Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball

On a whim, I bought some Magic Rocks for the kids. We put them together yesterday. I followed the instructions and mixed the solution very well but it didn't matter, the stuff still fell to the bottom. The end result was sort of cool and impressed the kids but isn't anywhere near the picture on the box. I think they may have exaggerated a bit, hmmmm?

But the instructions impressed me in a different way. Wow, this makes some scary bedtime reading. Here, for your reading pleasure, are some excerpts (copied exactly - the caps are theirs)

. . . IT WILL STAIN CLOTHES, FURNITURE OR ANYTHING IT COMES IN CONTACT WITH.

IT TAKES ONLY TEN (10) SECONDS TO RUIN A VARNISHED, WOOD STAINED, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF FURNITURE SURFACE.

Cover your work surface with wax paper, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil. DO NOT USE NEWSPAPERS!

DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGERS INTO THE SOLUTION!

I don't know about anyone else but I had to fight down the urge to pour this stuff on newspaper just to see what happened. And yeah, I stuck my fingers into the solution. The very last step mentioned taping the paper background to the outside of the tank. You know, the paper background that came already placed on the inside of the tank (oops) (yes, I read the instructions before hand, but that last step was written after the "after about another six hours" step, so I didn't read that far I guess). The paper background curled up and I had to reach in there and pull the pieces out but it's ok, I did it really fast and used "WATER AND MILD SOAP . . THE ONLY NEUTRALIZER YOU CAN USE" and my fingers are fine.

But the whole thing reminded me of Happy Fun Ball. If this was before or after your time (or if you went to the bathroom and missed it) go to Youtube and watch this video.