As much as we love magnets, we have to remind ourselves that they have the potential to be extremely dangerous.

Case in point: 9-year-old Andre Bercerra recently swallowed two magnets which caused severe damage to his intestines:

“He did have internal injuries. There were two holes in his intestines from the magnets,” Bercerra said. “The surgeon said it was as if he had been shot with a BB gun through his intestine.”

If Andre had not been able to tell the surgeon he had swallowed magnets then this could have been a fatal incident.

Take the time and make sure your family is safe: don’t leave magnets lying in reach of children or pets, and especially don’t give magnets to young children as a play toy. As fun as they are, magnets are not a toy.

Read more about Andre.

#033: Fire Door Safety Inspections

Magnets saving lives? Perhaps. Stephen (an Aussie Magnets customer) is using our magnets to test fire doors during building audits. Fire doors are complicated creatures, but Stephen checks every single one to keep us safe if disaster strikes:

Most fire doors have a metal frame within the structure of the door, which door components such as hinges, latches, peep holes, sequencers etc are anchored in to. I use the magnets to determine firstly whether the door is a fire door, secondly whether it has been hung the right way and thirdly whether the door components are anchored into the door at the right place (you would be surprised how often they aren’t).

Stephen uses a strong 25mm x 25mm x 5mm Rare Earth Block, which pulls 11.5kg:

This strength of magnet is just right for testing fire doors as it allows me to undertake the task required and also allows me to get my magnet back as well. 

Its the smallest and easiest tool in my kit.

Thanks for looking out for our safety, Stephen, and congrats on your innovative use. Free gifts are in the post, here’s hoping they find a home in your tool kit!