Warnings for Morons

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LOL that was hilarious
It sucks that people sue over such small things

Maybe i should sue SP for taking up my free time?

[ November 18, 2002, 01:07: Message edited by: jesper898 ]

 

I've seen Sleeping Pills... CAUTION: May cause drowsiness...

 

The worst ones these days are the warnings on cigarette packs. makes you feel like you're already dead and buried.

 

I was at a friends house recently, and I saw this warning on his window screen:

WARNING! Keep children away. This screen will not stop a small child from falling out.

 

Hmmm.

Laches, was that aimed at me?

 

here's a few that are on the back of my children's exersaucer (it's like a walker, but has a bottom so all they can do is stand and jump while they're in it.)
"never use as a flotation device. Never use as a sled. Do not fill saucer with water. Keep child away from ranges, radiators, space heaters, fireplaces."
DUH. I still think we need to have a certified test that people are required to take before becoming a parent. Question one...when is it acceptable to allow a small child near your stove?

 

The whole label thing is getting way out of hand. I remember this one case I read about in class...

Basically this guy is refinishing the floor in his basement. The can of lacquer (or whatever it is you use to finish floors) had three labels on it "Warning! Flammable!" "Keep away from open flame" and a third one whose wording I don't recall. Anyways, he's doing his finishing job... 18 inches away from his gas heater... never turned out the pilot light... KABOOM! So he sues the company that made the stuff. Of course, he won. The ruling said the labels were not big enough and said that "open flame" was too vague and did not clearly indicate that pilot lights were considered to be open flame.

*sigh*

[addendum]
Supreme Court of Canada, Lambert vs. Lastoplex Chemicals and Barwood Sales if anyone is interested
[/addendum]

[ November 18, 2002, 07:15: Message edited by: JohnnyRTFM ]

 

I recently read about this in one of my mothers mags...
Twas like:
Warning sign on toilet: Do not drink from this toilet.
Note on an iron: Do not touch the flat metallic side on this iron, might burn you.
Warning sign on a pram: Do not "fälla ihop" this pram when your child is in it.
aso..
Will edit this post soon. I am in a hurry.

 

I'm happy I can say that in germany he would have lost that case JohnnyRTFM mentioned - here a lawyer fortunately has 1 to 5 judges (depending on the difficulty and "price" of the case), professional lawyers, to impress and to convince - not a jury. I think "flammable" and "keep away from open fire" would be considered exact enough for a sane, thinking human beeing.

On the other hand, the freaks who sue the company in such cases sometimes really had bad luck, they perhaps fried themselves in a freak accident and now are crippled for life - understandable the miserable, bandaged guy in the wheelchair emotionally impresses the jury, maybe enough for a "what a poor dude" decision. They want to help.

It is an open secret that juries are easily influenced. A schoolfriend of mine who's working for a large german company told me that a european company usually looses patent right lawsuits in the US because of patriotic juries. Such is life, but justice is different.

[ November 18, 2002, 14:39: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

 

Hmmmm.

Maybe we should be more like Germany.

 

I am with Laches here.
I wonder if anyone really cares about anything but the easy second hand information? Geez. I recommend people to get used to do a little research on their own. Just five minutes or so. With internet try different links. Notice the website's name. Is it trustworty? Is the website just lookig at the story from one side? A little critisism of your own is healthy. Don't call it netiquette call it netucation

Just some helping words to you youngster of SP. Its not about finding the truth. Its about having integrity. Mark that phrase. Something, all else aside, kids and teenagers have to learn or experince and something adults have to teach or guide or show.

[ November 18, 2002, 17:26: Message edited by: Nobleman ]

 

<LOUD APPLAUSE>

 

There have been many, many stupid cases like that here in the U.S., but they get overexagerated with the retellings. Some of these cases are actually logical law cases. For example, about a warning on toasters, they did not put any recommendation to clean the bottom out occasionaly, and a friend of mine's house burned down because stuff built up in the bottom, and it caught fire.

 

One thing that is really absurd is that in some states you can drive and get married at the age of 15 but you still can't legally use an elevator...

 

Yes...Rewards for being stupid...I'm sure there's big money in setting up people around the place who are "sterile" from warnings and are just supposed to do tons of stupid things and then go to court over the issues...I'm sure burning your own house down nowadays will get you more money than winning a nobel prize...
BTW: Now i realize why the last toaster i got had a whole booklet full of "Do not use to dry clothes..." or "Do not place beneath drapes..."

 

I'm with Laches on this one. Yes, the warnings are stupid. Yes, what they profess should be self evident. The truth, however, is that without these "warnings for morons," as stupid as they may seem, we would have near-constant litigation from these fools. Yes, as Tal said, it's an evolutionary step backwards, but without them, the world would be a worse place.

P.S. Check out this thread...
http://www.sorcerers.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=002435

[ November 19, 2002, 04:56: Message edited by: SlimShogun ]

 

It's all part of the 'compensation culture' that has sprung up these days, and yep, these people who take others to court over things like not realising the jam in a Pop Tart would be hot, or that coffee is meant to served hot are the ones whose cases highlight these fundamental flaws in any system. I mean, did that woman expect her coffee to be served chilled or what? I'd be willing to stake money that the woman would have complained if it was colder than tempreture and probablt tried to sue for making her sensitive teeth hurt. For each person like this who dies from stupidity we should celebrate, because they're morons and have removed themselves from the gene pool.
Whats next? People suing their loved ones LSD supplier because their loved one thought they could fly and jumped out of a building? They should have taken off from the ground first and tried it out, you don't see ducks queing for lifts to get up to the top of a building to fly south!

(last part almost but not quite what Bill Hicks says in his comedy rutines, got find them and watch reason hold sway) (and don't try to sue him because his material made your side hurt from laughing, he passed away)

 

Oh for God's sake people, read the link SlimShogun provided before talking about that "stupid woman who didn't know coffee is meant to be hot." That's the second time in just this thread. Makes me wonder whether everything being said is based on myth or fact.

Serenity Now!