| Prior Date | Archive Index | Next Date |
|
WITandWISDOM(tm) - July 7, 2004 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "You can build a throne out of bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long." - Boris Yeltsin Source: Heart Touchers, http://www.hearttouchers.com ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Nanguo Morning Post says a Nanning woman, known as Wang, was surprised to be offered a seat as soon as she got on a bus, and to see all the passengers smiling at her. She was finally shown the note on her back which read: "Please look after the pregnant woman.'' From the handwriting, Wang knew that it was her husband's doing. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Warning Labels Part 2 of 2 [Jul 1, 7] You have probably heard about the lawsuit over a spilled cup of coffee. However, there are many other silly lawsuits involving products that have received far less attention. For example, did you know a man received $50,000 when he sued a small company that makes basketball nets because he claimed the company was responsible when he caught his teeth in a net while dunking a ball? People who make products hear about these outrageous lawsuits, and they often decide to slap common sense warnings on their product... "just in case." In 1997, Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-LAW) began a contest to expose how frivolous lawsuits, and a concern about potential frivolous lawsuits, have led to a new cultural phenomenon: the wacky warning label. Over the years, M-LAW has received hundreds of warning labels from people around the world. M-LAW verifies the authenticity of each label and selects the "Top 5" for each year. Following is a list of some of the best labels from the first five contests: A container of underarm deodorant says, "Caution: Do not spray in eyes" A cartridge for a laser printer warns, "Do not eat toner" A household iron warns users: "Never iron clothes while they are being worn" A label with a hair dryer reads, "Never use hair dryer while sleeping" A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns: "Not intended for highway use" A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, "Do not drive with sunshield in place" A Bathroom Heater says: "This product is not to be used in bathrooms" A can of self-defense pepper spray warns users: "May irritate eyes" A warning on a pair of shin guards manufactured for bicyclists says: "Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover." A popular manufactured fireplace log warns: "Caution - Risk of Fire" A box of birthday cake candles says: "DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity. Submitted by John L. Hoh, Jr., http://www.geocities.com/hohjohn/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A large defense plant in Maryland needed an assistant to the chief accountant. The advertisement read: "This is not an executive position, therefore, it necessitates considerable work." By Neil Eskelin in Neil Eskelin's Daily Jump Start(tm), Copyright (c) 2003 ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: "The Principal of a school in Schwabmünchen, near Augsburg, took unusual steps to make sexily-dressed teenage girls tone down their clothing," reported the newspaper Südkurier on 17th March 2004. Girls who dress too sexily are given an oversized pink T-shirt to wear, displaying the Leonhard Wagner school logo. The "chastity shirts," as one newspaper called them, are a first in German schools. They reach down to most of the 500 girls' knees, and that is no accident, because miniskirts are taboo. Principal Hans Lippert says "The girls' stomachs must be covered. It's also not acceptable for their trousers or skirts to hang low, revealing their underwear." It's not about morals, but about the boys' performance: "I think everyone realizes that the boys' concentration drops to about zero when they have a half-naked girl sitting in front of them." So far, he's pleased with the results. "The girls clothe themselves more modestly since we started handing out the T- Shirts." The parents were informed of the decision before it was introduced: "They supported it almost unanimously." Source: FridayFax, mailto:e-fridayfax-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org |