Readers turned it into more of a general funny-sign contest, but some of the entries hint at a legally driven tendency to overwarn. Among the most disturbing messages is the one on #53, “Toilets and urinals flushed with reclaimed water. Do not drink.” (Scroll to “As if you would anyway“).
P.S. From comments, Jane T.: “Yesterday I noticed that a commercial for a drug that is prescribed to reduce the size of enlarged prostates issued a warning (in the ad) that women should not take it for various reasons none of which were that women do not have prostates.”
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In wacky warnings
Yesterday I noticed that a commercial for a drug that is prescribed to reduce the size of enlarged prostates issued a warning (in the ad) that women should not take it for various reasons none of which were that women do not have prostates.
If you’re talking Avodart, well … that’s a badly worded warning, perhaps, but the danger is real enough. The drug really plays with hormones, and it can cause horrendous birth defects in a woman who merely handles it.
But, yeah, a badly worded warning.
I guess it’s a given, then, that some woman handles the drug, gives birth to a baby that dies immediately from horrendous birth defects and then sues to have it taken it off the market.
I was working for a plaintiff’s firm when we handled a case like that for some woman who had taken Accutane and, despite the HUGE WARNINGS, got pregnant. During discovery, I was thoroughly impressed by the healing powers of vitamin A derivatives.
If you think a sign is silly, you might not be the target audience. If the warning helps somebody avoid doing something stupid, then the language worked.