"I was cooking dinner and I brought these out and I opened them up," he said. "That's our little friend right there. And that clearly is a mouse."

NBC says that when he called Arnold bread, the company that made the buns, they told him that he didn't need to call the store where he bought the item. But he did anyway.

From KARE 11:

The IBM executive says he doesn't want money from this ordeal, just answers and action.

Bruce says "that's certainly noticeable. I mean, somebody should have seen that. It got put into a bag."

So he called Arnold bread but says they told him not to call the Concord store where he bought the buns.

Bruce says "she told me, 'ah no, you don't need to call BJ's, just send it back to us.'"

But he says, he worried about other customers.

Bruce says "mice don't travel in isolation. The travel with other mice and if one mouse got in, others could've."

BJ's Wholesale apparently worried, too. They pulled all bread products made at the same Florida factory where these buns came from.

Bruce says "other consumers should be concerned about this. How did it get there? Is it the only one?"

That's a damn good question, Bruce.

Man finds mouse parts baked into hot dog buns [KARE 11] (Thanks, Mike!)

Complaints litter the internet about this company and its ilk. Some say that if you're lucky, you end up with a stack of shoddily-made DVDs, a documentary that never airs at all, and none of the promised PR.

And after one blogger, Leslie Richards, a small eco-fashion business owner, wrote about an attempted shakedown by Vision Media Television, they sued her for $20 million, saying the blog post cost them $5 million in lost business and seeking $15 million in punitive damages.

The lawsuit is filed in the Southern District of Florida, a bit of a problem for her as she's based in North Carolina and doesn't have a car or much money. Leslie told the Mountain Xpress, “Who has $20 million? At $20 million, legal-aid organizations generally won’t help you. Since it’s filed in the Southern District of Florida, not a lot of lawyers here are licensed to practice there...I don’t have a car, I don’t have money, so we’re trying to get it transferred here so I can find someone to represent me pro bono."

Any pro-bono lawyers out there who want to help Leslie out can contact her at info@theokobox.com.

Vision Media Television defends its actions, saying that it only distributes the programs to public television stations, which air them at their "discretion," and blames its "customers" for confusing public television with PBS. Judging by the fact that PBS has an explicit disclaimer on its website denying any relationship between itself and Vision Media Television and other similar groups, this appears to be a confusion that Vision Media Television is not, shall we say, working very hard to erase.

Other production groups to watch out for: New Line Media TV, New Line Media, Platinum Television Group, PTG Studios, Paradigm Media Group, PMG, PMGTV, Infinity Media Group, Roadshow Productions, Family Television Studios, United Media Communications Group, American Review TV, Business Break TV, Event Media TV, and Global Television Studios.

I wonder if Vision Media Television, based in Boca Raton, Florida, a known haven for spammers, scammers, telemarketers,identity thieves, and other various ne're-do-wellers, will also be suing the New York Times, which just ran an article exposing the company and its brethren.

Scam Taking Advantage of Green Businesses [The Öko Box]
Company Pitches a Television Production, and Nonprofit Groups Are Wary [NYT]
Local Business Owner Sued For 20 Million Over Blog Post [Mountainx]
Blogger Sued 20 Million [Blogher]
Eco Clothing Store Owner Sued For 20m After Exposing Scam [Earthfirst]
Platinum Television Group Complaints [Ripoff Report]
New Line Media Complaints [Ripoff Report]

A representative of Lettuce Entertain You denies Franz's allegations, but documents filed with Franz's lawsuit indicate that a pathologist found that the tapeworm could have only come from undercooked fish.

Man Says 9-Foot Tapeworm Came From Undercooked Salmon Salad [Chicago Sun-Times]

Thanks to Mark!

There I am going pee in Wendy's by my office when a Wendy's employee comes into the bathroom and goes into the stall to pee. I wash my hands, dry them and exit as I hear a flush. I get about 3 seconds out of the bathroom and guess who comes out of the bathroom! I'm in gross shock at this point but I think "Ok maybe he's going on break and he will wash after he smokes ones..."WRONG! He not only went behind the counter he started handling fries! So what do I do? "Excuse me, I would like to see your manager.""Um Larry, this guy wants you!... I don't know he wants a manager!"Larry the manager comes to the counter and about 5 employees are eyes glued! Including Mr. Dirty Hands Fry-man."Yeah that guy right there working the fries with the mustache, he was just in the bathroom at the same time I was and he left without washing his hands."

The room fell SILENT!

