"There's no reason this should have happened to my daughter," said Alison Pregliasco, Lexi's mother. "She was holding onto the rail...I heard her screaming and tried to pull her foot out and it wouldn't come out and the escalator just kept going down. And, I just started screaming at the top of my lungs, 'Somebody stop this thing, somebody stop this thing. We have to make it stop.'"

Pregliasco said it took 15 minutes to get her daughter's right foot out of the escalator. EMTs took the child to the hospital, where doctors put pins in her foot and performed surgery to clean bones and remove contaminated skin.

"Three broken toes, two pretty severely broken, the other is just a hairline fracture," said Pregliasco. "The toe was severed down to the bone and they called it a 'dirty wound' because they had escalator grease in there."

Crocs is currently being sued over a similar incident. The company responded to that lawsuit by saying that they "take escalator safety seriously."

The CPSC recently issued a warning about "some shoes" causing more risk of entrapment on escalators than others, but were careful not to specify which brand of shoes they were talking about.

CPSC is aware of 77 entrapment incidents since January 2006, with about half resulting in injury. All but two of the incidents involved popular soft-sided flexible clogs and slides.

Girl, 3, Injured On Airport Escalator [WSBTV](Thanks, Ryan!)

Everyday Living Bleach, sold exclusively by Fred Meyer and QFC, should not be returned to the store.

From Fred Meyer:

The Everyday Living Bleach involved in the recall was on the shelves beginning January 17. It includes 96 oz. bottles of the regular, citrus and mountain blend bleaches as well as 128 oz. bottles of the regular bleach.
If you purchased the product, you should put the bleach in a garbage bag, and place it in a second bag if the container looks bulged.

Please don't attempt to take this item back to a store. Instead, move the item to an area where it won't cause damage and contact the manufacturer, KIK Customer Product, at 800-479-6603 ext. 656.

Please be ready to provide the UPC number, description, size and sell-by date on the bottle.

Arrangements will be made for the manufacturer to come and pick up the bagged bleach.

If the UPC number or the sell-by date cannot be viewed without touching the bottle, but was purchased after January 17, simply bag the product and call the manufacturer.

Yikes.

Fred Meyer, QFC recall bleach with potential to explode [Seattle Times]
PRODUCT RECALL: Everyday Living Bleach [Fred Meyer]
(Photo:Getty)

Well, that's not good.

From the AP:

Passengers can still check baggage with lithium batteries if they are installed in electronic devices, such as cameras, cell phones and laptop computers. If packed in plastic bags, batteries may be in carryon baggage. The limit is two batteries per passenger.

Baggage Ban on Batteries Begins [AP]

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan sent a second letter Friday to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urging a law banning magnets in children's toys.

The letters follow the Tribune series "Hidden Hazards," which revealed how the understaffed and sluggish commission fails to protect children from dangers in toys and other products.

Earlier this year, the Tribune reported the agency's botched recall of Magnetix Magnetic Building Sets and the death of a child who swallowed magnets that fell out of the toys. This week, the Tribune reported on the dangers posed by loose magnets in children's jewelry.

Millions of toys have been recalled this year due to design flaws in which toys can break and release dangerous magnets.

Attorney general again urges ban on toy magnets [Chicago Tribune]

She grabbed her new Casio G'zOne phone from Verizon Wireless, which to her horror made an audible alarm when she called 911.

Fearing vandals were still on the property, she hung up and hid, then put her hand over the earpiece and dialed again to muffle the sounds.

"I was afraid the criminals were down the driveway and they would hear and they would know somebody was doing something and they would come out to stop me," she said.

"The tone our customer experienced is our interpretation of Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act calling for a provider of telecommunications service to offer service that is accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities."

"The Commission has not implemented any rules pursuant to Section 255 that would require the use of any tones concerning 911 calls."

Verizon customer calls phone alarm 'dangerous' [KVUE News]
(Photo: mellomango)

The Simplicity crib models with recalled hardware include: Aspen 3 in 1, Aspen 4 in 1, Nursery-in-a-Box, Crib N Changer Combo, Chelsea and Pooh 4 in 1. The recall also involves the following Simplicity cribs that used the Graco logo: Aspen 3 in 1, Ultra 3 in 1, Ultra 4 in 1, Ultra 5 in 1, Whitney and the Trio.

