Hilarious Owners Manual Warnings (Not!)
Did you ever find a warning label on a product or a bit cautionary notice in owners manual that tried to warn you over something so obvious? You wondered what kind of audience it was written for? For example, you go to McDonald’s, and a little post on your cup of coffee warns you that the contents are hot; if you rent a Winnebago, the owner’s manual comes with a little warning that says if you are driving, you are not to leave the driver’s seat just because you have turned the cruise control on; the labels on some articles of clothing actually say that you are not to put them in the washing machine if you are still wearing them. My personal favorite is the little warning note in the owners manual for some cars that says that if you wish to check the contents of your gas tank, you’re not to use a lit match to see into the gas tank (Boom!). Where on earth do these warning notices come from?
Is there anybody on earth who is so stupid that they would need to be told any of this owners manual?
In reality, the companies that think to include those warnings don’t enjoy them much either. It’s just that they were sued by somebody or the other for not warning them that those actions were dangerous. There actually was a woman in Oklahoma City (a Mrs.Grazinski) who drove her brand-new 32-foot Winnebago onto the highway, set the cruise control on at 70mph, and then went back to make herself a sandwich. When the huge vehicle with no one driving it went off the road and crashed, she sued the company and actually got almost $2 million and a new Winnebago. Behind every silly-sounding warning in owners manual or a label, there lies a lawsuit by some gold digger. And the companies are just sick of it all.
Here are some other ridiculous-sounding warning labels on product labels and owners manuals that the companies put out there for a lawsuit happy gold diggers.
The owners manual for Vidal Sassoon hair dryers come with a warning that asks you to turn it off before you go to sleep rather than trying to dry your hair while you’re sleeping. Peanut M&Ms come with a warning for those allergic that says that the product contains peanuts. Some home-improvement tools come with a warning that asks users not to attempt to do any dental work with them. However, perhaps an all-time favorite has to be the warning in the Apple iPod shuffle owners manual. It says, Do Not Eat. It’s good, usable advice, of course.
