9 ms·

Contrary to popular belief, the “sue because coffee is too hot, what an infantile concept” is actually a highly successful PR campaign by McDonald’s. The coffee

Contrary to popular belief, the “sue because coffee is too hot, what an infantile concept” is actually a highly successful PR campaign by McDonald’s. The coffee was hot enough to melt flesh and in fact, when spilled onto a lap, was hot enough to melt the genitals shut. I would sue too!

b112 5y ago
Just thinking of the horrible scream that poor person must have let out...
twic 5y ago
Flesh doesn't melt. The coffee was hot enough to cause third-degree burns. Specifically, it was 82–88 °C [1]. I couldn't find a definitive "correct" temperature at which to serve coffee. It seems that people typically want it at 60 °C when they drink it [2], but since not everyone wants to drink it straight away, often coffee shops serve it hotter than that. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restau... [2] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230106152_At_What_Temperatures_Do_Consumers_Like_to_Drink_Coffee_Mixing_Methods https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230106152_At_What_T...
- SkittyDog 5y ago
  When someone says "He got his head blown off" in reference to a cranial gunshot wound, do you also pull this "WELL AKSHUALLY..." routine on them, by pointing out that the victim's head is still attached to their body? The characterization of "melt the genitals shut" is not a precise medical, physical, scientifix statement. It's a colloquial, even poetic phrasing, and it does a FANTASTIC job of describing the impact of this woman's injuries.
  - spywaregorilla 5y ago
    It seems fairly clear to me that it was not intended to be read as a colloquial phrasing. It's stated twice, in italics. There's nothing wrong with pointing out this idea is just false. The responder isn't telling the whole story though. The reason the coffee was so hot was because they wanted to limit the practical ability of customers to make use of endless refills on coffee. Not consideration for the average customer's wants.
    - SkittyDog 5y ago
      I thought it was pretty clear that it is colloquial language, and that the italics are for emphasis... For example, "They blew his head off. In the future, maybe you'd be better served to trying asking the other person how they meant it, rather than jumping to correct them. Unless your actual purpose is mainly to aggrandize yourself by dunking on someone else by correcting them... In which case you should just carry on, as you have been doing.
      - spywaregorilla 5y ago
        And yet here you are making two posts trying to correct someone on whether the factual correction was necessary. I assure you, that is far more uninteresting than the issue you're trying to address.
        SkittyDog 5y ago
        I'm not trying to correct you by calling you out... I assume you're a lost cause, already. But hopefully other people reading this will think twice before they act the fool.
nate_meurer 5y ago
Would you also sue a tee shop or cafe if you spilled the freshly boiled pot of water that any good tea shop brings to your table? More specifically, if you put a cup of 180 degree+ tea between your legs and squeezed it, like Stella did, would you blame the tea shop when it predictably spills in your lap?
- SamoyedFurFluff 5y ago
  I would blame a tea shop for serving me a beverage so hot that it was undrinkable to the point of severely injuring me, yeah. If I spilled a cup of coffee on myself I would expect a light scalding, maybe a bit of redness, and laugh it off. I wouldn’t expect to need skin grafts.
  - nate_meurer 5y ago
    It sounds like you're exactly the sort of delicate person TFA is talking about :) In that case, in order to keep you safe, you'll want to avoid all beverage shops and restaurants, since they all generally follow the the NCA recommendations that coffee be held and served at around 180-185 deg F (~80-85 deg C), which is around the temperature at which Stella was burned. This would be very dangerous for someone like you! And I hate to tell you this... but it's not just beverage shops and restaurants. Domestic coffee makers also follow the NCA guidelines. Your Mr. Coffee machine holds coffee at around 185 deg F, which will melt your skin just like it did to Stella. And definitely don't attempt to make tea, because the first step is usually involves putting on a kettle to boil. You'll probably need to stay out of the kitchen altogether. Steaming vegetables is where I've gotten the most burns for some reason. You won't want to try to make pasta, which always involves large quantities of boiling water. And don't even think about using a stove or oven, where temperatures are easily double or triple that of boiling water. That's just a lawsuit waiting to happen! This is just the temperature hazards. I imagine you don't use knives, which can be quite sharp, although I suppose you could always try suing the knifemaker if a kinfe turns to be unexpectedly sharp. And obviously you'll want to stay far away from the mother of all hazards: cars. Unfortunately, even though cars kill more people than any other machine in history, people like you have been largely unsuccessful in suing carmakers for defects such as excessive speed or ability to drive into objects. Overall, my recommendation is that you hire someone for anything more complicated than watching TV.
watwut 5y ago
If you make tee for yourself it will do the same thing.
- SamoyedFurFluff 5y ago
  I guarantee you that I don’t serve myself tea so hot that I would need skin grafts if it spilled on me.
  - watwut 5y ago
    Typically it is boiling water in cup with leaves. Normal office setup. You don't hotter then boiling. And when spilled and you don't remove it asap, it does that damage. You talk about that coffee as if it was magically hotter then water. It was not.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]

b112 5y ago

Just thinking of the horrible scream that poor person must have let out...

