Remember the purported mouse that a man in Florida purportedly found in his can of Pepsi? Lab tests are back, and it turns out that it wasn’t actually a mouse.
Quality & Safety
Hey, There's Listeria In The Eggo Waffles
By 9.2.09
Well, %#$% there is listeria in the Eggo Waffles. A sample of buttermilk Eggo waffles tested positive for listeria, says the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The product wasn’t shipped to the marketplace, but they’re recalling a few batches that did — just in case.
Iowa Woman Claims Rodent Of Unusual Sauce Served As A Hot Wing
By 8.29.09
I’m no connoisseur of chicken wings, but I’ve heard that they aren’t supposed to contain fur. However, that was what a woman in Des Moines allegedly found in her hot wings. She’s stashing the unacceptable food item in her freezer until further notice. Is it an Iowa Fried Mouse, or something else that doesn’t belong in a meal?
Mattel, Primary Reason For Toy Safety Law, Gets Exempted From It
By 8.28.09
When the CPSIA—the toy safety law that requires independent lab tests on toys—was passed, a lot of smaller toy manufacturers complained that it was really a dirty trick by the big toy companies to increase overhead for the small ones. Now comes word that the government has secretly exempted Mattel from the law’s testing requirements—even though Mattel was responsible for 6 lead-tainted toy recalls in 2007.
Breaking Down Airline Safety Records
By 8.28.09
The Daily Beast says it has determined which airlines in the U.S. are the safest by comparing the global statistics for the 25 airlines with the best safety records and those with the worst. Which is the safest? The answer may come as a surprise, since this methodology showed that AirTran is the safest national carrier.
Toyota Will Recall 95,700 Vehicles That May Experience Brake Problems At Very Low Temperatures
By 8.27.09
Toyota has announced that it plans to recall 95,700 2009 and 2010 model year Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, and 2008 and 2009 Scion xD vehicles all equipped with 1.8 liter engines. The company is only notifying owners in states “affected” by extremely low temperatures: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Maytag Recalls Potentially Fire-starting Fridges
By 8.27.09
The Maytag Repairman may not get much work, but his colleague over in recalls is keeping plenty busy these days, because the company is recalling 46,000 fridges due to an electrical failure that may start fires.
Over 5 Million Window Treatments Recalled Today, While Nation's Peeping Toms Celebrate*
By 8.27.09
Three children have died after being strangled in the cords of window blinds, so today six companies announced a massive recall of several brands of window treatments.
Toys R Us Wants Your Recalled Baby Gear
By 8.26.09
Responding to a rash of recalls involving cribs and other baby paraphernalia, Toys R Us is starting a trade-in program Friday, asking for recalled items in exchange for discounts on new stuff.
More Dead Infants Prompt Re-Recall Of Simplicity Bassinet
By 8.20.09
The CPSC has issued a second recall of convertible “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets made by Simplicity after learning of two additional infant deaths since the bassinets were recalled last August. Here is a Consumer Reports video explaining the dangers of the recalled bassinets.
Kraft Frozen Pizzas Recalled in 17 States
By 8.19.09
Time to check the freezer. Kraft, Jack’s Original, Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza, Made with Pork, Chicken & Beef is being recalled because it might contain “a soy protein allergen.” In other words, Kraft needs to warn carnivores that they may be eating soy.
U-Haul’s New "U-Prison" Proves Unpopular With Customers
By 8.17.09 — Updated: 12.1.14
U-Haul apparently knows about Ryder’s initiative to outdo it on suckage, so they’ve introduced a whole new class of customer abuse: false imprisonment. Best of all, the employee who was sent to let Jessica and her friend out of U-Haul Prison told them that if they hadn’t wanted to get locked in after 5pm, they should have paid for 24 hour access. (They were taking advantage of a complimentary offer from the company.)
Enterprise Removed Air Bags From Cars, Sold Cars, Forgot To Tell Customers
By 8.16.09
New safety innovations for automobiles can be impressive. Side-curtain airbags are a great development for protecting people in a side-impact crash, and are standard on many models, including the Chevrolet Impala. Unless you’re driving an Impala in the Enterprise Rent-A-Car fleet, in which case the airbags were never installed in order to save Enterprise $175 per car. This wasn’t really a problem until Enterprise went to sell their used Impalas, and sort of forgot to tell people that the airbags had been removed.
Marriott Says Woman Is Responsible For Her Rape
By 8.14.09
[Update: Marriott has dropped the appeal.] If you want to live dangerously, why not try an unrelaxing visit to the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa? It features a game room, a BBQ/picnic area, $10 a day Internet access, and the occasional mentally unhealthy transient wandering for days around the parking garage waiting to attack you. Best of all, if you are attacked Marriott will let you take all the credit for it, and then subpoena your friends and professional contacts, thereby permanently ruining any anonymity you hoped to maintain. Because at Stamford Marriott, if you’re raped in our parking garage by a guy our security should have noticed and kicked out, don’t come crying to us!
Recall Roundup – Wash Your Clothes With Flames Edition
By 8.13.09
Psyclone Essentials Wii 4-Dock Battery Recharge Stations – Overheats; risk of fire and burn hazards
Bring Out Your Pig, The Mobile Slaughterhouse Is Here!
By 8.12.09
A group of farmers in the Seattle area are testing out a new $300,000 “Mobile Meat Processing Unit”—a 45-foot stainless steel trailer that comes with its own USDA inspector and a butcher—in an attempt to see whether they can make a profit selling their meat locally instead of shipping livestock off to a feedlot “hundreds of miles away.”
Attack of the Antibacterial Soaps!
By 8.12.09
Triclosan, a chemical widely used in antibacterial soaps, is turning up in dolphins. The agent gets into oceans after traveling from, for instance, your bathroom sink into wastewater streams. Though 90 to 98 percent of the chemical is broken down before it reaches fresh water, even the small percentage that remains becomes significant due to antibacterial soaps’ wide use.