About 6 people were standing at the counter waiting for their food, plus 10 people sitting close enough to hear this, plus the onlooking employees, INCLUDING Mr. Dirty Hands Fry-man.Now Mr. Dirty Hands Fry-man had this look on his face that can only be explained as a look that said "YOU SON OF A !!!" Without actually saying a word. Fearing he might come over the counter or throw something at my head I bid them farewell. "I'll just go to Burger King." I watched over my shoulder the whole way and I am pleased to say that I saw a couple of familiar faces at Burger King a few minutes later.

Chalk one up for customers!

Sure, he could have spoken privately to the manager to handle it more discreetly. Or filed a complaint with the Health Inspector. But I'll bet you every worker at that Wendy's washes their hands after using the bathroom now.

Reminds me of a scene from a Seinfeld episode:

Health Inspector: Are you Poppie?
POPPIE: I'm Poppie.
Health Inspector: I think you'd better come with me.
POPPIE: What's the problem?
(Poppie leaves with the Health Inspector)
AUDREY: What do they want from Poppie?
JERRY: Well, Poppie's a little sloppy.

See? Not quite as dramatic.

Mr. Dirty-hands Fry-man [Where is everybody???]

Here's Joanna:

I was personally contacted by an executive at Viacom, who explained how my film got mixed into their system. Juxtaposer was in a film festival that was presented by Nicktoons, which is of course a Viacom company. They offered selections of the festival as downloadable content, and Juxtaposer was one of them. They just forgot that Viacom's rights to those films were all nonexclusive. He personally assured me that Viacom is no longer making a claim to my film and YouTube should be sending me documents affirming that shortly.

I don't think this would have been over with nearly as fast if not for the publicity I got from your post. This could have been a nightmare, but it wasn't. Count this one a success!

Score one for the little guy.

Viacom Apologizes! [Channel Federator Raw]
PREVIOUSLY: Viacom Fraudulently Claims Ownership Of Indie Filmmakers' YouTube Clips

Joanna is, of course, disputing the claim.

The video is still up, but now Viacom gets access to her video statistics. The worst part is the fear Joanna has that something she slaved and sweat over could be taken away from her. "I'm just a scared that my little film will be lost in the shadow of the hulking monolith...," she wrote on her blog. Also on her blog is a comment by another filmmaker indicating Joanna isn't the only filmmaker Viacom has fraudulently targeted in this manner.

YouTube used to be cool but the site allowing actions like this show how much it's become just another co-opted drek-hole... all because they're too cheap to hire enough people to vet either the uploads or the corporate takedowns.

Below, a screenshot of the creepy and baseless stake-claiming.

Viacom Wants To Steal My Film [Channel Federator Raw]
Juxtaposer [YouTube]

"360 Steak N Shake" [NCCSites.com] (Thanks to Eric!)

From the UPI:

Officials said tests revealed the roach found on the take-out meatlovers pizza was cooked alive with the pie.

Yum! brands, the U.S. operator of the Pizza Hut, lost its license for a month and then reopened with "increased cleaning practices," according to the (Australia) Sunday Mail. The Brisbane Magistrates Court ordered the company to pay a fine of $35,000, and Yum! has said it is sorry for the incident. No word on whether the customer who got the cockroach pizza has stopped screaming yet.

Company fined $35,000 for roach problems [UPI]
(Photo: Adam A. Koch )

My wife let out a full-throated scream that I've only really heard in my nightmares when she is being carried off by a giant squid or something and both of my legs have been cut off and I can't help her...she bent over, her trembling hands on her knees and spit out what was in her mouth onto the floor...my wife's box of Goobers was ALIVE and crawling with maggots...I peered inside the box and saw lumpen, misshapen Goobers with maggots or some kind of larvae crawling everywhere.

Naturally, the blogger took a video, available in all its disgusting glory, inside...

Nestle's Maggoty Goobers [SAVANNAH RED] (Thanks to Rob Walker!)

Upon boarding this flight, my [spouse] was assigned seat 24E. Upon reaching the seat, the gentleman in seat 24F indicated that seat 24E was soaked and that it smelled badly. That kept [my spouse] from immediately sitting in the seat. In fact, the seat was soaked with urine. The flight attendant's solution was to put a couple of blankets and a plastic bag on the seat. [Your passenger] literally sat in a urine soaked seat (the seat belt was soaked also) for the duration of this 2 hour flight! [There] was offered no compensation, no alternative seating, nothing.

