# Man who found finger in custard refuses to return it to owner **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 6, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693 "2005-05-06T14:37:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/1 "2005-05-06T14:37:50Z")
Clarence Stowers, the man who found a severed fingertip in a container of custard from Kohl’s, has decided to keep it. [Linky link link](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/06/finger.fight.ap/index.html) > [@](#): > > But Clarence Stowers still has the digit, refusing to return the evidence so it could be reattached. And now it’s too late for doctors to do anything for 23-year-old Brandon Fizer. > > “I’m not saying who has it, but somebody has it,” Stowers said this week in a telephone interview, refusing to let on where the fingertip is now. I wonder why he would want to keep it. Perhaps he wishes to CA$H IN BIG!!! in a lawsuit? > [@](#): > > He refused to give it to the shop’s owner, and refused to give it to a doctor who was treating Fizer, who accidentally stuck his hand in a mixing machine and had his right index finger lopped off at the first knuckle. > > … > > “The general manager attempted to retrieve it and rush it to the hospital,” reads a statement posted Thursday on Kohl’s Web site. “Unfortunately, the customer refused to give it to her and declared that he would be calling the TV stations and an attorney as he exited the store.” No, no, it’s uncharitable of me to assume greed on his part. Clearly he wanted to call the TV stations and an attorney so he could, uh, uhm, ensure that, uh, the media covered the reattachment surgery as a heartwarming after-school special. > [@](#): > > Stowers’ attorney, Lee Andrews of Greensboro, wouldn’t say if a lawsuit against Kohl’s is planned, saying he needed “to get some more facts.” > > But Andrews said his client is concerned about possible disease in the fingertip and kept it because he wanted someone to test it for “all the diseases that are out here now.” > > “He’s upset to the point that he’s been debilitated to some degree,” Andrews said. “Emotionally, it’s been very upsetting to him.” Oh, that explains it - Stowers is concerned about all the diseases that are out here now, like zombie fingertips. Perhaps he doesn’t know who lost the finger (my suggestion is to ask Brandon Fizer, who suddenly lost his right index finger at the first knuckle, if it’s his) and the idea of testing that man for “all the diseases that are out here now” isn’t feasible. > [@](#): > > “It’s a mystery how that customer can live with himself after he refused to return the finger so that doctors might try to reattach it,” said an editorial Thursday by the Star-News of Wilmington. > > “Unless he offers a better explanation for that decision, people will assume that customer Clarence Stowers cared less about another person’s loss of a body part than about his chance to squeeze some bucks out of the custard stand.” Again, it’s uncharitable of me to assume that he’s a cold-hearted man who has dollar signs in his eyes. Funny — I’m pretty uncharitable today. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/2 "2005-05-06T14:39:31Z")
I hope the custard kid sues the customer. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/3 "2005-05-06T14:41:58Z")
Longest. Link. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/4 "2005-05-06T14:44:28Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Longest. Link. Ever. Yeah. How did **lno** miss out on the first sentence, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/5 "2005-05-06T14:49:25Z")
What a complete jerk. I can’t believe that he refused to give the finger back and now he’s playing coy little games “I’m not saying where it is…” Clarence Stowers is an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/6 "2005-05-06T14:49:46Z")
Oh, that explains it - Stowers is concerned about all the diseases that are out here now, like zombie fingertips. Perhaps he doesn’t know who lost the finger (my suggestion is to ask Brandon Fizer, who suddenly lost his right index finger at the first knuckle, if it’s his) Never mind asking - the prints would match 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/7 "2005-05-06T14:51:13Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > Yeah. How did **lno** miss out on the first sentence, I wonder? “To a dessert shop customer, the severed fingertip found in a pint of frozen custard could be worth big dollars in a potential lawsuit.” ? ---
**Author:** ![wisernow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@wisernow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wisernow)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/8 "2005-05-06T14:54:48Z")
I couldn’t quite understand something. I don’t think it is possible to lose an index finger upto the first knuckle and not be aware of it. The man who lost his finger in the machine, must have known it rightaway. The question is, how did it get served to this guy Stowers who came into the store 30 minutes _after_ the accident. What was the finger’s owner doing during that time? Stowers is a cheap idiot though. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/9 "2005-05-06T14:56:28Z")
> [@](#): > > “He’s upset to the point that he’s been debilitated to some degree,” Andrews said. “Emotionally, it’s been very upsetting to him.” Well gee, imagine how Fizer feels, you putz. I hope he sues the everlovin’ shit out of you. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/10 "2005-05-06T14:57:07Z")
Leaving aside how big an asshole Stowers is…(big, very big) A worker gets the tip of his finger cut off in a custard mixing machine, and the stand _continues to sell custard from the machine_ before they find the fingertip? I don’t know about you, but if I sever a digit at work, I expect everything to stop for a few minutes while we locate it. I certainly don’t expect us to continue to serve food from the very machine I lopped my finger off in, without even cleaning it. :barf: It’s a fucking custard stand, they’re not building Liberty Ships for the war effort, tell your customers that they won’t get any custard for a while until you locate a severed finger. Lawsuits all around… ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/11 "2005-05-06T14:58:21Z")
