The other day I stumbled upon an email that I found to be an unfortunately painful awakening as an American citizen. It was one of those chain emails that get forwarded to 100 some people, most of which you’ve never even heard of. You know the type. Anyways, my friend Josh had gotten the email from his dad and shared it with us while we were watching T.V. The email was titled “The Stella Awards for 2009.” I had no idea what this meant or what the email would be about, so I read on. Apparently I’m not the only one who didn’t understand the title, because the opening sentences of the email explained exactly what the Stella Awards are. It stated the following:
It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Immediately after reading this I knew it was going to be amusing. Yet, as I proceeded to read the top 7 Stella Awards, I began to realize that while I still found some humor in them, I was actually more embarrassed to find out how stupid and ridiculous people can be.For the sake of this blog posting I’m going to skip 7th place through 2nd place and go right to the grand prize winner. It would take too long to explain the rest of them, but if you’re interested in seeing them, by all means ask me to send you the email. Now on to what I would classify as perhaps the most ridiculous lawsuit ever won. I’m going to paste the description right from the email because I feel like it will do a better justice than my explanation.
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Marv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down…….? $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.
I don’t know about you, but I was pretty much left speechless. I mean, I know there are some people that do some stupid stuff, myself included, but holy hell this is astonishing. I'd like to believe that an average middle school, maybe even elementary school, child would be able to figure out what Mrs. Grazinski sadly could not. How she convinced a court to get her that much money is also beyond me. There had to be some kind of crazy loophole or something, because I don’t think people are usually awarded money for being ignorant and irresponsible. So, the next time something doesn’t go your way, perhaps you should consider suing somebody, because after hearing cases like this one, you may have some pretty good odds of winning.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Too Good To Be True
You know how people say, "If it looks too good to be true then it probably is?" Well unfortunately I fell victim to this common saying over the past weekend. My roommate Nick and I were just lounging around on the futon watching some Sunday T.V. when we stumbled upon an interesting commercial. The ad was for a new website called Beezid.com. According to the ever so truthful television this revolutionary website is the host of an online penny auction in which customers can find products for up to a whopping 99% off. I instantly thought to myself, “No way!” out of sheer naïve-ness. Just to get a little mental picture of what I witnessed so you can relate to this story, they advertised a new Dodge Charger that was sold for $900. Nintendo Wii’s selling for only a couple dollars. My first thoughts were that it couldn’t possibly be a scam because it was being advertised on T.V. Yet, I couldn’t quite get myself to buy all the way into the idea after I had sat and analyzed what I had just witnessed because, as the saying goes, it looked way too good to be true. It was literally hard to fathom buying these normally high priced items for practically no money. Who would they sell these wonderful gifts at such absurdly low prices? There must be some sort of catch! This is what kept spinning around in my head, and wouldn’t you know it, I was right doggone it!
I logged on to the seemingly life saving website and found that items are placed on the page with a time limit, then members of the website can bid on each item. Every time a new auction starts the bid starts at $0.00 and goes up a penny each time a new person bids on it. When an auction gets down to less than 20 or 30 seconds (depending on the item) the clock gets reset to 20 or 30 after a new bid is placed. This way no one can wait until the last second and then just swoop in with a final bid. Now at this point it’s not looking so bad right? Welllll that’s exactly what I was thinking until the site’s information page abruptly slapped me back to reality. I was looking into the details of getting involved and to my displeasure I stumbled across “the catch” as I like to call it. The only thing standing between me and the best fricken website ever made. A fee. That is correct, a darn fee. It turns out that those bids I was talking about earlier are not free. Once you become a member of the site you are given the option of purchasing bids. The lowest number of bids you can buy is 30 and that runs for $27. Or if you’re a big shot you can buy 500 bids for $300. So I found the catch. At this point I started to try and rationalize the situation and tell myself that, “oh well I’m sure you’ll make that money back easily with all of the great deals.” But it didn’t take me long to once again lower my expectations for this website. If you think about it, they're are most likely thousands or even possibly millions of people that use this website. Now, think about how many people could be bidding on one item at a time. You could easily go through 30 bids, a.k.a. $30, in a matter of seconds with absolutely no guarantee of winning anything. This is how they get people hooked and how they make their money. It’s really ingenious if you think about it. The site makes tons of money and people are getting great deals on expensive items, while a much larger population tells themselves that their so close to winning one of the auctions and that its worth buying all the bids. It’s practically an online casino. Anyways, moral of the story: always check something out if it looks too good to be true, because as disappointing as it may be to find out, it most likely is.