... I believe that, at a minimum, we are entitled to a full refund of [my spouse's] ticket for that flight. Once the flight attendant was made aware of the situation, something should have been done. Seat cushions switched out, [offer of] another seat (except the plane was full), or...offered an alternative flight. I look forward to your quick resolution of this appalling situation.

This is what happens when crews are under the knife to turn over the airplane between flights with enough time for a thorough cleaning, or, in this case, the construction of a vacuum-sealed hazmat quarantine. The story is disgusting, and so is the crew's indifference and jerry-rigged solution. The only thing I can remember that tops it is Continental Airlines flight 1970 from Amsterdam to New Jersey on Thursday, June 14, 2007, where the toilets overflowed and streamed down the aisles. And in December '07, AirTran let a lady traveling to Boston sit in a seat that was similarly anointed. She got her airfare and the cost of her clothing refunded.

Personally, I would have refused to sit down and insisted on getting booked on the next flight. Still, that passenger definitely deserves a free ticket voucher and a hell of an apology.

Airline flight became more than a piddling matter [Fort Wayne Observed]
(Photo: JohnKit)

The circumstances of the chipped tooth are especially sad: the man, James Fetters, and his wife had been at a wake, and stopped at Outback for some food on their way home. When his wife felt too upset to eat the soup she had ordered, Fetters began to eat the soup, only to chomp down on the metal bolt. Outback has offered to pay for the repairs to the man's tooth, although Fetters says they have been uncooperative.

Man Chips Tooth on Bolt in Restaurant, Outback Plans to Pay for Dental Work [Naples News] (Thanks to Reid!)
(Photo: Getty)

Select Comfort claims to have addressed the rampant mold problem, a claim that provides little solace to allergy sufferers whose beds are already infested with mold:

Margaret of Stanville KY (04/05/08)
Just found black mold growing under the foam top and on top of both of the air chambers. Purchased in October 2002 and notified Select Comfort today by email. I have allergies to mold and have been to Dr.'s concerning this. My husband has been coughing every night when he lays down in the bed. Just read the comments from others and hope we can reconcile this issue. The foam borders are flimsy as well as the bottom material of the top mattress cover. It has shredded and has holes in it.

Terry of New Lenox IL (05/04/07)
After less than 3 years of sleeping on our select comfort bed, we noticed a very bad odor coming from it. We proceeded to take it apart, piece by piece. The sheets were fine, the mattress pad was fine. But when we got down to the zippered comforter, it smelled terrible. Under the comforter, there is a foam pad, which was full of mold and bacteria. It smelled horrible. We are now sleeping on the floor, because we had to discard most of the bed.

Mold and bacteria cannot be removed from the foam pad, and the zippered comforter would fall apart if it was washed. We got burned badly on this one!

Lana of Brooklyn MI (9/3/03)
The Select Comfort system allows mold and/or mildew to form on the convoluted foam topper and on the air mattresses. Select Comfort's solution 'use a light bleach solution to clean the mattress.' It's impossible to clean the foam. Their product is unhealthy for people like me who have allergies to mold/mildew.

According to the class action:

Purchasers of the beds are being told by Select Comfort to return the beds, often at a significant cost to the purchaser. The Class Action seeks not only to have Select Comfort provide notice to purchasers of its Sleep Number® bed of the potential for mold infestation, but also to have the class members compensated for their losses, including the costs of shipping they have incurred or will incur to return their beds to Select Comfort.

Do you have a Sleep Number bed? Tell us in the comments if your experience was a 0 or a 100.

Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed Class Action Litigation
Select Comfort - Mold [Consumer Affairs]

Steven writes:

Was about to drink some Vitamin Water this morning when I noticed this gunk floating around in it. Luckily I didn't open or drink any of it yet. Here are some attached pictures. Purchased from Kroger in Blacksburg, VA. Will go return it next time I'm there.

PREVIOUSLY: Gross Skin-Looking Thing Found In Vitamin Water

Sears, Robert E. Lee Sued For Dressing Room Peep Show [Style Weekly]

Here's how Sabrina tells the story:

So there I was....eating a bowl of Cranberry Granola cereal a couple nights ago when I chomp down on a hard mass. The cereal is rather chunky and nutty, like most granola is, so i figured it was just a shell of a nut that snuck in there....WRONG!!

I proceeded to pull it out of my mouth only to find something that resembled a bone of sorts. I turned it over and discovered it had TEETH! A lot of them. Too small big to be mouse teeth. I am thinking rat, chipmunk or squirrel!