twic 5y ago

Flesh doesn't melt. The coffee was hot enough to cause third-degree burns. Specifically, it was 82–88 °C [1]. I couldn't find a definitive "correct" temperature at which to serve coffee. It seems that people typically want it at 60 °C when they drink it [2], but since not everyone wants to drink it straight away, often coffee shops serve it hotter than that. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restau... [2] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230106152_At_What_Temperatures_Do_Consumers_Like_to_Drink_Coffee_Mixing_Methods https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230106152_At_What_T...

SkittyDog 5y ago
When someone says "He got his head blown off" in reference to a cranial gunshot wound, do you also pull this "WELL AKSHUALLY..." routine on them, by pointing out that the victim's head is still attached to their body? The characterization of "melt the genitals shut" is not a precise medical, physical, scientifix statement. It's a colloquial, even poetic phrasing, and it does a FANTASTIC job of describing the impact of this woman's injuries.
- spywaregorilla 5y ago
  It seems fairly clear to me that it was not intended to be read as a colloquial phrasing. It's stated twice, in italics. There's nothing wrong with pointing out this idea is just false. The responder isn't telling the whole story though. The reason the coffee was so hot was because they wanted to limit the practical ability of customers to make use of endless refills on coffee. Not consideration for the average customer's wants.
  - SkittyDog 5y ago
    I thought it was pretty clear that it is colloquial language, and that the italics are for emphasis... For example, "They blew his head off. In the future, maybe you'd be better served to trying asking the other person how they meant it, rather than jumping to correct them. Unless your actual purpose is mainly to aggrandize yourself by dunking on someone else by correcting them... In which case you should just carry on, as you have been doing.
    - spywaregorilla 5y ago
      And yet here you are making two posts trying to correct someone on whether the factual correction was necessary. I assure you, that is far more uninteresting than the issue you're trying to address.
      - SkittyDog 5y ago
        I'm not trying to correct you by calling you out... I assume you're a lost cause, already. But hopefully other people reading this will think twice before they act the fool.

nate_meurer 5y ago

Would you also sue a tee shop or cafe if you spilled the freshly boiled pot of water that any good tea shop brings to your table? More specifically, if you put a cup of 180 degree+ tea between your legs and squeezed it, like Stella did, would you blame the tea shop when it predictably spills in your lap?

SamoyedFurFluff 5y ago
I would blame a tea shop for serving me a beverage so hot that it was undrinkable to the point of severely injuring me, yeah. If I spilled a cup of coffee on myself I would expect a light scalding, maybe a bit of redness, and laugh it off. I wouldn’t expect to need skin grafts.
- nate_meurer 5y ago
  It sounds like you're exactly the sort of delicate person TFA is talking about :) In that case, in order to keep you safe, you'll want to avoid all beverage shops and restaurants, since they all generally follow the the NCA recommendations that coffee be held and served at around 180-185 deg F (~80-85 deg C), which is around the temperature at which Stella was burned. This would be very dangerous for someone like you! And I hate to tell you this... but it's not just beverage shops and restaurants. Domestic coffee makers also follow the NCA guidelines. Your Mr. Coffee machine holds coffee at around 185 deg F, which will melt your skin just like it did to Stella. And definitely don't attempt to make tea, because the first step is usually involves putting on a kettle to boil. You'll probably need to stay out of the kitchen altogether. Steaming vegetables is where I've gotten the most burns for some reason. You won't want to try to make pasta, which always involves large quantities of boiling water. And don't even think about using a stove or oven, where temperatures are easily double or triple that of boiling water. That's just a lawsuit waiting to happen! This is just the temperature hazards. I imagine you don't use knives, which can be quite sharp, although I suppose you could always try suing the knifemaker if a kinfe turns to be unexpectedly sharp. And obviously you'll want to stay far away from the mother of all hazards: cars. Unfortunately, even though cars kill more people than any other machine in history, people like you have been largely unsuccessful in suing carmakers for defects such as excessive speed or ability to drive into objects. Overall, my recommendation is that you hire someone for anything more complicated than watching TV.

watwut 5y ago

If you make tee for yourself it will do the same thing.

SamoyedFurFluff 5y ago
I guarantee you that I don’t serve myself tea so hot that I would need skin grafts if it spilled on me.
- watwut 5y ago
  Typically it is boiling water in cup with leaves. Normal office setup. You don't hotter then boiling. And when spilled and you don't remove it asap, it does that damage. You talk about that coffee as if it was magically hotter then water. It was not.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]