You’re probably asking yourself, “What the hell is a Neosporin tote?” Apparently (and we wouldn’t know this because we buy generic Neosporin from Walgreens), Neosporin now comes with a small plastic totebag that you can use to remind yourself that you should take the ointment with you in case you carelessly plunge a knife into your tender fleshy parts while you are away from home.
stupid
China: It's Mattel's Fault That Chinese Companies Manufactured Toys Covered With Lead. What?
By 8.11.07
China’s General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) blamed Mattel for the recent lead contamination of nearly 1 million toys, saying that the toy maker did not adequately supervise their suppliers. Mattel’s oversight safeguards are widely regarded as the “gold standard” for manufacturing in China. From the LA Times:
Time Warner Disconnects Your Cable, Claims You Already Moved
By 8.3.07
Time Warner tried to convince Ryan that he had already moved after prematurely disconnecting his cable service. Ryan hadn’t even told Time Warner he was moving. His house’s new owner, who hadn’t yet finalized his purchase, merely told Time Warner he wasn’t interested in their services. Ryan writes:
My wife and I have been subscribers of Time Warner Cable (digital cable + internet service) for over 3 years. We haven’t had problems as big as most, but we’ve still had our issues here and there. Yesterday’s happenings, however, take the cake.
Intel Apologizes For "Insensitive" and "Insulting" Ad
By 8.2.07
Intel’s intent of our ad titled “Multiply Computing Performance and Maximize the Power of Your Employees” was to convey the performance capabilities of our processors through the visual metaphor of a sprinter. We have used the visual of sprinters in the past successfully.
American Airlines: Executive Customer Support Is Slower Than Our Handy Web Form
By 7.29.07
American Airlines thinks the solution to their customer service woes is a web form that limits submissions to 1,500 characters. Each submission gets a tracking number, which American Airlines executives mistake for a resolution. From the Star-Telegram:
Universal: Background Music In Home Videos Constitutes Copyright Infringement
By 7.26.07
Look at this kid dance and smile as he revels in his mother’s blatant copyright infringement. The song fueling his happiness, Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” is owned by Universal Music Group, whose lawyers are not dancing, smiling, or happy.
Milk Is Too Cheap
By 7.24.07
Regulators from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources zealously enforce a 1941 law that prohibits retailers from selling milk below cost. The law was originally intended to help level the playing the field between small stores and large chains, but now serves to keep the price of milk artificially high. Just last week, state regulators asked the Market Basket supermarket chain why they were selling milk for only $2.59 per gallon. From the Boston Globe:
David McLean, operations manager for the Tewksbury-based chain, said the company would be adjusting its price upward to $2.89 a gallon and may go even higher this week when wholesale prices are scheduled to rise.
Shoppers Hate Skinny Jeans: Walmart Apparel Chief Resigns
By 7.22.07
Let’s face it. Your average body-type does not look good in tapered-leg skinny jeans. We’re not even saying “average body type” as code for “fatty.” We actually mean it. Regular people look bad in these fashions and do not want to purchase cheap Walmart versions of them. People want to buy socks at Walmart. Big bags of socks.
Don't Activate Comcast's Internet Service Yourself Or They Will Block Your Modem
By 7.21.07
Why wait for Comcast to set up your internet service when you can activate it yourself? That’s what Alex and his roommates thought when they activated their service in June, unaided by a tech. Comcast had scheduled a tech to install Alex’s service, but the tech didn’t show until several days after his appointment, when he was told his services were not needed. This greatly angered Comcast:
“because [Alex’s roommate] called Comcast himself to set it up (in effect doing exactly what the tech would have done, had he bothered to show up), no one was being billed for our internet! So, instead of notifying anyone, they flipped the switch and turned it off.”
McDonald's Launches Viral Invite To "BurgerCon"
By 7.21.07
Are you ever sitting around, internetting with your fellow internetters, when all of a sudden you wish you had a corporate-approved “viral” way to challenge said “fellow internetters” to a competitive eating contest?
Illinois Charges You Twice As Much For "Online" Driving School Because Of "Scammers"
By 7.20.07
Reader Orwell writes us with a complaint about the “driving school” program. In Illinois, if you get a ticket you can choose to pay extra to attend “driving school.” This will prevent the state from ratting you out to your insurance company. A nice little racket, but not uncommon. The cute part is that in Illinois they charge an extra $25 for the online version of the course. Why? When Orwell asked, the CSR told him it was because of “Scammers.” She also told him to “Watch his mouth.”
TSA Confiscates Water Bottle, Misses Bomb
By 7.10.07
Federal inspectors were able to slip a bomb past the TSA 5 out of 7 times, according to the Albany Times-Union. Here’s the best part: One fake bomb was placed in the same bag as a bottle of water. The TSA opened the bag, took the water, and let the bomb on the plane.
Man Robs Citizen's Bank Disguised As A Tree
By 7.9.07
A man robbed a Citizen’s Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire dressed as a tree, according to the Union Leader. His clothing has been described as “adorned with tree branches held on by duct tape,” and it was noted that “His short, dark hair and mustache were clearly visible between the leaves.”
"Automatic Bill Payment" Means Verizon Pays Your Bill, Then Sends You Another One
By 7.3.07
Just when you think you’ve head everything, Rebecca writes you. She thought she’d set up her Verizon DSL with automatic payments. When she could suddenly no longer log in to her Verizon email, she called them up and found out that she was way overdue. Once she paid her past balance, and waited several days for Verizon to turn her service back on, she logged in to her account and sure enough she did have automatic payments set up:
Guy Switches Price Tag On Walmart Plasma TV, Tries To Buy It For $4.88
By 6.29.07
The dumb scams people try to pull never cease to amaze us. Take Chandon L. Simms, 23, of Monroe, LA. He walked into his local Walmart, grabbed a 42″ Sanyo Plasma TV, removed its price tag and affixed one that would scan for only $4.88.
Applebees Serves Toddler Margarita In A Sippy Cup
By 6.18.07
Applebees in the San Francisco Bay area, until last Monday, kept the pre-made margaritas in a jug that was identical to the one where they kept the apple juice. No more. Why? Because they served a margarita to a toddler, complete with sippy cup,
Verizon Increases Fee For NOT Making Long Distance Calls To $4
By 5.31.07
In case you weren’t aware, Verizon charges you a $2 fee for the “ability” to make long-distance calls. The only way to get this fee removed is to have your long-distance service blocked or to make more than $2 worth of calls every month. Sound stupid? Well, according to the bill that reader Troy just got, that stupid fee is about to double.
Tan Hill Inn 1, KFC 0: KFC Drops Legal Action Against Tiny British Pub
By 5.14.07
Only a few days after confirming that legal action would proceed against the tiny Tan Hiill Inn for the use of the trademarked term “Family Feast” on their once-a-year Christmas menu, KFC has changed its tiny chicken-sized mind.