I started dry heaving immediately! I can't believe this was happening. I think I am still in shock! Thank goodness I didn't crack my back molar. I did cut a portion of my gum line...but nothing major. My jaw hurt for the rest of the night....and my stomach turned for the rest of the night and into the next day.

I cannot believe I was biting down on the head/jaw bone and teeth of a nasty rodent!
What do you do in a situation like this! I was not hurt...so I am not sure I even have a case. This is just so awful though! I am nauseous just thinking about it!

The company is "Bakery on Main" natural gourment. The cereal was nutty cranberry maple granola. This is an organic company out of connecticut.

Yesterday I brought the the bone and packaging to Hannaford ( the grocery store where i bought it). I was very polite and explained to them what happened. I didnt want to give the bone to anyone just yet...but they said as part of their "process" they needed the package and bone to seal up and send to headquarters. I was uneasy about it at first...but realized that everything was going to be properly documented. She doubled my money back.

When i got home...I called "Bakery on Main" and spoke to them. They were very apologetic and offered me TONS of free cereal products...BUT....I declined. I think I will be very weary about eating cereal for quite a while and the thought of eating any at this point makes me nauseous. He then offered me a hannaford gift card. I said that was kind of him...and whatever he felt he should do is fine. I was very polite with him...it wasn't his fault what happened. He said the farmers he gets grains from is what was most likely the issue. The scanning systems pick up metal and such, and bone is harder to find I guess. I told him I am fine aside from a cut on my gum line. Either way this is terribly disturbing. I chewed on remains of a rodent head!!! I told him that Hannaford will be contacting him as well. I asked if he wanted to see pictures..and emailed them to him.

So that is the action I have taken. I am still in shock by what i found. It is too bad...I really liked their products!

RELATED: Dancing Deer And The Metal Spear

On behalf of Staples, and our entire team of EasyTechs, I wanted to respond to the recent post regarding an allegation that we attempted to charge a senior citizen for unnecessary computer repairs. We have spoken to those involved in this episode, including the store manager and the technician. (We were unable to contact the author of the post due to missing contact information, and our calls to the customer have not been returned.) The facts are these:

The customer brought his computer to our store on January 28 stating that his computer was running slow and generating excessive "pop ups."

We conducted a system analysis (which is the first step of our PC Tune Up process). The system analysis indicated the presence of a Trojan Horse (storm.gen). Since the PC had only 256mb of RAM, we also recommended a RAM upgrade to boost performance.

At that point, we recommended a virus removal, RAM upgrade, and detailed diagnostic to determine if there were any other hardware problems. Total cost with installation: $243.00. The customer declined, insisting that we complete the free PC tune up, even though he was told that a tune-up would not fix the problems with his machine.

A month later, on February 29, the customer brought his computer back to the store and spoke to our tech, stating that his computer was still slow and that now his email and internet were not working. We pulled up our records from his previous visit, explained to him that the degrading performance was probably due to the viruses that were still on the machine, and repeated our earlier recommendation.

It was at this point that the author of the post intervened and began a separate conversation with the customer. They soon left the store and we didn't hear from the customer again.

While there are many errors and distortions in the original post and the subsequent discussion threads, the most important facts are these:

The customer was never charged and paid no money to Staples.

We correctly diagnosed his problems but the customer did not want to pay to have the problems fixed. The cost to fix the problems would have been $243 - quite a bit less than the $390 that was claimed. (We offer a very good value in computer repair, with most of our prices at or below our competition.)

Staples system analyzer tool uncovered at least two potential problems with the computer, and we stand by our recommendations for additional RAM and virus removal. (Removing a virus can be a lengthy and difficult process, and off-the-shelf virus programs are generally useless when the machine is already infected.)

Contrary to assertions in the blog, a bank of RAM can easily become unseated in the course of transporting a computer. We believe that is what happened here. In any case, there is absolutely no evidence supporting the most spectacular charge in the post - that the computer was opened and the RAM intentionally removed in order to provide a cover for bogus charges.

Our team of more than 1,400 technicians do their best each and every day to satisfy our customers. While we are not perfect, we have a pretty good track record in taking care of our customers, and when mistakes are made, we usually go the extra mile to correct them. That is part of the Staples culture and the easy brand promise, and the inaccuracies, distortions, and unfounded speculation contained in the post will do nothing to change that.

Bob MacDonald

VP of Technology Services

Staples, Inc.

