A ball pit (also known as a ball pool) is a pit, usually rectangular and padded, filled with small (generally no larger than a baseball) colorful hollow plastic balls. It is typically employed as a recreation and exercise for small children. Some ball pits are fairly shallow, suitable only for "wading," while others are much deeper, and may be used for "swimming." Ball pits are often found at nurseries, carnivals, amusement parks, fun centers, fast-food restaurants, and large video arcades. Chuck E. Cheese's and (now defunct) Discovery Zone formerly had ball pits and they were frequently incorporated into larger play structures, such as mazes, slides, and jungle gyms. In the early 2000's, Chuck E. Cheese's removed their ball pits due to safety concerns and due to the fact that the pits were a drain on resources, since children would frequently steal individual balls until the pits were far below capacity and unusable. Ball pits may be rented for parties, and smaller versions are sold for use in the home. While ball pits are traditionally regarded as a children's plaything, some are large enough to accommodate adults. It is now very common to see ball pits being removed because they have been seen as unsanitary.[1] It is difficult to properly wash the balls and dangerous objects sometimes collect at the bottom of the pit.[1] Beginning in the late 1990s, a number of urban legends arose about children being severely injured or even killed due to ball-pit encounters with things such as poisonous snakes[2] or hypodermic needles.[3] However, no such report has been verified, and the specific instances described in various chain emails have been debunked. China Miéville's short story The Ball Room is a horror story centered around a ball-pit at an Ikea-like furniture store.
