Exploding prize basketball injures woman at Six Flags Over Texas

Oh please let this be the end of inflated basketballs as prizes.

I was going to say the same thing. But, I wouldn't count on it. It might mean selling them at a lower pressure or uninflated. But, the reason people like them as prizes is they provide instant gratification.

And faster than instant annoyance.

I can smell a lawyer from here.

I believe it was about 12-15 years ago that a park actually did go ahead and try to give uninflated balls as prizes. The participation at the games took a major hit, and the idea was deemed a failure. I don't think anyone else wants to try that solution.

Although, I do have to wonder how/why someone inflated the ball SO much that it would explode without even bouncing...

These things aren't NBA quality. I'm not surprised that you would start seeing some failures at some point. The question now is, who inflated the ball? Was it shipped already inflated, or was it done by park staff? Compressed air is something you should not take lightly.

Well, no, it shouldn't be taken lightly, and I'm sure it was VERY painful and scared the crap out of this lady and plenty of other patrons. However, a trip to the emergency room for that? They want the medical bills paid for? What am I not getting here? It would be nice of Six Flags to pay for the ambulance and the bill just as an apology, but I can't see why on earth it should be expected. I'm not saying there couldn't possibly have been a danger, but this seems really oh-so-dramatic for a bad jump scare and a couple bruises.

Dutchman said:

Compressed air is something you should not take lightly.

Indeed.

Helium on the other hand...

Mother of God, I swear I was about to post the same thing, verbatim.

Marry me.

I didn't predict that, however.