All those companies are just running scared of litigation. Here, manufacturers are putting warnings on practically everything to say that they “MAY” contain traces of peanuts. Airlines have stopped giving out peanuts in case the dust from your bag irritates another passanger. Pretty soon you’ll have to sign a disclaimer to go into a grocery store.
Yes.
You can bet your last penny that, for every silly warning label you see, it’s there because someone did something stupid.
“Cape does not enable user to fly.” Some kid put on the cape and jumped out a window, thinking he’d be able to fly.
“Warning: coffee, tea and hot chocolate (where available) are served hot.” :rolleyes: Somebody didn’t take this fact into account and got pretty miffed (and litiguous) because she burned herself.
IOW, whenever somebody misuses a product and winds up getting injured (or worse), there’s some lawyer there ready to get some money out of the company that made it. Those silly warning labels are there to protect those companies. That way, when somebody with a severe allergy to peanuts eats a Snickers and winds up in the ER and then takes the company to court, the company can say, “Hey, we warned 'em.”
:rolleyes:
LOL Everything’s about money, you know.
One that always cracks me up when I visit the USA (I’m in Canada, eh?) is the warning on a 2-litre pop bottle advising the consumer to point the top of the bottle away from oneself when opening the bottle… Unfortunately, I don’t remember the actual wording…
There is food-grade silica gel; I’ve seen it in “nutrition” stores. I can’t figure out what it’s for, though. I can just see someone opening up a shoebox and saying, “Hey! Free silica gel! Why should I pay for it?”
Comedian Bill Engvall did an entire sketch about the stupid warning labels on products. It was hilarious. He mentioned most of the ones already listed and some others that I can’t remember at the moment.
[hijack]
One thing I wish DID have a warning label on it is the new Elizabeth Arden lipstick I got at Sears a couple weeks ago. It’s a nice color but some genius put cinamon flavoring in it. It burns my lips. They OUGHT to put a label on it that warns you that it may contain lip-burning flavor crap.
[/hijack]
All the diecast cars at my store are labelled “Adult Collectible. Not for children under 21.” Why? Because some of them have alcohol and tobacco sponsor labels. Of course, 98% of the time the sticker is so small that it doesn’t have words on it – just a blur of color and a smear of tiny tiny illegible letters – but they have to put that on there. Tell ya what, I have been in racing for five years and I have yet to hear a kid say “Ya know, I started smokin’ 'cause Jimmy Spencer is sponsored by Camel” or “I’m a Rusty Wallace fan and he drives the Miller Lite car, so I’m an alcoholic at the age of 7”…
During my time in the Airforce, a visiting squadron of Tornado fighters landed, and the ground crew made a showy display of attaching ‘Warning - Danger of Death’ flags to various parts of aforementioned aircraft.
It wasn’t long before ‘Warning - Danger of Even Quicker Death’ flags were affixed to our own.
Who posted the 'Warning - Danger of Flight flags on the Search and Rescue heli that was resident at the base remains shrouded in mystery.
Yeah, people are that stupid. I was listening to Food Talk, a radio show here in New York the other day. The host, Arthur Schwartz got the following call (paraphrased, of course)
Caller: I have some cinnamon sticks that I purchased at the craft store. I wonder if I could use them for cooking.
Schwartz: Is there anything on the label about it?
Caller: Yes. It says “Not for human consumption.”
Schwartz: Well, then I guess you shouldn’t eat them.
Caller: Well why not?
Scwartz: I don’t know, but if the label says “not for human consumption” then that’s a hint that you shouldn’t eat them.
Caller: But I was hoping to save some money.
:rolleyes:
from tracer
OK, that makes sense.
now, rastahomie
I maintain that a liquid that is hot enough to cause second and third degree burns, as was the case in the McD’s coffee suit, should not be served as a beverage. It is a given that people, no matter how careful, at some point in their lives, will spill coffee on themselves. When that happens, most of us expect that our skin will be pink and maybe a bit sore for a few hours. We do not expect that we will need skin grafts.
The reason the lady sued, and got a multi-million dollar settlement, is because McD’s refused to pay the medical bills.
Yeah, people really are that stupid. I teach Kindergarten and last year had a child in my class who had a peanut allergy. We had an Epi-Pen at school for him, just in case.
On a child’s birthday, the parents bring in a snack, and lately, they bring in little goodie bags with candy for the kids to take home. We had sent home notes about birthday parties, and mentioned that there was a peanut-allegic child in the class, and to please be careful about what treats they might bring in.
On one little girl’s birthday, I noticed the mother putting the goodie bags in the kid’s backpacks and realized there were Reese’s Penut Butter Cups inside the goodie bags. I stopped her from giving the boy who was allergic a goodie bag and explained that he was allergic to peanuts and couldn’t eat it. She looked totally perplexed and said, “But this is peanut butter, not peanuts.”
DUH!!!
I like the part on pillow tags that says “Do not remove under penalty of death, except by consumer”
Yeah, like I was going to have tags showing on my new couch.
Try Dumb Warnings
Here’s some of my favourites found there.
On a camera:
This camera will only work when film is inside. (Well, duh!)
On a bag of Frito’s:
You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside. (I’ve seen this one so many times! Won’t the clerk get annoyed when you open the bag to get the details?)
Nabisco Easy Cheese:
For best results, remove cap. (And here I thought drilling a hole in the side would be easier)
Hair Coloring:
Do not use as an ice cream topping. (Do they mean ALL the colours of hair dye? What about reddish brown? It looks so delicious…)
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Ferrous Sulfate:
Contains iron. (Gee, what a shock)
Komatsu Floodlight:
This floodlight is capable of illuminating large areas, even in the dark. (And here I thought a floodlight caused a flood)
Energizer AAA 4 Pack:
If swallowed, promptly see doctor. (How do they expect me to change my internal batteries then?)
Mattress:
Warning: Do not attempt to swallow. (This is, I believe, a form of natural selection)
I had a tube of toothpaste before that read:
“If more than a pea sized amount is swallowed, seek professional help.”
I understand what they mean, but the wording seems to suggest that compulsive toothpaste eating should be treated by a psychologist rather than “this stuff is bad for you if you swallow it.”
Not really a stupid warning label, but one I’ve always liked…
I bouught a bass drum pedal once that came with an orange and black sticker wrapped around it that said, “Please Read And Try To Understand Instructions Before Using.”
Which raises the possibility of an interesting game: Write letters to companies and see if you can get odd warning labels to show up on their products.