Hoverboard Fall Videos Go Viral
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Kids and teens made one of the hottest gifts this holiday look like child's play. For some adults, however, they proved just a little too much.
Of course, we are talking about hoverboards.
Over the weekend, videos of adults falling off hoverboards went viral. The even spawned the hash tag #hoverboardfails.
On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who represents Monroe County and a portion of Miami-Dade, posted a pictured of his arm in a sling on his Twitter account. According to the lawmaker, he was taking a spin on his nephew's hoverboard and fell. He ended up at the emergency room at Baptist Health of South Florida.
Confirmed - #hoverboard is for kids. My daughter got it. I ended up in @BaptistHealthSF #ER. #hoverboardChristmas. pic.twitter.com/ADRrYBB81J
— Carlos Curbelo (@carloslcurbelo) December 26, 2015
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Since my #hoverboard accident is news, let me clarify that the device doesn't belong to my daughter. It's my nephew's. She did ride it well
— Carlos Curbelo (@carloslcurbelo) December 27, 2015
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Curbelo wasn't the only public figure to fall victim to the clutches of gravity. Former Miami Marlin Dan Uggla was filmed riding a hoverboard with his kids - before he tumbled onto the concrete.
Just before Christmas, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported a 25-percent spike in the number of injuries associated with hoverboards and fires due to overheated batteries. That has some safety experts worried.
"You have a product that doesn't have to meet any safety requirements and is finding its way to the U.S. market," said Sean Kane, founder of The Safety Institute.
Nathan Furniss sells hoverboards in his store. He believes the problem is overconfident adults who don't realize they are designed to be self-balancing scooters.
"They're trying to balance themselves, 'Oh I've got this' and they're trying to to balance, when really they need to chill out, just stand straight up. It balances for you," said Furniss.
So the lesson to take away from this - something that seems like child's play is probably best left to actual children.