PS - Please let me know the best way to get this posted in a prominent location on your site.

PREVIOUSLY: Staples Tries To Charge Senior Citizen $390 For Basic Computer Repair

(Photo: Soul_Motor)

Reader Michael watched incredulously as a Staples tech tried to convince a senior citizen that his computer wouldn't work properly without repairs costing almost $400.The senior, who had been lulled into Staples for a free tune up that suddenly cost $39.99, didn't understand why he needed to spend money on a "diagnostic screening ($49.99), virus removal services ($150), and more RAM (~$150)." Michael intervened and offered to look at the computer free of charge. He couldn't believe what he found when he popped open the computer.

He writes:

Thought your readers might find this information useful. While making a return at Staples (800 Lexington St, Waltham, MA), I happened to hear an elderly gentleman disputing a service charge. He had brought his PC in for a free "tune up," and now was being charged $39.99 for that service, plus the service technician was explaining that he needed to purchase a diagnostic screening ($49.99), virus removal services ($150), and more RAM (~$150) to get his computer working. His PC had four viruses, the technician explained, but they would need to run the diagnostic to determine the extent of the infections and to determine if any hardware needed to be replaced.

Having done PC repairs for pizza money in high school, I couldn't stand to watch a senior citizen get bilked that much to simply have anti-virus installed, run, and then (presumably) removed since it was just a "service." I stepped in and offered to take a look at his computer for free, though I couldn't make any promises about fixing it. The technician glared at me, but when the gentleman took me up on the offer he left us alone. I made my returns and followed the man to his house to see what I could do (OK, maybe I'm too trusting but I figure at 6'3" and 230, there's not much and 70 year old can pull on me).

He explained that his computer had worked well enough for e-mail and web surfing, but after he took it in for the free diagnostic it wouldn't start up anymore. Sure enough, we plug his Gateway in and nothing: The monitor doesn't even flicker, even though the power button turns green. I insert a live CD I'd brought along, and still no luck. I double checked that everything had been just fine before taking it in: He hadn't dropped it on the way to the store, hadn't ever opened the case up. He said the technicians had told him he'd need to have virii removed and more RAM added; he suggested he might as well get a new computer if they were going to charge him $300. Seeing how not even the BIOS was showing up, I was starting to worry he was right.

I opened up the PC, expecting the worst: A melted motherboard, fried circuits, or worse, nothing visible at all. I poked and pushed all the parts, making sure everything was tightly pushed in. Everything seemed alright, until I came to the RAM: His DRAM had been partially ejected from its slot, which only could happen if the buttons that held it in place had been pushed. Since he had never opened the PC case up, there was only one explanation: While rummaging inside his computer, a technician had (accidentally or on purpose) hit the button and caused the damage that they were now trying to charge him $390+tax to fix.

I can't see why a "tune up" would require opening the case, except to check and see how many open DRAM slots were available so they could push Staples products. Whatever the case, taking advantage of the elderly by throwing terms like "computer virus" when a hardware problem you caused stops you from even turning on the computer is downright dishonest, if not quite actionable. I even went through Staples pricing sheets afterwards, and none of the services they tried to upsell even appeared on the list.

Anyways, just a warning to your readers to watch out with Staples services. Probably no better or worse than any other big box assistance, but at list in this instance more than a little odious.

It should be noted that several Staples techs have chimed in the comments here and on Digg to dispute the prices Michael reports. Here's a comparison of Michael's prices, the price Staples charges for in-store tech service, and the price Staples charges for at-home repairs.
It's possible that the Diagnostic was rung up in-store, the virus removal was done at the on-site price and he got the number slightly off, and the tech was recommending Edge 2GB Kit PC3200 DDR Desktop Memory. So we can say Michael misremembered or misrepresented the prices, the tech was trying to meet quarterly sales goals, or the tech was new and mistakenly punched it the wrong price for the virus removal. The only weird thing under a "newbie/incompetent tech" scenario is that the tuneup price. Staples used to charge $39.99 but it was dropped to $29.99 mid-2007.

(Photo: Getty)

Tracey's husband expected Sprint to show a scintilla of compassion.

"They said his contract wasn't up and to pay the fee or keep it activated," he said.

"He came in and said my father had upgraded his phone, so we can't cancel unless we pay the early termination fee or give the phone to somebody else," Stewart said.

They didn't have someone else, and they said that the suggestion offended them.

