industry, Magnetix sets are among the top 10 most-wanted building sets, and are top sellers on web sites including Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

, KBToys.com, and Walmart.com.

Product recalls by US Consumer Product Safety Commission

On March 31, 2006, the Consumer Product Safety Commission

Consumer Product Safety Commission

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...

 (CPSC) ordered a recall of all Magnetix brand magnetic building sets. The official CPSC recall notice was issued after one death of a small child and four serious injuries requiring surgery. "Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed," according to the recall notice. Other brands of magnetic builders, such as Geomag

GEOMAG

Geomag is the brand name of a toy construction system created in 1998, consisting primarily of nickel-plated steel balls and short connecting sticks with a magnet on each end . With these two basic elements, a huge number of geometric shapes and structures can be built...

 were not recalled.

On April 19, 2007, the CPSC ordered further Magnetix recalls, recalling over 4 million sets. To date, CPSC and Mega Brands are aware of one death, one aspiration and 27 intestinal injuries. Emergency surgical intervention was needed in all but one case. At least 1,500 incidents of magnets separating from the building pieces have been reported. ... If a child swallows more than one tiny powerful magnet detached from the plastic building pieces or one such magnet and a metallic object, the objects can attract to each other inside the intestines and cause perforations and/or blockage, which can be fatal, if not treated immediately. The poor quality of these sets was improved in later ones not subject to the recall.

The leading American expert in the area of the effects of swallowed magnets on the human body is radiologist Dr. Alan Oestreich. As early as 2004 he warned the medical community about the dangers of "multiple magnet ingestion", but the case studies never made it into the popular press. A pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Marsha Kay of the Cleveland Clinic, is one of the first to write an article for health consumers on steps to take if a child is suspected of swallowing a magnet.

External links

• MEGA Brands Product Recalls
• Toddler dies after ingesting magnetic toy Newspaper story from 2005
• Official Magnetix Product Recall Notice (March 31, 2006) from U.S. Government Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Official Magnetix Expanded Product Recall Notice (April 19, 2007) from U.S. Government Consumer Product Safety Commission
• "Toy Remains in Stores After Child's Death" (Washington Post story)
• Mega Brands' Magnetix promotional site
• Mega Brands America To Pay $1.1 Million Civil Penalty For Reporting Violations With Popular Magnetic Building Sets news release from the U.S. Government Consumer Product Safety Commission, (May 18, 2009)