re: #57 EPR-radar

It is often interesting to dig into these political urban legends. One I am familiar with is the famous McDonalds coffee lawsuit, often trotted out as an example of juries/tort law that is totally out of control.

The real story isn’t so one sided. Turns out, McDonald’s wanted to keep the coffee hot for as long as possible after it was dispensed, to reduce cost. The obvious solution is to dispense the coffee at temperatures just below the boiling point, to maximize the time the coffee is hot enough to serve.

This was implemented, and there was a rash of injuries where people got themselves burned with this abnormally hot coffee. These early cases settled for peanuts, and McDonalds didn’t change its practices because having a shorter shelf life for the coffee would cost more than the settlements.

Then, someone got a lap full of this stuff, and had extensive 3rd degree burns.

As with most soundbites and headlines. Further research tells the full story and it usually leads the reader to the opposite conclusion than the headline indicates.

Well, often enough to warrant consant research.