I hope Stowers’ little plan backfires, and he is sued by Fizer as he had a chance to return the finger-tip, but refused. Hell, he not only refused, but it sounds like he gloated about it. > [@Stowers' effing ambulance chaser](#): > > He’s upset to the point that he’s been debilitated to some degree. But at least he’s still able to hold a pencil, dial a phone, or even pick his nose. I wonder how upset Fizer is? ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/12 "2005-05-06T15:00:28Z")
> [@wisernow](#): > > I couldn’t quite understand something. I don’t think it is possible to lose an index finger upto the first knuckle and not be aware of it. The man who lost his finger in the machine, must have known it rightaway. The question is, how did it get served to this guy Stowers who came into the store 30 minutes _after_ the accident. What was the finger’s owner doing during that time? > > Stowers is a cheap idiot though. Note that the article doesn’t say he was served the custard 30 minutes after the accident, only that he did not return the finger when he was in the store 30 minutes after the accident. From an earlier article, the custard avec finger was scooped and served before the server knew of the accident. Apparently, Mr. Stowers received his custard, departed, discovered the finger, and returned to the store with no small amount of outrage. I can see this taking some time. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/13 "2005-05-06T15:02:44Z")
> [@wisernow](#): > > What was the finger’s owner doing during that time? I’ll hazard a guess and say he was going into shock. I’d love to see 2 lawsuits come out of this. One where the customer has his case thrown out and has to pay court costs. The second where the customer gets slammed with medical costs and pain and suffereing damages for his callous disregard of another human being that he could have helped. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/14 "2005-05-06T15:05:38Z")
> [@lno](#): > > “To a dessert shop customer, the severed fingertip found in a pint of frozen custard could be worth big dollars in a potential lawsuit.” ? No, I meant I wondered how you missed including the first line of your OP in your link. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/15 "2005-05-06T15:08:03Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s a fucking custard stand, they’re not building Liberty Ships for the war effort, tell your customers that they won’t get any custard for a while until you locate a severed finger. :eek: “OK, kids, who wants to mosey on down the road to Dairy Queen?” ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/16 "2005-05-06T15:19:08Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > No, I meant I wondered how you missed including the first line of your OP in your link. 🙂 Ah - because I’m a rebel. I embedded the opening quote tag inside the link for three reasons:[ul][_]I hate seeing full sentences linked. Messy, messy.[_]I get little satisfaction out of daily life, so playing with vBulletin gives my life meaning.[\*]I like the number three.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/17 "2005-05-06T15:22:40Z")
Whoah, bizarre! I posted the OP in Firefox v1.0.2, but if I view it in IE 6.0, the entire quote is a link. For me, only the small text Quote: is a link. I’ll report that and see if I can find a nice friendly Pit mod to clean that up, and I’ll recall that apparently not every browser renders posts the same way. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/18 "2005-05-06T15:30:38Z")
This assmunch thoroughly deserves his pitting. I too hope he doesn’t see a single dollar out of this affair. He’s already getting some of his just desserts though - the entire town now knows what an asshole he is. With any luck he’s being spat upon in the street. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/19 "2005-05-06T15:30:53Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s a fucking custard stand, they’re not building Liberty Ships for the war effort, tell your customers that they won’t get any custard for a while until you locate a severed finger. Or, better yet, offer a prize to the customer who finds it! (Does this whole thing sound like an _Arrested Development_ episode to anyone else?) ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693/20 "2005-05-06T15:35:19Z")
The OP and reponses here just amaze me! Here’s a great idea: Instead of calling names on the poor shmuck who was handed an “index finger smoothy” maybe you should hand out an asshole award to : A) The dumbshit that lost the finger for **not** demanding that the finger be retrieved before he left. Granted he’s stressed and just lost a digit but he’s not gonna bleed to death. If I lost a finger, toe, tooth etc somewhere I’d damn well want to take it with me to the emergency room. B) Dumbshit store manager for continueing to operate at all!?!? WTF !? There’s a finger missing in this stuff and you’re still selling it?! :eek: Only course of action that \*\*isn’t \*\*insane - 1 Close shop 2 Retrieve finger 3 Get employee to medical help 4 **Throw out the batch of goo that had a finger in it** How you guys can dump on the customer for this is amazing to me. There’s just no way in hell a customer should **ever** have this handed to him in the first place. There was some serious fuck-up occuring that had nothing to do with the customer. Fizer: “Shit!!! I just cut off my finger!” Owner: "That’s terrible. As soon as I take care of this customer I’ll give you a hand. Your finger isn’t as important as me making a little money here. Yessir Mr. customer, here’s your custard. Fizer: “Of course, my finger isn’t that important. I’m not even gonna mention how I lost it” Stowers: “Shit! There’s a finger in my custard!” Owner: " Gee, how’d that happen there’s no loose fingers he…Oh yeah, Fizer just lost one of those! Fizer: " On second thought, maybe I should have mentioned **where** I lost the finger" Stowers: “Jeezus Shit! THERE"S A FINGER IN MY CUSTARD!” Owner:" Uh yeah, we’re gonna need that back" Fizer: " gettin real bloody back here" Stowers " You dumbfucks served me a **finger** in my ice cream!!!" Owner " well wups, Mistakes happen. We’re gonna need that back" I’m somewhat in agreement that the right thing for Stowers to do would have been to give it back but he seems to me to rank third on the list of assholes involved in this little melodrama. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-who-found-finger-in-custard-refuses-to-return-it-to-owner/302693.md?page=2)