I logged on to the seemingly life saving website and found that items are placed on the page with a time limit, then members of the website can bid on each item. Every time a new auction starts the bid starts at $0.00 and goes up a penny each time a new person bids on it. When an auction gets down to less than 20 or 30 seconds (depending on the item) the clock gets reset to 20 or 30 after a new bid is placed. This way no one can wait until the last second and then just swoop in with a final bid. Now at this point it’s not looking so bad right? Welllll that’s exactly what I was thinking until the site’s information page abruptly slapped me back to reality. I was looking into the details of getting involved and to my displeasure I stumbled across “the catch” as I like to call it. The only thing standing between me and the best fricken website ever made. A fee. That is correct, a darn fee. It turns out that those bids I was talking about earlier are not free. Once you become a member of the site you are given the option of purchasing bids. The lowest number of bids you can buy is 30 and that runs for $27. Or if you’re a big shot you can buy 500 bids for $300. So I found the catch. At this point I started to try and rationalize the situation and tell myself that, “oh well I’m sure you’ll make that money back easily with all of the great deals.” But it didn’t take me long to once again lower my expectations for this website. If you think about it, they're are most likely thousands or even possibly millions of people that use this website. Now, think about how many people could be bidding on one item at a time. You could easily go through 30 bids, a.k.a. $30, in a matter of seconds with absolutely no guarantee of winning anything. This is how they get people hooked and how they make their money. It’s really ingenious if you think about it. The site makes tons of money and people are getting great deals on expensive items, while a much larger population tells themselves that their so close to winning one of the auctions and that its worth buying all the bids. It’s practically an online casino. Anyways, moral of the story: always check something out if it looks too good to be true, because as disappointing as it may be to find out, it most likely is.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A New Way to Lose Weight?
A new year has begun! I’m sure there are countless people around the world that have made the very common place resolution of losing weight. However, according to a recent television ad, those of you looking to drop a couple pounds in 2010 may have yet another option to add to your list of ideas! Or do you though? Well I suppose I’ll leave the deciding up to you. Anyways, back to the new option, drum roll please……………….. Taco Bell folks! Nope, that is no typo.
Taco Bell has recently been advertising a new line of meals that can help people lose weight. A 27-year-old woman by the name of Christine Dougherty is the face of the campaign and is portrayed in the new T.V. commercials. It made me instantly reminisce of Jared and the Subway commercials that aired a few years ago. Let me please apologize in advance in case anyone reading this was planning on taking this “weight loss” idea seriously, but I could not help myself from having a good laugh when I saw this on T.V. Has our society become so dense that we can sit on our couches and legitimately toss around the idea of trying to lose weight through a fast food restaurant? Unfortunately I think we have come to this point. It’s quite sad really. People don’t realize or think of all the other contributing factors to this woman's weight loss. For example, whether or not she exercised and what else she ate other than Taco Bell. According to an article on CNN.com, Dougherty reduced her daily calorie intake by 500 calories, and then just replaced her normal Taco Bell meals with items off their “Fresca” menu. She did not lose weight solely by eating low calorie Taco Bell foods. It doesn’t matter what you’re eating, if you reduce the amount of calories you intake by 500 a day, you’re going to lose weight. However, there are many alternatives that work even better, including not eating out as much and exercising often. The vice president of Taco Bell’s consumer insights, Tom Wagner, stated that “The disclaimers at the bottom, we say this is part of a lower calorie effort. We say you should exercise. We don't in anyway try to market this as a miracle solution to lose weight." I’m sorry Tom, despite that statement I find it hard to believe you after seeing your commercial. I feel Taco Bell is indeed trying to make themselves appear to have a wonderful solution for weight loss, otherwise why would they put the other info in a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen and make it only possible to read if you have an electron microscope on hand. Using Taco Bell to lose weight would be like using a new cigarette to stop smoking in my opinion.
I suppose people can do whatever they’d like when it comes to weight loss, as long as it works for them and they’re happy. I’m not really qualified or in a position to be criticizing the way someone loses weight, because I can't even gain it, however I just find this particular ad from Taco Bell quite amusing. Although, it’s like I said earlier, I’ll leave it up to you whether you approve or disapprove of the situation. After all, I guess you can never have too many options when it comes to losing weight.
