Self-balancing boards — better known to the world as "hoverboards" — had every element to be the hot Holiday toy of 2015: Technology, celebrity endorsements and a (relatively) affordable price tag.
But one quick Twitter search proves that hovering isn't as easy as it looks.
Social media was filled with hoverboard wipe-outs over weekend, as overeager kids bit off more than they could chew with their Christmas presents.
MY COUSIN GOT A HOVERBOARD AND MY BROTHER TRIED OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/1cPxQdTx9S
— tina belcher (@ryan_ewen) December 25, 2015
This was just never gonna happen. #hoverboardfails pic.twitter.com/ZGtehj0Nwg
— Hoverboard Fails (@HoverboardFails) December 26, 2015
Parents quickly learned that they should leave hovering to the kids.
My moms first and last try on the hover board pic.twitter.com/PeP21DWJBq
— Ryan muhl (@ryanmuhlenfeld1) December 26, 2015
Even baseball player Dan Uggla and congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-Fl.) weren't immune to taking a spill.
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
The videos even spawned a Twitter account, @HoverboardFails, which posted its first Tweet on Christmas Day.
He got cocky ?? pic.twitter.com/J1BSkcDshE
— Hoverboard Fails (@HoverboardFails) December 26, 2015
That hurt.. ?? pic.twitter.com/V1VzA5nFQe
— Hoverboard Fails (@HoverboardFails) December 26, 2015
States are quickly drafting legislation that will require riders to wear helmets and stay off sidewalks where they could hit other pedestrians. Swagway's director of marketing Nicolas Villalobos also told Scripps that his company recommends children have adult supervision while riding.
Also, definitely don't try a handstand on a hoverboard.
Merry Christmas everyone! Love, Jackie pic.twitter.com/YMAQtRVoaF
— Meg Ryan (@meg_ryan49) December 25, 2015
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
