did you know there is an annual "wacky warning contest"?
This year’s winner is a submission from Steve Shiflett of Hampton, Georgia. The label is attached to a portable toilet seat for outdoorsmen called “The Off-Road Commode” because it is designed to attach to a vehicle’s trailer hitch.
The warning label reads "Not for use on moving vehicles".
Other winners include: A wart removal product instruction guide that warns, “Do not use if you cannot see clearly to read the information in the information booklet.”
A label on the underside of a cereal bowl warns, “Always use this product with adult supervision.”
A small, 1” x 4” LCD panel warns, “Do not eat the LCD panel.”
A bag of livestock castration rings warns, “For animal use only.”
When the tally was completed, a warning label on a washing machine that warns, “Do not put any person in this washer” was chosen as the nation’s wackiest warning label. Bob Wilkinson of Northville, Michigan won the $500 grand prize.
Other 2007 winners:Second place was awarded to a label on a personal watercraft that warns: “Never use a lit match or open flame to check fuel level.”
Third place went to a warning on a cell phone that says: “Don’t try to dry your phone in a microwave oven.”
An honorable mention was given to a warning on the cover of a Yellow Pages book which cautions users: “Please do not use this directory while operating a moving vehicle.”
I think one should have to pass a test prior to being seated on a jury if lawsuits are prevailing in such cases that these warning labels must be applied to limit a company's liability. People are STUPID! And I have no patience for that. A generation ago, judges and juries at least had a little common sense to filter out this crap.
This stuff is funny, but, in a way, is sickening. BTW, check out
www.wackywarnings.com
How nice, a diagram of what "open" and "closed" is. As if the warning against putting people in a washer wasn't bad enough.
Kathleen Robinson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 after she broke her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running amok in a furniture store. The twist: the child was Mrs. Robinson's own son.
Now, I mention this because there should be a warning to read while entering the store:"Don't trip over son"
A man left asleep on an aircraft after it landed sued U.S. Airlines for negligence. Apparently, he suffered mental and emotional distress when he awoke, because he assumed the plane had crashed and that he was actually dead.
Of course, another warning is in order, "Don't sleep on plane because you might dream you have crashed and died and may have emotional problems the rest of your life"
Did you know it was illegal in Maine to step out of a plane while it is in the air? yep, true.
That warning was selected Wednesday as the winner of the 11th annual "Wacky Warning Label Contest," sponsored by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch. The contest is part of an effort to show the effects of lawsuits on warning labels.
Kevin Soave, of the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, won the $500 grand prize for submitting the tractor's "Danger: Avoid Death" label.
The $250 second place was given to Carrianne, Jacob and Robby Turin, of Greensburg, Pa., for a label on an iron-on T-shirt transfer that warns: "Do not iron while wearing shirt."
Richard Goodnow, of Lancaster, Mass., earned the $100 third-place prize for a label on a baby stroller featuring a small storage pouch that warns: "Do not put child in bag."
Contest organizer Bob Dorigo Jones said the labels reflect the "ridiculous" state of the U.S. civil-justice system.
"Predatory lawyers know they can file ridiculous lawsuits against innocent product makers and blackmail them into a cash settlement, even in cases in which a user has ignored common sense," Dorigo Jones said Wednesday.
Honorable mention went to Cyndi LaMonde, of Traverse City, for a label on a letter opener that says: "Caution: Safety goggles recommended."
Ann Marie Young, of Fillmore, N.Y., took second honorable mention for a warning that cautions users: "The Vanishing Fabric Marker should not be used as a writing instrument for signing checks or any legal documents."
The warning label on a five-inch fishing lure with a three-pronged hook says, 'Harmful if swallowed
What's next, warnings on microwaves, "don't dry babies in microwave".
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