Taco Bell has recently been advertising a new line of meals that can help people lose weight. A 27-year-old woman by the name of Christine Dougherty is the face of the campaign and is portrayed in the new T.V. commercials. It made me instantly reminisce of Jared and the Subway commercials that aired a few years ago. Let me please apologize in advance in case anyone reading this was planning on taking this “weight loss” idea seriously, but I could not help myself from having a good laugh when I saw this on T.V. Has our society become so dense that we can sit on our couches and legitimately toss around the idea of trying to lose weight through a fast food restaurant? Unfortunately I think we have come to this point. It’s quite sad really. People don’t realize or think of all the other contributing factors to this woman's weight loss. For example, whether or not she exercised and what else she ate other than Taco Bell. According to an article on CNN.com, Dougherty reduced her daily calorie intake by 500 calories, and then just replaced her normal Taco Bell meals with items off their “Fresca” menu. She did not lose weight solely by eating low calorie Taco Bell foods. It doesn’t matter what you’re eating, if you reduce the amount of calories you intake by 500 a day, you’re going to lose weight. However, there are many alternatives that work even better, including not eating out as much and exercising often. The vice president of Taco Bell’s consumer insights, Tom Wagner, stated that “The disclaimers at the bottom, we say this is part of a lower calorie effort. We say you should exercise. We don't in anyway try to market this as a miracle solution to lose weight." I’m sorry Tom, despite that statement I find it hard to believe you after seeing your commercial. I feel Taco Bell is indeed trying to make themselves appear to have a wonderful solution for weight loss, otherwise why would they put the other info in a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen and make it only possible to read if you have an electron microscope on hand. Using Taco Bell to lose weight would be like using a new cigarette to stop smoking in my opinion.
I suppose people can do whatever they’d like when it comes to weight loss, as long as it works for them and they’re happy. I’m not really qualified or in a position to be criticizing the way someone loses weight, because I can't even gain it, however I just find this particular ad from Taco Bell quite amusing. Although, it’s like I said earlier, I’ll leave it up to you whether you approve or disapprove of the situation. After all, I guess you can never have too many options when it comes to losing weight.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Back To Reality...
….Three words most people do not like to hear, and I am no exception. Let me first apologize once again for the long drought between postings. I was caught up in the excitement of a wonderful five week winter break which has just come to a screeching halt. Today marked my first day back on campus attending classes again. I suppose I can’t complain too much, after all, I did have a much longer break than my collegiate friends. How much longer you ask? Well I arrived home for Thanksgiving and I just got back to school yesterday. When I think about the year as a whole however, it’s not only the break that has seemed to go by quickly. I’m already in the winter classes of my freshman year. To me it feels like only yesterday that I came here and started football camp.
My stay at home was very refreshing though and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. People were commonly asking me if I felt “weird” or “strange” being home, and quite frankly it was the exact opposite. It was almost like I never went away at all. Like I hadn’t missed a single beat. I was driving around town, going to old hangouts, and spending time with old friends just like old times. It was nice to see all my peers and listen to how their college experiences have been going. However, it was even nicer to be at home with my family again, especially around the holidays. I got to be with members of my family that I hadn’t seen since the summer or longer. My mom, dad, and Cameron also got their fill of me and I couldn’t have had a better time with them. I baked with my mom, went to a U of M basketball game with my dad, and got to do a lot of different things with Cam. Anyways, before I start to get repetitive, it was a very nice, relaxing, and fun break.
The goal of this posting was to just alert everyone that I am back in action and that I will be updating my blog much more often from now on. Check again soon!
My stay at home was very refreshing though and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. People were commonly asking me if I felt “weird” or “strange” being home, and quite frankly it was the exact opposite. It was almost like I never went away at all. Like I hadn’t missed a single beat. I was driving around town, going to old hangouts, and spending time with old friends just like old times. It was nice to see all my peers and listen to how their college experiences have been going. However, it was even nicer to be at home with my family again, especially around the holidays. I got to be with members of my family that I hadn’t seen since the summer or longer. My mom, dad, and Cameron also got their fill of me and I couldn’t have had a better time with them. I baked with my mom, went to a U of M basketball game with my dad, and got to do a lot of different things with Cam. Anyways, before I start to get repetitive, it was a very nice, relaxing, and fun break.
The goal of this posting was to just alert everyone that I am back in action and that I will be updating my blog much more often from now on. Check again soon!
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