Family Stuck Paying For Deceased Father's Cell [WCVB]
RELATED: Sprint Refuses To Cancel Dead Brother's Cellphone

"I then realized I was saturated in urine from the smell," she said. Ew! You'd think the Air Tran staff would be horrified that someone sat down on a seat soaked in a strangers urine... right?

Nah.

"A flight attendant told me that on the previous flight a man had urinated on himself in that particular seat. And I said, 'I'm not sitting on a three hours flight soaked in someone else's urine. That is absolutely disgusting,'" Castellano told WCVB.

To make matters worse, she then had to walk through the airport wearing only a blanket (shown above) because Air Tran wouldn't fetch her luggage. Apparently, it's against federal regulations for an airline to retrieve your bags for you.

"I get off the plane in Logan, I had to walk through the terminal in a blanket to retrieve my bags from baggage claim. It was humiliating, degrading to walk through an airport dressed like this. They did not offer me any clothes vouchers, to get my bags from baggage claim. They did nothing — absolutely nothing," she said.

AirTran has offered her a refund and the cost of her clothing.

Ew! What were these flight attendants thinking? We wonder what sort of complaint-themed fare sale Air Tran can come up with to make this go away. Hey, it worked for Southwest! Suggestions in the comments, please.

Woman Says She Sat In Urine-Soaked Airplane Seat [WCVB] (Thanks, Jay!)

Hartless said during an interview Thursday that the second and last time he visited the Burger King in Rutland was on June 18 when the lure of a home-style hamburger brought him to the restaurant.

"At that time they were promoting the Southwestern Whopper. Being from Texas I was excited. There's not a lot of spicy food here," he said.

Hartless, who moved to Fair Haven two years ago, said he didn't recognize anyone working at the restaurant and as far as he knows, no one in the restaurant knew him.

But while he was ordering his meal, he said the woman taking his order gave him a hard time about doing the order his way.

"I asked for a Whopper with jalapenos and hold the onions," he said. "The girl told me they didn't have jalapenos but the last time I was in there they gave me jalapenos. When I said that, she told me that they never carried jalapenos. I told her that was fine, but she pulled out a list and said, 'Like you see, we don't carry them.'

"When she read back my order a few minutes later it was wrong," he added.

Frustrated, Hartless said he sat in a booth to wait for his meal. From the angle of the booth, he said he couldn't see the kitchen or the person preparing his sandwich.

When his order was ready, he said he took it home with him to Fair Haven where he sat down to dinner with his spouse and stepdaughter. He said after making his gruesome discovery, the rest of the sandwiches were searched but no additional objects were found.

The urge to think "Attention Whore! Frivolous Lawsuit!" is mitigated because Hartless submitted to a polygraph test and seems genuinely troubled. The poor guy was plagued by nightmares, the kind you do not have unless you suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome:

"I know it sounds kind of funny now but I had dreams where I would be doing random things and whatever I was holding would turn into the hamburger or the condom."

I was just drinking a bottle of Vitamin Water and there was a really gross thing in it. Industrial byproduct? Paper? Human skin? (See attached photos) Any ideas as to how I can figure out what the thing is and if its contact with my tongue is going to kill me? I have emailed the company.

At every single hotel, regardless of price, the glasses were simply rinsed out and left for the next guest. Some hotels used dirty bath towels to wipe the glasses. One hotel employee rinsed the glasses after cleaning the toilet—using the same gloves. Another one sprayed the glasses with blue cleaning fluid that was marked "Do not drink."

Fox Atlanta has turned the results of the investigation over to the local health department. Experts interviewed in the video maintain that this isn't just a case of "ew, gross" but a very serious health code violation. Dirty glasses spread disease.

Truly disgusting.

I-Team: Dirty Hotel Secrets, Pt. 2 [MyFoxAtlanta] (Thanks, Richard!)

Near Denver, for example, an inspector watched an employee "wipe nose, take money," and continue to prepare food without washing.

Other frequent employee problems included:

• Employees wiping dirty hands on their pants, then continuing to serve food.
• Employees handling foods such as burgers and bananas with their bare hands.
• Employees eating and drinking around food, which spreads germs.

At a Phoenix Dairy Queen, an inspector watched a drive-thru employee handling customers' food with an "open wound," obviously, a dangerous problem that can spread germs.

In Orlando, the five Dairy Queens have averaged a whopping 13 critical violations.

