The BBC and snopes.com/my way report (with pictures) on a warning notice on a washing machine, ‘Do not put any person in this washer’.
I have to admit I can’t see the harm in giving such warnings, just because some people think they’re obvious. It seems that books with collections of such trivia sell well, though. These finance the work of M-Law, a Michigan organization against frivolous litigation.
My Way News writes:
A spokeswoman for the manufacturer said the washer warning label is far from wacky.
“A front loader is just at the right height – speaking now as a mother and not a corporate spokeswoman – for a 4-year-old,” said Patti Andresen-Shew, marketing director for Alliance Laundry Systems LLC in Ripon, Wis.
She said there have been lawsuits filed against companies – “fortunately not ours” – after small children got into coin-operated laundry equipment and an older child started the machine.
The Center for Justice and Democracy, a group fighting legislation to limit the right to sue, said warning labels play a vital role in protecting the public.
“Often, it is only through lawsuits brought by injured consumers that manufacturers have been forced to place critical warning labels on dangerous products, saving millions of lives and preventing innumerable injuries,” it said in a statement.
Anyway, they can’t stop me if I really want to.
(Thanks to Volkmar Hirantner – also seen in RA-Blog)
>>Do not put any person in this washer’.
Happy New Year to you too, Paul.
We’re assuming ‘washer’ means ‘washing machine’, are we? Otherwise it could be ‘Do not put any washer in this person’.
Perhaps these labels are more urgently required than we think (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5250442.stm).