We’re longtime supporters of balls. But there’s one breed of ball in particular that inspires us like no other. If you don’t know what Buckyballs are, you may not even want to find out. These Rare Earth magnets attract and repel each other with a seemingly supernatural force, which makes them more addictive than bubble wrap and Bejeweled combined.

Buckyballs come with a big fat warning saying they’re not appropriate for children. But thanks to a couple bright kids who decided it’d be a good idea to swallow them anyway, the Consumer Product & Safety Commission is now avidly fighting to get these heaven-sent balls banned for good.

What does this say about our country? That we’re a valiant, vigilant people, dedicated to protecting our vulnerable youth? No. It reveals that we’re much too eager to latch on to the next cause for fear, without stopping to question whether that fear is rational or not. A mere 22 children have been injured from Buckyballs, out of 2.2 million Buckyball sets sold. As the Huffington Post astutely points out, dog bites, tennis, and household chemicals are all significantly more dangerous than our beloved magnetic balls. What’s next, banning tennis balls from every American home? Before we know it, we’ll be completely ball-less, in every sense of the word.

We mustn’t give in to the irrational demands of a mindless few. If we all did that, we’d find ourselves trapped in a world full of moronic ads like this one:

…instead of smart ads like this one:

And that’s a scary thought.

Thankfully, Buckyballs is nowhere close to backing down. We’re pleased to see that they’ve cleverly used PR to make balls a national topic of conversation. They’ve garnered visible support, from Congress to Fox News.

Parents, we know you’re scared. But instead of trying to keep adult toys out of adult hands, why not be adult enough to keep your kids away from them in the first place? So that the rest of us may enjoy rare beauty like this.

Untitled #4, by Alexa Leung, Account Coordinator at Mortar. Of course it’s work-related. We’re a “creative agency.”