For example, this response was heard over the phone when a much loved relative was opening his gift:" Oh, good I got a sockball!" (as in the cool, new, trendy item on everybody's wish list), but then "Ow! Oof! my sockball just socked me in the jaw!" Then the phone went quiet. Still, this seems to have been a one time incident compared to the main problem.
The originator of this item has recently admitted to concerns over signs that Sockballs may have characteristics in common with the infamous Triffids (otherwise known as the fuzzy things). As an episode of the original Star Trek demonstrated, the Triffids had universal appeal, which was a good thing because they increased in number by themselves quite rapidly.
Sockballs have increasingly been found in clusters under couches, end tables, beds and behind bookcases. By itself, that seems normal until people realize they are appearing in numbers no one remembers receiving.
A good safety precaution is to buy a mobile home now, not later, so you have somewhere to live when your house is too full of sockballs. If dustbunnies have already staked out your home, the resulting territorial wars can cause you a lot of sneezing and coughing. Soup and other liquids taste much better without sockballs in them, so if you are still sleeping in your house, I suggest cooking and eating in the motor home in your driveway.
We talked to the Sockball inventor re other great products that may be in the works for the next Christmas season. She is hard at work at creating an invisible security system that will prevent sockballs from entering your motor home ( re dustbunnies, you are on your own). A partnership has been formed with a major pharmaceutical company to offer reproductive choice to sockballs.....projected availability is 2 years from now in June.
Until then, good luck to anyone who got this year's trendiest gift!