# Manufacturer's warnings you routinely ignore **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112 "2007-05-14T23:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/81 "2007-05-16T23:45:41Z")
I take “Not a food product. Do not eat,” as more of a challenge than a warning. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/82 "2007-05-17T06:11:39Z")
“Do not remove under penalty of law” I always wondered how they would know. But every pillow I ever saw as a kid still had the label on. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/83 "2007-05-17T06:25:21Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Tonight I read the label on a tin of oysters. There was a cautionary note under the ingredients (Oysters, water, salt): **Contains:** Shellfish (Oysters) Thank god for that warning! I may have eaten them! Actually, I think I’ll ignore that note and eat them. [/QUOTE] I found the same thing on my package of Crab meat… Under the ingredients and nutrition info on the back, it said exactly that - “Warning: Contains Crab” Brendon Small ---
**Author:** ![Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intravenus_De_Milo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/84 "2007-05-17T07:17:58Z")
[QUOTE=minor7flat5] Strange – the wording of the tags always stood out in my memory because I remember as a child in the 70s wondering why the grownups joked about the mattress tags when it clearly said “except by consumer” on them. Perhaps they changed the wording in the _early_ seventies and I was too late for the sweet spot of true mattress tag fear. [/QUOTE] I always wondered about that as well, although I was a kid in the late '80s-early '90s. The wording had long since changed, but the jokes persisted. Sort of like an old wive’s tale lingering in the collective subconscious for decades. My advice-ignoring quirk is that I still use a now-outdated mercury oral thermometer to take my temperature. Although I know that Hellish Death and Destruction await should that thing break (well, not really), somehow I trust it more than the digital-style thermometers. Can’t really say why. My perspective is that I, a very careful adult, am less at risk for thermometer breakage and subsequent negative effects than the children for whom the mercury types were likely phased out. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/85 "2007-05-17T12:54:56Z")
[QUOTE=brendon\_small] I found the same thing on my package of Crab meat… Under the ingredients and nutrition info on the back, it said exactly that - “Warning: Contains Crab” [/QUOTE] This kind of thing blows my mind. I was on an airplane the other day, and got my little packet of peanuts. In big letters, it says “peanuts.” In small letters, it says “warning: contains nuts.” Do they really think some moron is going to file a lawsuit? I can just see the cross-examination: Q: So, you have a serious allergy to nuts? A: Yes. Q: Your very life can depend upon not eating nuts? A: That’s correct. Q: _And you didn’t know that peaNUTS are nuts?_ A: Well… Q: Did you know that this peanut is more intelligent than you? A: Hey! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/86 "2007-05-17T13:09:13Z")
But isn’t a peanut a legume? That could be confusing. Maybe. I think it was Russell Baker who wrote one time about his mom sewing back on any mattress labels that fell off over time. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/87 "2007-05-17T13:22:00Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] But isn’t a peanut a legume? That could be confusing. Maybe.:smack: [/QUOTE] Yep, peanuts are not nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/88 "2007-05-17T13:31:23Z")
This is one that shows how stupid burocracies are [Welsh Dragon Sausages](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6159630.stm) They list the meat used in the sausage on the label, but they’re being told the name is misleading. They are supposed to change the name. This is the dumbest compliant I’ve seen in the news in a while. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/89 "2007-05-17T13:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] This is one that shows how stupid burocracies are [Welsh Dragon Sausages](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6159630.stm) They list the meat used in the sausage on the label, but they’re being told the name is misleading. They are supposed to change the name. This is the dumbest compliant I’ve seen in the news in a while. [/QUOTE] Well what about: Spotted Dick Toad in the Hole Baked Alaska None of these contain Dicks, Toads or bits of Alaska ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/90 "2007-05-17T14:08:05Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Well what about: Spotted Dick Toad in the Hole Baked Alaska None of these contain Dicks, Toads or bits of Alaska [/QUOTE] As far as I know, they are not asking any company to change their product name becuase people think spotted dick has dicks in it. They want a name change because they say somebody won’t understand they are made from pork when labeled so and called Welsh Dragon Sausages. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/91 "2007-05-17T16:01:28Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] As far as I know, they are not asking any company to change their product name becuase people think spotted dick has dicks in it. They want a name change because they say somebody won’t understand they are made from pork when labeled so and called Welsh Dragon Sausages. [/QUOTE] OK Then. So “they” think that out there somebody actually believes that dragons are flapping around the Welsh countryside…much like the flying pink spaghetti monster ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/92 "2007-05-17T16:26:15Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] You’re not supposed to clean out your ears. I know, that’s crazy talk, right? Apparently if you forgo the Q-tips for a month or more, your ear will stop producing so much wax and what wax it does make will just form little balls and roll out when you’re yawning. I swear I’m not making this up. Me, I get to about 32 hours and my ears itch like a mo-fo and I’m reaching for the Q-tips again. [/QUOTE] That feeling you get when you put off reaching for the Q-tip as long as possible then sit down in the comfy-chair and go to town? That’s called an Ear-gasm. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/93 "2007-05-17T16:33:42Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] That feeling you get when you put off reaching for the Q-tip as long as possible then sit down in the comfy-chair and go to town? That’s called an Ear-gasm. [/QUOTE] I’m kinky - I go for both ears at once. It’s a ménage à ahhhhhh… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/94 "2007-05-17T18:47:52Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Well what about: Spotted Dick Toad in the Hole Baked Alaska None of these contain Dicks, Toads or bits of Alaska [/QUOTE] And Welsh rabbit. Those Welsh are misleading! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/95 "2007-05-17T19:48:23Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] OK Then. So “they” think that out there somebody actually believes that dragons are flapping around the Welsh countryside…much like the flying pink spaghetti monster [/QUOTE] Are you trying to say that you support them being made to change the name so people don’t think it contains dragon? ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/96 "2007-05-17T20:08:40Z")
I routinely taunt [Happy Fun Ball](http://www.happyfunball.com/hfb.html) . ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/97 "2007-05-17T20:39:13Z")
I used to ignore the kill switch on treadmills (you know - the gizmo you’re supposed to attach to your clothing in the event that you stumble and fall?) Then I stumbled and fell and flew off the friggin treadmill and wound up with treadmill rash all over one arm. Now I used the kill switch, or better, just don’t use treadmills. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/98 "2007-05-18T03:54:29Z")
On the bottom of a box: “Flip me”. I actually, I kinda did obey the label. Just not in the way they intended. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/99 "2007-05-18T05:54:00Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] And Welsh rabbit. Those Welsh are misleading! [/QUOTE] Actually it’s Welsh Rarebit ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112/100 "2007-05-18T06:49:38Z")
I had a jogging stroller that said it was not to be used with inline skates (although it said nothing about the old-fashioned kind). I routinely used it with inline skates. Dry clean only. I don’t think so. My vacuum cleaner said not to use it barefoot or while wearing sandals. Pfffft! (What, is it going to vacuum my toes? I’m so scaaaaared.) Really–I have enough sense not to run the thing over my foot. I also have a humidifier that isn’t supposed to be placed on the floor. Now, the floor does get a bit soggy. Why should they care if my floor is soggy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manufacturers-warnings-you-routinely-ignore/404112.md?page=6)