It seems I'm not the only one who reads packaging. Gingerous Humerous Maximus has e-mailed in to tell us that the back of his shampoo bottle contains the statement, "this is not a food product".
Worryingly, this suggests two things. Firstly, that people have mistaken the shampoo for food in the past (or that the manufacturer believes they are likely to do so in the future); and secondly, that the manufacturer feels a warning is likely to dissuade people from eating the shampoo.
I wonder what sort of person thinks, 'I'll eat this shampoo, but before I do so, I'll read the small print on the back of the bottle just in case it isn't edible'.
Gingerous, your attention to detail has saved you once again...
5 comments:
A packet of mixed nuts from Sainsbury's recently had the following on the back. "Warning: may contain nuts".
Note, not "contains nuts" but "may contain nuts". The more I thought about it, the more scared I became.
I'm not sure what type of shampoo Gingerous uses, but I think that Lush write something simular on their products. I guess because they use a lot of natural ingredients, which maybe be mistaken for food. At the end of the day they don't want to get sued because some idiot has downed a bottle of shampoo thinking it's chocolate sauce!!
Coming soon: food with the warning 'this is not a haircare product'. 'Do not wash your hair in our chocolate sauce'...
I remember I had a bottle of beer shampoo once that smelt so pleasant I was tempted to drink it. And I always want to eat those little erasers that smell of strawberries. So I understand the temptation.
Blame it on product liability cases in the US. Some years ago someone over there washed their (small) dog and tried to dry its fur in the microwave so now microwaves carry a warning sticker about not putting animals into microwaves -- the microwaving idiot had sued the microwave company and won.
Then (also in the US) someone stood on their TV to reach a high shelf, it broke, so did the idiot's leg. But again they won damages so now TVs carry warning stickers.
I know these sound like urban myths but they aint; I heard of them at a product liability seminar and believe me, once the implications for product manufacturers had sunk in no one was laughing.
Quote: "I know these sound like urban myths but they aint"
Well, yes, they are, actually - click on this link
and it will take you to the "microwaved pet" page of the urban myths site Snopes.com, an essential source for all journalists who don't want to look like idiots ...
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