When assembled incorrectly the cribs had a dangerous gap that could (and did) cause suffocation and death.

If you feel that the condition of your crib will not be helped by a repair kit, call Simplicity at (800) 858-8323.

Repair Kits Ready To Be Sent To Parents and Caregivers With Recalled Simplicity Cribs [CPSC]

PREVIOUSLY: Did The Chicago Tribune Embarrass The CPSC Into Recalling A Million Cribs?

FRAMINGHAM A Framingham couple hasn't been able to use their bathroom lately - because their new blue glass sink exploded. It reportedly blew up over the weekend and no one seems to know why...The president of the company that sold the sink to Stoll, Renovator's Supply of Millers Falls, told the paper they've sold thousands of glass sinks in the last three years and this is only the second time one has exploded.

Glass Sink Explodes In Framingham Home [WBZ] (Thanks to Jennifer!)

Why?

Because babies don't understand that eating a bunch of magnets will cause them to die, and it's really hard to explain it to them. It's probably easier to just not buy them.

From Consumer Reports:

Given the ongoing problems with these toys, and the potential for serious injury or death, we continue to recommend that parents avoid all magnetic toys if there are young children in their home. We also recommend caution when purchasing products made for adults that may contain strong magnets (such as those used on some bulletin boards). Many of these are small and colorful and could easily be swallowed by children.

So if you do have very small children who are not yet at an age where they know what not to put in their mouths, you might want to stay away from magnets.

Latest toy recall raises additional concern over magnets [Consumer Reports]

"During the 5-year period 2001-2005, an average of approximately 37,000 patients with injuries related to nail-gun use were treated annually in emergency departments, with 40 percent of injuries occurring among consumers," the report read.

Emergency departments treated three times as many consumers with nail-gun injuries in 2005 as they did in 1991, the report noted.

Nailguns taking out weekend warriors [CNN]
(Photo: Velo Steve)

From ABC 7 Denver:

A man claiming to be with Comcast stood on the doorsteps of a house in Pepperwood Lane last Wednesday night and told the resident that he was coming to pick up a cable box, authorities said.

The resident told the man that he had problems with his cable before but it had been restored. The resident was suspicious not only because it was 9 p.m., but also because the man had no identification that said he was with Comcast, was not wearing a uniform and was driving a car that didn't have any Comcast logos on it.

The suspicious man was carrying brochures with the name Comcast on it but they appeared to be photo copies, the resident said. The resident told authorities that the impersonator got nervous when the dogs started barking and he jumped in his car and fled.

Deputies Look For Cable Guy Impersonator [abc 7 Denver]
(Photo:mmarchin)

Consumer Reports recalls car seat study [CNN]

PREVIOUSLY: Most Car Seats "Fail Disastrously" In Crash Tests

Oh you diabolical bastards! Does Time Warner deny this alleged chicanery? Oh, not at all. "Time Warner Cable "acknowledged" the practice and "assured" AT&T it would take steps to discontinue the wire cuts." God, AT&T, you just had to ask them to stop cutting your cables, you didn't need to get all litigious about it. Get a sense of humor, already! —MEGHANN MARCO

AT&T Claims Sabotage by Cabler[Broadcast Newsroom]

In case you were wondering, the Times tells us that this is because nearly everyone uses a bed and fewer people use bicycles. But you knew that. — MEGHANN MARCO(Thanks, Morgen!)

Who Americans Are and What They Do, in Census Data [New York Times]

Also included is the Fisher Price "Lil Snoopy", A Superman Lamp, and Fear Factor Candy Challenge (Yes, a candy eating contest for children. Best idea ever.) Check out the rest of the terrifying list!—MEGHANN MARCO

W.A.T.C.H. Worst Toys of 2006 [W.A.T.C.H. via BoingBoing]

If you have a product mess up on you in a potentially dangerous way, be sure to let the Consumer Product Safety commission know. Here's their digits:

Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington, DC 20207
Toll free: 1-800-638-CPSC
TDD toll free: 1-800-638-8270
Fax: 301-504-0051
email: info@cpsc.gov
www.cpsc.gov

And when you see that melting window recall on local TV, it's okay to feel that glimmer of pride massage your chest.