# The infamous chainsaw story - UL or not?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 28, 2000, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975 "2000-11-28T03:52:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@adamsc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adamsc)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/1 "2000-11-28T03:52:19Z")
I’m sure most people reading this have seen the story below or some variant. Has anyone ever found out whether it really happened? I’ve done a bit of searching and have found many, many nearly identical joke pages but nothing resembling an authoritative source.
A Norwegian friend of mine told me that a Swedish chainsaw manufacturer began marketing their product in the US, with an English language manual noticeably larger than the Swedish or Norwegian versions. News commentators explained with great humor in a report that this was because of all the additional warnings, including (they pointed out specifically) “Do not attempt to stop the chainsaw with your hand.” This was made even more humorous a couple of years later, when they were saved a pile of money in a lawsuit brought by a U.S. citizen who was injured stopping the chainsaw with his hand. He was unable to collect, since the manual specifically warned against it.
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### Author:  [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/2 "2000-11-28T03:55:52Z")
I don’t know, but there is an oft-quoted Far Eastern (China or Taiwan, don’t remember) chainsaw warning “Do not attempt to stop chain with genitals” :eek:
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### Author:  [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/3 "2000-11-28T04:20:39Z")
I don’t know about chainsaws, but I **do** have a Primo wheedwhacker, bought in Italy and made in Hong Kong, with the warning “Do not try to stop the blades with hands or genitals” in the booklet.
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### Author:  [@jcarbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcarbon)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/4 "2000-11-28T04:43:52Z")
I received a coffee mug as a present that had as a warning “Do not fill beyond capacity”. I’m still trying to figure out how to do that. I like living on the edge.
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/5 "2000-11-28T04:51:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by adamsc \*
> \*\*This was made even more humorous a couple of years later, when they were saved a pile of money in a lawsuit brought by a U.S. citizen who was injured stopping the chainsaw with his hand. He was unable to collect, since the manual specifically warned against it. \*\*
Note that regardless of the warnings in the manual or on the saw, in a US court it is still very possible for someone in this situation to not only sue, but to win big too. Warning labels no not remove liability as seen by a jury, they only _reduce_ the chance that the jury will find the manufacturer liable. Sad, but true.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/6 "2000-11-28T04:53:21Z")
Well, as long as we’re swapping stories…
I’m sure I told you about the fireworks I bought last year that warned, “for outdoor use only”. I read this just in the nick of time. We’d already moved the furniture out of the way and been clearing a space on the livingroom rug.
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/7 "2000-11-28T05:06:55Z")
My [Product liability suit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=17937) thread.
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### Author:  [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2000, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/8 "2000-11-28T11:17:33Z")
Damn! Why didn’t I read this yesterday?
_Astro is used to typing with one hand… but the genitalia thing **really** hurt!!_
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-infamous-chainsaw-story-ul-or-not/42975/9 "2022-11-16T01:43:50Z")
> [@Lumpy](#):
>
> My [Product liability suit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=17937) question.
updated link: [Product liability suit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-liability-suit/13095)