I knew there was something wrong...
Jan. 6th, 2005 02:02 pmApparently, I should not have been using the large brush in the
bathroom as a loofa and personal feminin cleaner. I did notice that it
didn't exactly fit. Come to think of it, that blue disc with a picture of
a toilet on the packaging might be the reason my skin has taken on a blue
tinge. I need to start reading the package warnings.
Thu Jan 6, 7:31 AM ET |
By DAVID N. GOODMAN, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT - The sign on the
toilet brush says it best: "Do not use for personal hygiene."
That admonition was the winner of
an anti-lawsuit group's contest for the wackiest consumer warning label of
the year.
The
sponsor, Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, says the goal is "to reveal
how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common
sense warnings on products."
The $500 first prize went to Ed
Gyetvai, of Oldcastle, Ontario, who submitted the toilet-brush label. A
$250 second prize went to Matt Johnson, of Naperville, Ill., for a label
on a children's scooter that said, "This product moves when
used."
A
$100 third prize went to Ann Marie Taylor, of Camden, S.C., who submitted
a warning from a digital thermometer that said, "Once used rectally,
the thermometer should not be used orally."
This year's contest coincides with a
drive by President Bush (news - web sites) and congressional
Republicans to put caps and other limits on jury awards in liability
cases.
"Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued
times," said group President Robert Dorigo Jones. "From the
moment we raise our head in the morning off pillows that bear those famous
Do Not Remove warnings, to when we drop back in bed at night, we are
overwhelmed with warnings."
The leader of a group that opposes
the campaign to limit lawsuits admits that while some warning labels may
seem stupid, even dumb warnings can do good.
"There are many cases of
warning labels saving lives," said Joanne Doroshow, executive
director of the Center for Justice and Democracy in New York. "It's
much better to be very cautious ... than to be afraid of being made fun of
by a tort reform group."
The Wacky Warning Label Contest is
in its eighth year.