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Posts Tagged “

Fear

phobias

McDonald's Worker Screams And Runs Away From Little People, Probably Shouldn't Be Assigned To Register

When Ethan Wade, who has dwarfism, went into a McDonald's in South Carolina recently to order some food, the cashier took one look at him and ran off, waving her hands in the air and shouting "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" She kept shouting from the back, and another employee came up to tell Ethan that she had a phobia of little people. Said Wade:
An employee in the franchise office told Wade about what the woman had said. Wade said, "The employee had stated to her, 'Imagine if you saw a snake or a spider, how would you respond?' And that employee said she understood that. And I said, 'That's unbelievable. I am a human being.'"
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airports

TSA Brings All The Signage Of Skiing To Security Lines, None Of The Fun

The TSA is testing a new crowd management system at two airports in Denver and Salt Lake City that they hope will make the security process less troublesome. No, the new system isn't less invasive or more security-sensible, but it does give families with kids/strollers/bags their own lane, both for their sanity and for ours. Early reports indicate families are happy with it but too many casual travelers think they're experts and head to the black diamond lane, which is only for people who walk briskly and frown a lot. More »

fear

TSA Won't Let Parents Bring Extra Baby Food In Anticipation Of Delays

Two Boston doctors brought, by their admission, "probably two and a half times as much as we'd need" of baby food on a recent flight from Chicago Midway Airport to Manchester, N.H. The TSA agent told them it was above the official limit and confiscated it. The parents argued that in light of record delays, winter weather, and stranded-on-the-tarmac stories, they wanted to be fully prepared. The TSA officers told them they'd need a doctor's note to bring that much food on board—but, um, from another doctor who wasn't one of the parents. More »

health

Cancer Fears Prompt Retailer To Pull Nalgene Bottles

Canada's premier sporting goods store has pulled Nalgene bottles from their shelves over concerns that bottles are made with a cancer-causing chemical. The Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op is waiting for the outcome of a study from Health Canada on the health effects of bisphenol-a (B.P.A.) before returning the ubiquitous bottles to shelves. More »

self-defense

Popular Consumer Version Of Taser Is Selling Like Electrified Hotcakes

We are clearly a nation that treasures the concept of safety, because Taser International, Inc. reported a 150% increase in sales from last year that's due almost entirely to its redesigned consumer model, which now looks more like an electric shaver instead of a gun and comes in pink, blue, silver, or black. The company plans to start airing an infomercial later this year, so look for that on those late nights in December when all the Christmas programming has got you down. More »

scooba

Scooba Fears The Consumerist

Jennifer invokes the name of The Consumerist when Scooba customer service starts back talking, and gets 'em to bend over like lil' robo bitches. More »

elmo

Consumer Reports Hates Elmo Too

Consumer Reports has finally tested the "hottest toy" of the Christmas season the "extreme" T.M.X. Elmo...with hilarious results. It seems the Elmo is little more than "hard plastic covered by a thick fabric," and it tends to scare younger children.

"The youngest children's reactions ranged from disinterest to fear." "Marc, 14 months, was interested in the toy at first, but lost interest quickly, opting instead to dig in the dirt. One-year-old Julia was scared of Elmo and cried whenever the toy was activated."
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