There are many things you could do to annoy your fellow flyers — from eating a tuna fish sandwich to breaking into song — but carrying around a fake explosive device in your suitcase and forcing the flight to be delayed for nine hours is guaranteed to ruin everyone’s day, and a good way to end up in custody. [More]
not cool
United Airlines Passenger Arrested After Officials Find Fake Bomb In His Suitcase
By 4.7.17 — Updated: 5.5.17
Weight-Loss Drug Alli Recalled Over Tampering Concerns
By 3.27.14
Big pharma biggie GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has issued a recall all on all of its alli weight loss products in the U.S., including Puerto Rico, over concerns that packages may have been tampered with, resulting in some bottles containing something other than actual alli capsules. [More]
Comcast Claims Copyright On Publicly Available Letter, Threatens To Sue Site For Publishing It
By 8.21.13
It’s no secret that Comcast is not the most loved company, but only a few days ago some folks were happy with Comcast after a court document showed it had provided information indicating that lawyers for porn producers had planted material on a file-sharing site. Now Comcast is claiming that its copyright has been violated by the news site that published the publicly available document. [More]
Airports Say More Travelers Are Faking Need For Wheelchairs Just To Get Through Lines Faster
By 5.30.13
The law requires that airlines provide free wheelchair assistance to anyone who requests it; no documentation or evidence of injury required. And a growing number of unscrupulous travelers are taking advantage of this system, faking injuries and disabilities to get preferential treatment at security checkpoints and at the gate. [More]
Theater: If A Man Brings Bag Into Movie, He's A "Possible Shooter"
By 8.8.12
UPDATE: The owner of the theater has issued a statement to Consumerist regarding the situation: [More]
Movers Accused Of Holding Items Hostage In Exchange For Sex, Cash
By 5.11.12
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has filed a lawsuit against a moving company, claiming dozens of cases in which movers allegedly held customers’ items hostage until they paid charges that were several times the quoted cost. One woman claims she was told she could get could get her items off the truck — if she had sex with them. [More]
Scalpers Use ADA Loophole To Snatch Up, Resell Tickets Meant For Disabled
By 5.9.12
At some sporting and concert venues, seating spaces reserved for people with disabilities can sometimes be prime spots. So it’s sadly not surprising that unscrupulous scalpers are taking advantage of a loophole in the Americans with Disabilities Act that makes it legal for them to buy up blocks of these seats and then resell them to people without disabilities. [More]
Stealing Five Tons Of Glacier Ice Isn't Going To Help The Planet Or Make Your Cocktails Better
By 2.2.12
Global warming is already a dangerous enemy of glaciers, and now those ice behemoths have another, even more direct human adversary. A man in Chile was arrested on suspicion of stealing about 5.5 tons of ice from a glacier so he could make fancy ice cubs for cocktails at bars and restaurants. [More]
TripAdvisor Gives Up On "Dirtiest Hotels In America" List
By 1.9.12
Well, this is depressing. Travel review site TripAdvisor has chosen to abandon the genius idea of releasing a “Dirtiest Hotels in America” list. Why? They want to “focus on the positive.” What the hell? Who wants to read about a bunch of clean hotels full of happy people? Bah humbug! [More]
House Subcommittee Approves Bills That Would Effectively Shackle Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 5.4.11
As we reported yesterday, a House of Representatives subcommittee was set to review various proposed bills that would effectively disarm the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before it even had a chance to do any protecting of consumers. Sadly, but not surprisingly, all three bits of proposed legislation have been approved. [More]
