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Please explain "the details" which made it "even more absurd" to you. At what temperature would you start to assign responsibility to McDonalds? Can they, in y

Please explain "the details" which made it "even more absurd" to you. At what temperature would you start to assign responsibility to McDonalds? Can they, in your mind, give out boiling coffee without culpability? [edit: typo]

talmand 15y ago
If a person asks for boiling water, then yes, McDonald's may sell such a product without culpability. But the debate over how hot coffee should be is a different discussion. I'm curious though, what is the proper temperature of coffee? I for one don't drink it so I have no idea.
- yason 15y ago
  If Mr Darwin is at work, nobody should have the right to sue. Their coffee might be very hot or not so very hot, but the real problem is that thinking which allows the customer to lay blame on McDonald's without ever considering any responsibility for himself. That thinking blatantly ignores the fact that everyone is—to a fair extent and by default—responsible for their own mishaps unless they truly had no reasonable way to guess or test for the surprise outcome. If you're buying a hot drink in the first place, it's just common sense to merely touch the cup first to figure out if it's too hot before lifting it and burning your fingers. Similarly, when washing your hands you will generally first test the temperature of the running water before you splurge into your watery rejoicings instead of suing the café for reckless overuse of their water boiler. Further, most people learn very early on to try out if a stove plate is hot first before focusing on pressing their hands against it. Now, admittedly, there are some things that you couldn't possibly avoid yourself. For example, unless otherwise signposted, publicly available staircases should hold together while you're stomping up and down on them. Door handles shouldn't deliver you a surprise shock directly from electric mains. A new car probably shouldn't explode on you when you turn on the ignition. But these come in rare numbers and equally extreme conditions. Known accident-prone activities, such as driving, are explicitly protected via mandatory insurance in general. But in life in general, anyone can be expected to avoid many unexpected accidents with mere common sense, and still most of the rest of the incidents are well, just accidents. Accidents do happen and the driving nature of accidents is well, accidental, i.e. "nobody's fault" in general.
  - cbr 15y ago
    "when washing your hands you will generally first test the temperature of the running water before you splurge into your watery rejoicings instead of suing the café for reckless overuse of their water boiler" No. In washing my hands at a café, I just turn on the water and put my fingers in. If it comes out at 210F instead of 130F, burning me badly, that is very much reckless overuse of the boiler by café.
grannyg00se 15y ago
The details that made it even more absurd are: 1. She put a fresh, hot cup of coffee between her legs. 2. She put this cup right up near her genitals. 3. She messed around with the lid of the cup while it was in this position. Coffee is supposed to be hot. In fact, customers typically demand coffee to be extremely hot, and complain when it isn't. Whether it is 80deg, 90deg, or 100deg is of little significance when considering blame for the action. The fact is she made the decision to put hot liquid in a flimsy cup near her genitals and begin messing around with the lid. To me it's like asking for boiling water (for tea, perhaps) then taking the water and dumping it deliberately onto my lap and then trying to sue McDonalds. Her behaviour was so irresponsible and foolish, it might as well have been deliberate. Extra sympathy for the extend of the pain and suffering. But sympathy should not redirect blame.

talmand 15y ago

If a person asks for boiling water, then yes, McDonald's may sell such a product without culpability. But the debate over how hot coffee should be is a different discussion. I'm curious though, what is the proper temperature of coffee? I for one don't drink it so I have no idea.

yason 15y ago
If Mr Darwin is at work, nobody should have the right to sue. Their coffee might be very hot or not so very hot, but the real problem is that thinking which allows the customer to lay blame on McDonald's without ever considering any responsibility for himself. That thinking blatantly ignores the fact that everyone is—to a fair extent and by default—responsible for their own mishaps unless they truly had no reasonable way to guess or test for the surprise outcome. If you're buying a hot drink in the first place, it's just common sense to merely touch the cup first to figure out if it's too hot before lifting it and burning your fingers. Similarly, when washing your hands you will generally first test the temperature of the running water before you splurge into your watery rejoicings instead of suing the café for reckless overuse of their water boiler. Further, most people learn very early on to try out if a stove plate is hot first before focusing on pressing their hands against it. Now, admittedly, there are some things that you couldn't possibly avoid yourself. For example, unless otherwise signposted, publicly available staircases should hold together while you're stomping up and down on them. Door handles shouldn't deliver you a surprise shock directly from electric mains. A new car probably shouldn't explode on you when you turn on the ignition. But these come in rare numbers and equally extreme conditions. Known accident-prone activities, such as driving, are explicitly protected via mandatory insurance in general. But in life in general, anyone can be expected to avoid many unexpected accidents with mere common sense, and still most of the rest of the incidents are well, just accidents. Accidents do happen and the driving nature of accidents is well, accidental, i.e. "nobody's fault" in general.
- cbr 15y ago
  "when washing your hands you will generally first test the temperature of the running water before you splurge into your watery rejoicings instead of suing the café for reckless overuse of their water boiler" No. In washing my hands at a café, I just turn on the water and put my fingers in. If it comes out at 210F instead of 130F, burning me badly, that is very much reckless overuse of the boiler by café.

grannyg00se 15y ago

The details that made it even more absurd are: 1. She put a fresh, hot cup of coffee between her legs. 2. She put this cup right up near her genitals. 3. She messed around with the lid of the cup while it was in this position. Coffee is supposed to be hot. In fact, customers typically demand coffee to be extremely hot, and complain when it isn't. Whether it is 80deg, 90deg, or 100deg is of little significance when considering blame for the action. The fact is she made the decision to put hot liquid in a flimsy cup near her genitals and begin messing around with the lid. To me it's like asking for boiling water (for tea, perhaps) then taking the water and dumping it deliberately onto my lap and then trying to sue McDonalds. Her behaviour was so irresponsible and foolish, it might as well have been deliberate. Extra sympathy for the extend of the pain and suffering. But sympathy should not redirect blame.