wackiest warning label of the year:

[Anonymous]

From New Scientist's Feedback column:


Here are the winnners of the M-LAW competition for wackiest warning label of the year:

1st prize
Do not use for personal hygiene - on a toilet brush

2nd prize
This product moves when used - from a child's scooter

Previous winners have included:
* Remove child before folding - on a baby's buggy
* Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally - on a digital thermometer
* Never remove food or other items from the blades while the
product is operating - on an electric hand blender
* Harmful if swallowed - on a three-pronged brass fishing lure.
* Do not use this product as a toy, pillow, or flotation device - on a bag of air used as a packing material
* Do not use as a ladder - on a 30cm tall CD rack
* Never iron clothes while they are being worn - on a household iron
* Do not use the Silence Feature in emergency situations. It will not extinguish a fire - on a smoke detector
* Do not eat toner - on a laser printer cartridge
* And on a pair of cyclist's shin guards - Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover.

 

[Bean]

Which planet do the people who write these come from :shock:

Bean

 

[Taffy Turner]

My favourite is "May contain nuts" on the back of a packet of salted peanuts!

Why only "may" - what else could it possibly contain???????

 

[Guest]

Bean, It's not the people who write these warnings but the people they feel need warning that bother me.

 

[Bean]

jaymar, youre right. I suddenly feel frightened :shock:


Bean

 

[Anonymous]

IT's because people sue.

There's that daft woman in the US that complained that her coffee burnt her becuase it was too hot :shock:

 

[Terry Smart]

What worries me as much as the fact that people need the warning is that there is a culture which allows people to claim negligence on the part of the goods and services supplier for not stating the obvious.
There are lots of apocryphal stories on the web, but for some more reading check http://www.stellaawards.com.

Too many people these days are too quick to look for someone else to blame when something goes wrong... and then try to make money from it!

As Dire Straits said 'when you point your finger 'cos your plan fell through, You've got three more fingers pointing at you'.

 

[Gill]

Holland & Barratt sell a nut and seed mix called 'Salad Sprinkle'. On the back of the packet it details the ingredients as being:

Hulled Sunflower Seeds (50%)
Pumpkin Seeds (30%)
Pine Kernals (20%)

There are also the following warnings:

'This poduct is packed in a factory where nuts and sesame seeds are handled'
'Due to the natural origin of this product hand sort before consumption'.

I ask you!

Gill

 

[Steve Maskery]

It always puzzles me why tins of paint say Stir Well Before Use. Wouldn't it be better to say Stir Immediately Before Use?

On the other hand the advice to Keep Away From Children has always struck me as being sensible in just about any circumstance.

Cheers
Steve

 

[cambournepete]

On the other hand the advice to Keep Away From Children has always struck me as being sensible in just about any circumstance.

Agreed Steve - and as they say on match boxes - "keep dry and away from children". I've always thought that's excellent advice (although more tricky now we have a 2-year-old)

Peete

 

[tim]

Here's one for you - not exactly a warning label but a product descriptor:

On Peperami - contains more than 100% meat. :shock:

If you're good, I'll tell you how that can be true.

T

 

[trevtheturner]

Like Heinz Tomato Ketchup - tomatoes 125g per 100g ketchup! :roll:

(looks odd, doesn't it - but obviously a considerable liquid loss during processing, at least to make room for all the other stuff they add).

Trev.

 

[Signal]

My favourite is off the back of a packet of sea salt I bought in Tescos.

Big essay explaining how the salt is collected from a salt pan left of from a sea which dried up a squillion years ago.

Then they stamp it with a best before date :roll:

Signal

 

[RogerS]

** Warning - contains fish.**

Seen on the back of a Waitrose Smoked Salmon pack.



On a separate Waitrose 'beef', have you noticed how they introduced a new range of 'Perfectly Ripe' fruit. Excuse me, Mr Manager, could the rest of your duff fruit be ripe and taste of summat as well.

M&S fruit and veg - premium product at reasonable price

Waitrose - second rate product at a premium price IMHO

 

[Losos]

On the subject of people suing - I once worked alongside an American guy who rented his house while he was overseas. The 'tennants' (Who seemed perfectly nice when he showed them the place) never paid their rent on time, had numerous 'rave' parties which upset the neighbours, and finally with over six months rent due they managed to set fire to the house which was destroyed (Timber clad type) But that's not all folks! The piece de resistance was that they then sued him for having an 'unsafe' type of house!!!

 

[Anonymous]

IT's because people sue.

There's that daft woman in the US that complained that her coffee burnt her becuase it was too hot :shock:

I'll agree the US legal system isn't perfect (having lived here for 38 years; 39 in 12 days!), but this old yarn needs some untangling.

The full story is here, but here are some facts in the case.

* The woman suffered 3rd degree burns from this, on over 6% of her body.
* She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting.
* During discovery, McDonalds produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992.


There are many other interesting tidbits in that article, generally relating to the temperature (physically too hot to drink), WHY it was too hot (which was shown to be in error), and the fact the media sensationalized this case to the point of outright lies (shocking, I know).