One location, on Curry Ford road was cited for 29 violations. They included:

• Dead roaches on a table where food is prepared
• Live roaches around the restaurant
• Food prep table not cleaned after being in contact with raw food

Dairy Queen — A Chain With Lots of Dangerous Violations [HealthInspections.com via BarfBlog]
(Photo: lovely lemur)

WFTV sent the photo to McDonald's. Here's their response: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have taken swift and immediate action to resolve this matter. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and quality of our food."

McDonald's sent a different email to the picture-taking customer: "The machine was cleaned that morning. They sanitized the bucket to capture milk and after the repair work was done they put the milk back in the machine. This was an isolated incident."

WFTV says the McDonald's in question has had numerous sanitary violations in the past. For those of you in the Orlando area, it's the McDonald's on "Narcoossee Road in the Lake Nona area."

Yuck.

Alleged Milkshake Mistake Turns Stomachs, Prompts Questions [WFTV]
(Photo:WFTV)

Under the terms of foreclosure, no one except the owner has the right to step foot in the house until after the sale.

Neighbor never saw 'disgusting' interior [NorthJersey.com via Credit Slips]
(Photo: Marike79)

"I just about put it in my mouth," said Hines. "I was sitting there watching TV in the dark and I grabbed for three fingers of potato chips and I grabbed a mouse. It shook me up a bit and I threw it over my head."

Fried mouse found in Frito Lay bag [UPI] (Thanks to Francis!)

He said a cleaner can earn 300 yuan (US$38.86) a month in wages from KFC but selling chickens "rescued" from the trash can bring them up to 6,000 yuan a month.

"A drumstick is sold at two yuan and a chicken wing is 1.5 yuan," he told the newspaper. "The job is popular because of the 'potential income.'"

Indeed, pure profit. You know what they say, one man's trash is another man's lunch.

Maybe it's time certain products should have to sport a label that says, "contains ingredients from China." — BEN POPKEN

Fuzhou vendors resell discarded KFC chickens [ShanghaiDaily]
(Photo: China Daily)

Raymond writes:

WCCO: An off-duty Northwest Airlines employee was arrested after a woman on a flight from Seattle complained that the man had ejaculated on her.

This is really disgusting. NWA should fire the worker, he's only been suspended so far, give the lady a profuse apology, and a fistful of free tickets.

Click to enlarge.

— BEN POPKEN

Off-Duty NWA Worker Charged With Assault On Flight [WCCO]

Many of the allegations center around Huling Brothers manager, Adrian Dillard, with an alleged history of high-pressure sales tactics, and snorting painkillers with coworkers in the bathroom and off the dashboard of a company truck.

Sales records showed Huling Brothers taking, advantage of mentally deficient customers before Dillard came on. And one sale was structured to help a drug dealer launder funds.

Most alarming, Huling Brothers apparently enjoys a very high reputation in its area. Imagine what's going on at dealerships even less sterling.... — BEN POPKEN

How drugs and greed tainted auto dealership [The Seattle Times] (Thanks to Karl!)
Previously: Car Dealership Breaks Into Customer's Home, Steals $70,000

The PR rep \booted the issue up to JoAnn Stanford, a high-ranking Sprint Executive Customer Service rep. She wrote Matt:

Thank you for your response to my email. I'm sorry I was on the line when you called. When you are able to, if you would send me the account info (I don't even have his name at this time) I will take care of resolving this for you.

I am truly sorry for the level of customer service you experienced from our representatives.

Sounds like a happy ending is just around the corner.

Thanks Sprint! All it took was 5150 Diggs and you did the right thing! — BEN POPKEN

In July, 60 year old mentally ill Richard Grey wheelchaired into the Huling Brothers dealership in Seattle, his pants encrusted with feces and urine, and bought a truck with $30,000 in cash in a plastic bag.

The salesmen learned he had more at home and three of them broke in and stole $70,000 more.

Then they learned the man was in a psychiatric ward and visited him and got Mr. Grey to sell them the truck back for $1,200.

Now, justice. The former owner of the dealership, Steve Huling, wrote checks for $100,000 to the victim. The salesmen are going to trial.

Part 1, the arrest, is above. Part 2, the not guilty plea and Huling writing the checks, is inside...

Congrats, fellas, you just proved everything we hate about used car salesmen. — BEN POPKEN

This is despicable.

M, if you're reading, check your email or write back. We'd like to follow this one up further. Also, check out this post, "HOWTO: Handle Closing Dead People's Accounts."

Lastly, can't faxing over a death certificate and a letter testamentary do the trick? (A letter testamentary is a court document saying whom is the appointed estate executor).

