Necessity is the mother of invention

I was walking through the mall today on my way to get a milkshake (obvious right, because cold weather + snow = milkshake time. Not to mention that I just found out that thursdays are "Thirsty Thursdays" when all shakes are 1/2 off) when I saw something that I've seen a number of times before. A man with a walker who had cut up tennis balls on the back two legs.

I'm not critical of the practice, it must certainly provide some sort of benefit or else nobody would ever do it. But I actually think that I see more walkers with tennis balls on them then not. Which raises the question why doesn't the company or companies that manufacture walkers change their design to encorporate something like cutting out two tennis balls provides the user. I mean it would only make sense right? If I owned a business and saw people making fundamental changes to the things I sell I would change the product to fit their needs.

It makes you wonder if something far more dire is going on. Is there a bloodpact between old people and tennis ball manufacturer's that makes former tennis players have to find inventive ways to use their tennis balls once they are unable to continue the sport? Are the walker barons (owners of walker making businesses) bound by principle that they will not yield because of a design once thought perfect? Is there a law on the books that forces all walker users to place tennis balls on the back legs of their walkers of be in defiance of the law? Does that mean that there are wandering packs of people using illegal walkers? Groups of elderly people roving the earth trying to capture all of my lost or unused tennis balls? Because if so I'm scared, and you should be too.