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Anyone who has ever been to Target has likely walked by those large red balls on their way into the store. You might think that the spheres are placed there as a decoration or perhaps as a unique seat for shoppers, and while they can be used for both of those things, that isn't their main purpose.
On TikTok, safety expert Cathy Pedrayes shared the true reason why the balls are there. It turns out, they are concrete bollards and are placed on the sidewalks in front of the stores to stop a car or truck from driving into the building.
Cathy went on to explain in the comments that while the more standard shape of bollard is cylindrical, "Target made them round for branding."
Commenters were surprised by what they learned from Pedrayes' video, writing things like, "Nah, they're for jumping," and, "No, that's a free seat."
As Cathy points out, many stores use bollards, and while they do prevent damage and injuries if a car accidentally is going to crash into the building, they are really there to stop "smash and grab" burglaries, when a vehicle purposefully slams through a door or window of a store, then the occupants get out, loot the establishment and drive off.