Gifts
Bucky Balls
Each year we choose a customer gift in order to thank our customers for their enduring trust. This year we selected a gift with a high fun-factor. Upon receipt of your gift, you might be wondering what it is and what to do with it. Therefore we have provided a short explanation and some demo movies which can serve as a source of inspiration.
Note: The gifts will be shipped around new year '09 - '10. If you have not received your gift yet, or are a more recent customer, do not hesitate to contact us and we will gladly send you your very own set of Bucky balls.
What are Bucky balls?
Bucky balls are a highly addictive, mentally stimulating and stress relieving toy. Each set consists of 216 balls made of neodymium, which is a super-magnetic rare-earth metal.
What can I do with my Bucky balls?
You can use the 216 balls in your set to snap, pull, mold, squeeze and construct an endless variety of shapes.
Cubes, cylinders, pyramids, geometrical shapes, magnetic jewelry, a business card holder or pencil caddy are just some of the examples you can create with the Bucky Balls.
You can also use them for playing darts on your refrigerator, or sticking papers or pictures onto something metal (one Bucky Ball will hold up to 8 sheets of paper).
How did they get this unusual name?
Richard "Buckminster" Fuller was an American architect who developed many inventions, most notably the geodesic dome. Carbon molecules called "fullerenes" were later named after Mr. Fuller because they resembled his geodesic spheres. "Bucky balls" are another term for these molecules; hence the connection of Mr. Buckminster Fuller to your Bucky balls magnetic toy.
A word of caution
Since these Bucky balls are super-magnetic, do not keep them in the direct surrounding of your credit cards (or other cards with a magnetic strip like for example a bank-card).
You can use the Bucky balls in the immediate proximity of your computer without the fear of a hard disk failure. Since the relationship between the force of a magnet and the distance to an opposite pole is one over the square of that distance, you would have to set the Bucky balls directly on top of your computer's hard drive to wipe it out. However, do not push your luck.
Do not let young children play with the Bucky balls since they might pose some danger when swallowed. They are very strong magnets, and if more than one is swallowed, they could attract each other and cause intestinal blockage or puncture. If you do swallow Bucky balls (even just one), please seek medical attention.
Demo movies
For the hardcore fans, we have placed 3 additional demos on several pages of our website, go check it out!