A warning label on a washing machine at a laundromat that warns, “Do not put any person in this washer” has been chosen as the nation’s wackiest warning label in M-LAW’s annual Wacky Warning Label Contest.
The contest, now in its tenth year, is conducted by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, M-LAW, to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings on products.
Grand prize winner receives $500 and a copy of new book based on the popular contest
Bob Wilkinson of Northville, Michigan won the $500 grand prize and a copy of the new book, “Remove Child Before Folding, The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever,” by M-LAW president Bob Dorigo Jones. The washing machine warning and other winning labels were selected from a list of finalists by listeners of the Dick Purtan show on Detroit radio station, WOMC-FM.
Bob Wilkinson of Northville, Michigan, holds the $500 grand prize check he won for sending M-LAW a warning label on a washing machine that says: “Do not put any person in this washer.”
Remove Child Before Folding, The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever is the hilarious new book based on M-LAW’s annual warning label contest. It was released by Warner Books on January 4, 2007 and is a perfect gift for students, new parents, lawyers, and anyone who believes America’s legal system could use a good dose of common sense.
OTHER WINNERS:
Don’t follow this advice and you’ll get the surprise of your life. The $250 second place award went to Rich Heitzig of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota for a label on a personal watercraft that warns: “Never use a lit match or open flame to check fuel level.”
You might just want to have it dry cleaned... There was a tie for third place prize. Farrah Kakavand of Oak Park, California won a share of third place and $100 for a warning she found on a Super Lotto ticket which says, “Do not iron,"
Guess where I’m calling you from now? The other third place winner was found by Nancy Shue of York, Pennsylvania on a on a cell phone. The warning? It says: “Don’t try to dry your phone in a microwave oven.”
Don’t let your fingers do the walking while you are doing this... Honorable mention goes to Ronald Hyman of Augusta, Georgia for a warning he found on the cover of his local Yellow Pages book which cautions users: “Please do not use this directory while operationg a moving vehicle.”
This annual contest, and the new book, Remove Child Before Folding, give us a chance to tell the inside story of how our nation’s legal system has become so erratic that these types of labels are necessary,” said Dorigo Jones.
“The personal injury lawyers who file the frivolous lawsuits that make outrageously obvious warning labels necessary may not be pleased that we reveal some of their secrets, but America deserves to know how the ‘sue first, ask questions later’ mentality is changing our culture and piling costs on consumers. The book will leave readers wondering whether to laugh or cry.”
URL: http://www.mlaw.org/wwl/
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