Read M's really really sad letter, inside...

M, our sincere condolences for your loss. It's very hard to lose a loved one. It's even harder when a company is behaving callously and duplicitously to take advantage of your situation.

Based on what we know, your brother's estate is responsible for the final bill and any charges up until your brother's death. However, they cannot hit you with an early termination fee. Nor should your brother's estate continue to be charged $5.95 for a dead man's cellphone.

As we said in the intro, this matter can be resolved by faxing Sprint a copy of your brother's death certificate, and by Sprint canceling the contract without being disgusting pinheads.

Although, it's not like they don't have a history of this behavior. See this post from October, "Sprint Harasses Grieving Mother For Two Years." — BEN POPKEN

Related: HOWTO: Handle Closing Dead People's Accounts

UPDATE:

UPDATE: Here's another place M could send his complaint: shareholder.relations@sprint.com or Shareholder Relations 1-800-259-3755, press option 4.

"So if I were thinking of buying a pre-packaged dinner, Safeway is NOT the place I'd go ever again," says Doug.

Indeed, this is gross and you should return the items to the store and ask for a refund. Bring along the pictures you provided to us and we posted inside.

Next time, however, check the expiration dates before you enter the checkout line. They're there to protect you. Use 'em. &mdash BEN POPKEN

"For all I know, It could've been a rat poison wrapper," our reader writes.

We're not sure what's more disgusting, the wrapper, or reheating a cold slab of grease meat. Fast food is best consumed as quickly as possible, before the liquid fat has a chance to congeal.

Another lovely picture, inside. — BEN POPKEN

Well it's got resolution and italics. Also, the author has been revealed to not just be some random "MB" but none other than Kelly Ann Collins! A celebrity complaint. Bully for us. The ABP area director wrote her back, along with complimentary lunch coupons:

"I am very sorry that everything about your visit was poor. I can't imagine how upset I would be if my soup, sandwich and drink were all horrible. I have spoken with the General Manager and he is looking into not only how this happened but is putting in procedures to insure it never happens again, i.e. temping soup every 2 hours, retraining the sandwich makers, and checking the calibration of the soda machine."

You calibrate that soda machine, sumnabitch.

comment on this post

"After the Pain" [Ask KAC]

UPDATE: Well, we don't read bylines. We thought because the blog was called Ask Kelly Collins, she wrote the complaint letter and followup. Actually, it was her editorial assistant who had the ABP experience. And thus lands the cherry bomb atop our week of shame.

MB
Washington, DC
May 19, 2006

Dear ABP,

I'm a frequent lunchtime patron to your caf s here in the nation's capital, eating there 2-3 times per week. I'm just back from one such visit, which can only be described in one word: yuck!

MB's disgusting email continues, after the jump...

(CONT)

"Here's what $9.97 just bought me at your 19th & M Street location in Washington, DC:

1 medium cup (only 2/3 filled) of lukewarm chicken noodle soup. The bits of chicken were actually cold (icy, even — do you guys freeze it?). Had three spoon-fulls and tossed it in the garbage.

1 Southwest Tuna Wrap, overflowing — literally — with chili-dijon spread. Thinking about it makes me want to gag. The "lahvash wrap" tasted like cardboard and was beyond stale. The whole sandwich fell apart on my plate, leaving just a disgusting mess that was quickly tossed in the garbage (luckily, it was close by since that's where all
my food was heading.)

1 Diet Coke medium fountain soda. Hoping to wash this disaster of a meal down, or at least get the taste out of my mouth, this drink was much needed. Unfortunately, it was flat and didn't taste anything like Coke should. Couldn't believe this got screwed up also.

When all was said and done, my $10 meal was tossed in the trash. I'd thought about handing it off to the bum begging for change at the door, but decided I'd spare him the same fate.

After this experience, which is being related to my office co-workers, I'm not sure I'll be stopping by an au bon pain any time soon. There are just far too much lunch options here for me — which is a shame, because usually I'm a big fan of yours ...

Sadly,
MB "

Looks delicious, doesn't it? A gastronomic orgy of the most delectable bovine, slathered in cheese and peppercorn sauce.

An actual photo (and this bears repeating) of the nine dollar and twenty nine cent sub after the jump.

Gentlemen, that's not prime rib: it's a bowel movement that has pulled half of a diseased colon away with it. How can Quiznos possibly get away with calling that prime rib?

Quiznos Prime Rib Sub [The Impulsive Buy]
Related: Quiznos stories on Consumerist