# OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! (Finger in custard) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221 "2005-05-03T12:47:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/1 "2005-05-03T12:47:59Z")
[Customer finds employee’s finger in frozen custard](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/02/custard.finger.ap/index.html) > [@](#): > > WILMINGTON, North Carolina (AP) – A man who ordered a pint of frozen chocolate custard in a dessert shop got a nasty surprise inside – a piece of severed finger lost by an employee in an accident. > > \ > > Stowers, who did not immediately return calls Monday from The Associated Press, told the station: “I thought it was candy because they put candy in your ice cream … to make it a treat. So I said, ‘OK, well, I’ll just put it in my mouth and get the ice cream off of it and see what it is.’” > > Stowers said he spit the object out, but still couldn’t identify it. So he went to his kitchen, rinsed it off with water – and “just started screaming.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/2 "2005-05-03T12:50:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Officials from the state departments of agriculture and labor went to the shop Monday, and the owner confirmed one of his employees lost part of a finger in an accident with a food-processing machine. “Should we shut the machine down and clean it out?” “Naaaah! Nobody’ll notice!” ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/3 "2005-05-03T13:27:03Z")
Jumpin’ jibbitty! I had been about 70% sure from the start that the Wendy’s case was a hoax, but _EEeeeeeewwww!!!_ I was thinking the same thing, **Cal** but: > [@](#): > > Thomas told WWAY that several employees tried to help the injured worker, and that a drive-thru window attendant apparently scooped custard from the bucket into a pint before being told what had happened. > > Joe Reardon of the Agriculture Department’s food and drug division said state officials closed the shop while the food processing equipment involved in the accident was cleaned and sanitized. I definitely do not want to ever ever ever find skin with _fingerprints_ in anything I ever eat, _ever._ ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/4 "2005-05-03T13:29:41Z")
> [@](#): > > ‘I’ll just put it in my mouth and … see what it is,’ man said The jokes just write themselves. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/5 "2005-05-03T14:03:29Z")
What’s weird is that the customer had to find it. Wouldn’t you think the employee would have found it first, to… I don’t know… get it re-attached? ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/6 "2005-05-03T14:04:57Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > What’s weird is that the customer had to find it. Wouldn’t you think the employee would have found it first, to… I don’t know… get it re-attached? From the article and a few posts up: > [@](#): > > several employees tried to help the injured worker, and that a drive-thru window attendant apparently scooped custard from the bucket into a pint before being told what had happened. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/7 "2005-05-03T14:11:02Z")
I didn’t read the whole article – I was going by what I heard on the radio report. It;s still hard to believe, though. “What’s all that noise? Somebody screaming? Oh, well, I;ll just serve this custard…” ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/8 "2005-05-03T14:14:33Z")
I’d blame this all on the employee for being so careless, but I don’t want to engage in any groundless finger-pointing. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/9 "2005-05-03T14:22:04Z")
I bet next time he’ll order the boneless, skinless custard. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/10 "2005-05-03T14:22:43Z")
Well, you know, you can’t sue for damages unless you actually try to eat it. 😉 And how come the employee did not notice his co-worker was screaming in agony and everyone else was trying to tend to him? Talk about dedication to your job! ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/11 "2005-05-03T14:23:44Z")
> [@lno](#): > > The jokes just write themselves. I guess this is when: :o comes in handy, right? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/12 "2005-05-03T14:32:05Z")
Life imitating art? I dunno, even if the guy serving it didn’t notice the screaming and all, you’d think one of the other employees might have taken it upon themself to look for the rest of the finger and prevent anyone from taking anything out of the bucket. This should be a lesson to all such places of business to have regular appendage amputation drills and have one employee as the designated appendage finder. Perhaps they should even have an alarm button to push so that all employees need to know to stop serving food items just in case the appendage is in one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/13 "2005-05-03T14:46:24Z")
“Finger: The Other White Meat” “Finger: It’s What’s for Dinner” _Hmmmm_ . . . “Fingers: Bet You Can’t Eat Just One” “Fingers: Breakfast of Champions” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/14 "2005-05-03T14:48:18Z")
You know, between the Wendy’s Chili incident and this I’m reminded of an incident gthat Henri Charriere recorded in his book **Papillon** (which didn’t _quite_ make it into the movie). They were in the leper colony, after escaping, and the lepers made them a dinner. One of the escapees discovers a finger stuck to his bowl. The digit-losing server says “I _wondered_ what happened to that!” The other lepers comment that he’d been losing fingers all week. Some critics think that Charriere was laying it on a little thick here, and question his veracity. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/15 "2005-05-03T14:49:00Z")
“Try our 10 piece bucket with two sides.” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/16 "2005-05-03T14:58:33Z")
Many years ago when I was working as a trainee surveyor I had a small carton of chocolate milk with my lunch. When I drank it some solid object bumped against my teeth. I opened up the carton and tipped it out. It was a frog. Me and the guys I was working with had a laugh about the “homogenised, pastuerised, chocolated frog”, as Dave described it. I threw it in the rubbish and we went back to work. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/17 "2005-05-03T15:35:38Z")
Am I the only one singing, “Yummy yummy, I got your finger in my tummy!”? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/18 "2005-05-03T18:14:18Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Many years ago when I was working as a trainee surveyor I had a small carton of chocolate milk with my lunch. When I drank it some solid object bumped against my teeth. I opened up the carton and tipped it out. It was a frog. Me and the guys I was working with had a laugh about the “homogenised, pastuerised, chocolated frog”, as Dave described it. I threw it in the rubbish and we went back to work. > [@don't ask](#): > > “homogenised, pastuerised, chocolated frog” Must be where JK Rowling gets her ideas from. As for the idea of “Huh. What’s all that screaming about? Ehh. I’ll just keep scooping custard” - more than once I’ve injured myself pretty significantly and not know it until “Hmmm… There’s a lot of blood here.” and not even felt pain until I was at a sink cleaning up and thinking “YAAAAHHH!!! That _STINGS_!” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/19 "2005-05-03T19:02:07Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > As for the idea of “Huh. What’s all that screaming about? Ehh. I’ll just keep scooping custard” - more than once I’ve injured myself pretty significantly and not know it until “Hmmm… There’s a lot of blood here.” and not even felt pain until I was at a sink cleaning up and thinking “YAAAAHHH!!! That _STINGS_!” So you think the guy scooped his \*own \* finger into the bowl?? Oh, dear Og. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221/20 "2005-05-03T19:13:51Z")
As for the dutiful employee who continued scooping custard even during the coworker’s agony, I’m sure he was aware of the ongoing drama, but was resolved to not let it get him _out of joint_. I’m convinced there’s a music tie-in for _everything_. These finger-food stories remind me of the Nixon’s Head song, “The Loving Finger”. Off their album Gourmet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-its-happening-again-finger-in-custard/302221.md?page=2)