# Slip 'N Slide Makers Sue 'Dickie Roberts' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516 "2003-09-09T13:54:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/1 "2003-09-09T13:54:26Z")
[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96787,00.html](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96787,00.html) Say what? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/2 "2003-09-09T14:07:53Z")
Sigh… It’s a joke. Just a joke. Does nobody get jokes anymore? ---
**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:** [September 9, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/3 "2003-09-09T14:08:13Z")
Well, when I first saw the scene on a commercial, I immediately thought of the paralyzation incidents. Adults are not supposed to use this product, only children. Adults, because of our heavier weight and bone structure, have a significant risk of paralyzation that children do not. I saw a video of a guy breaking his neck on one, and I swear it looked just like a kid using it normally, scary stuff. They’re worried that other adults will be prompted to try a slip n slide by the scene, and people will wind up injured and sue them. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/4 "2003-09-09T14:11:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lord Ashtar \* > \*\*Sigh… > > It’s a joke. Just a joke. Does nobody get jokes anymore? \*\* Where does it indicate that it’s a hoax? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/5 "2003-09-09T14:15:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*Where does it indicate that it’s a hoax? \*\* I don’t think the lawsuit is a hoax, but that the scene in the movie is meant to be a joke. That’s how I took the comment anyway. Am I incorrect? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/6 "2003-09-09T14:16:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cheesesteak \* > \*\*They’re worried that other adults will be prompted to try a slip n slide by the scene, and people will wind up injured and sue them. \*\* Won’t somebody please think of the adults? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/7 "2003-09-09T14:18:57Z")
No, **Lsura’s** right. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/8 "2003-09-09T14:22:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lsura \* > \*\*I don’t think the lawsuit is a hoax, but that the scene in the movie is meant to be a joke. That’s how I took the comment anyway. Am I incorrect? \*\* No you are right, I read it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/9 "2003-09-09T14:29:33Z")
I don’t blame the Slip and Slide people. I blame the lawsuit culture that created a SECONDARY lawsuit culture. That is kind of ironic. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/10 "2003-09-09T14:39:11Z")
So does chequita (sp?) get sued when someone slips on a banana peel? ---
**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:** [September 9, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/11 "2003-09-09T14:52:57Z")
It’s no joke, I saw the video. Just a guy playing around at a kid’s birthday party (or some such thing). He dives down onto the toy just like the kids, and when he gets to the end of the slide, he’s not moving anymore. He didn’t trip, or slide into a tree, or anything stupid like that, he just let his head get a bit too low when he dove. Using the product as it was designed to be used, he got horribly injured. That’s why they lost the lawsuit, and that’s why they’re suing now. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/12 "2003-09-09T14:53:02Z")
I wonder if this is just a way to parlay the free publicity from the movie into more free publicity. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/13 "2003-09-09T15:10:42Z")
So when in college we just used a 40 ft roll of plastic and waterhoses to make a _really big_ slip ‘n’ slide, we were risking our lives? Who should we sue? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/14 "2003-09-09T16:38:54Z")
Can automobile manufacturers successfully sue movie producers for showing their products being used improperly, causing the deaths of minor characters and innocent extras? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/15 "2003-09-09T16:58:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Wham-O\_also claims the scene violates the product’s safety guidelines, which limit the use of Slip 'N Slide to children between the ages of 5 and 12 weighing less than 110 pounds and under 5 feet tall. Guidelines also state the slide must first be inflated and wet and that users should also be wet before diving on the plastic. The company is concerned that the scene might prompt adults to imitate Spade’s action, which could lead to injury and lawsuits. […] The product was taken off store shelves in the 1990s after a series of adult accidents. When will people get it through their skulls that, in spite of propaganda to the contrary, art really _does_ imitate life, most of the time? “Yay! A movie is showing the sort of stupid behaviour that has led to suits against us in the past. Now when it happens again, we can blame _them_ instead of the our products and the drunken idiots who misuse them!” ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/16 "2003-09-09T17:42:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*I wonder if this is just a way to parlay the free publicity from the movie into more free publicity. \*\* I was wondering the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/17 "2003-09-09T18:18:50Z")
Smart move by Slip 'N Slide, really. They probably would’ve PAID to have product placement in the movie if they had known about it beforehand. As it is, this lawsuit will guarantee the name “Slip 'N Slide” to remain in the news for at least a couple more cycles. Of course, they REALLY should’ve sued the filmmakers for opening this movie at the end of September rather than at the beginning of June. Can you imagine the sales of 'Slip ‘N Slides’ if the product had been placed in a summer hit? Still, I’d guess sales will be up around 150% or so after this lawsuit. There really are too many damn lawyers… ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/18 "2003-09-09T18:22:33Z")
Of course, I meant the end of August…but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/19 "2003-09-09T21:35:52Z")
Hell, if I manufactured the Slip ‘n’ Slide, I’d sue for my product being used in a David Spade movie period! ---
**Author:** ![Freiheit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e8c25b/32.png) [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516/20 "2003-09-10T01:59:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by watsonwil \* > \*\*I don’t blame the Slip and Slide people. I blame the lawsuit culture that created a SECONDARY lawsuit culture. That is kind of ironic. \*\* Hmm…I think I would call it a meta-lawsuit culture. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slip-n-slide-makers-sue-dickie-roberts/200516.md?page=2)