This is What the Big Red Spheres Outside of Target Are For

The second-largest retailer in North America, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. operates more than 1,800 stores and Target.com. Having revolutionized retail by adopting a “cheap and chic” strategy a generation ago, the company has had immense success. Whether you make a least one Target run every week or drop into one only on an as-needed basis, you have certainly come across the big red spheres situated outside the storefront. Here are 12 things you should pick up on your next Target trip.

While at first glance they appear to be an aesthetic feature to accompany the big, bold, red bullseye logo of the brand, those big red spheres outside Target stores actually serve a much more important purpose.

The giant concrete balls, called bollards, serve as safety precautions for keeping cars from rolling into the storefront doors and potentially harming shoppers.

The spheres have been the subject of some controversy for years. In 2016, a New Jersey mom filled a $1.6 million lawsuit against Target claiming they are a “nuisance that attracts children to play” on top of them. Her then five-year-old son was playing on top of a ball when he fell and broke his right elbow. And in 2017, a woman, whose car was damaged by a runaway 2-ton concrete ball outside a New Jersey Target store, sued the retailer.

People have also made light of the concrete spheres. In 2014, the giant red spheres went viral after a prankster started taking funny selfies with them under the hashtag TargetBalling. And, a 2015 thread on TheBreakRoom.org has plenty of funny input on the bollards outside of Target.