5 ms·

A reminder that anytime an outlandish or shocking sounding claim is made, to follow up on its veracity. Usually it is much less surprising. For example: that la

A reminder that anytime an outlandish or shocking sounding claim is made, to follow up on its veracity. Usually it is much less surprising. For example: that lady that sued McDonald’s for coffee being hot… sued because the coffee was hot enough to melt flesh, which she experienced firsthand. And don’t take my word for it because that, too, is shocking. 0. 0 - https://www.tortmuseum.org/liebeck-v-mcdonalds/ https://www.tortmuseum.org/liebeck-v-mcdonalds/

fsckboy 3y ago
hot liquids can burn. people like hot coffee. takeout coffee cools relatively quickly. coffee is made with boiling water. What temperature should a coffeeshop serve their coffee at? Who is responsible for what? I think the case was overblown. Life has risks, assume them or don't leave your house. I understand that others might differ, they want only "safe" coffee to be served, but we're not looking at a "trolley problem." Less than hot coffee is just a different arbitrary line, one that will increase number of people disappointed by cold coffee. "hey, lower speeds save lives, let's put the highway speed limits at 45 and strictly enforce!" It's not something to make a morals case out of, it's a practical tradeoff.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  > What temperature should a coffeeshop serve their coffee at? Not 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
- SamoyedFurFluff 3y ago
  Tbh if a coffee shop pours me coffee hot enough to melt the skin off my lips when I drink it, that’s too fucking hot.
bitwize 3y ago
And, famously, it turned out that the "brown M&Ms" clause in Van Halen's performance contract was a canary to see whether venues carefully read the contract -- not an example of rock star overweening entitlement. I remember an article about a letter Ayn Rand wrote to her teenage niece. It was clear from the article text surrounding the letter that the author intended for the reader to pass judgement against Rand as a horrid, unfeeling aunt. But the actual text of the letter told a different story: Rand had agreed to lend $25 to the niece to buy a new dress, on the condition that she repay it within a year: six months to find a job, and then in six monthly installments after that, under pain of being considered an "embezzler" and being cut off from contact with her aunt altogether. Which is very... Ayn Rand, but a wholly unkind aunt would never have lent the money in the first place, let alone at no interest. And Rand also wished to convey a lesson: a responsible person does not enter into debt without the intent of repaying it in full. Something more teenagers especially today could stand to learn. This letter is probably least on the list of things to judge Ayn Rand for. Because of things like these I tend to check claims in sensationalist journalism much more carefully now.
- reb 3y ago
  Everyone should doublecheck sensationalist claims given the well-known incentives to lie, exaggerate, etc. That said, cutting off contact with an under-age relative over a couple hundred dollars does sound like pretty miserly behavior. A lesson in the tenuousness of familial ties in the face of stubborn ideology, if anything.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  Ayn Rand also didn't know the girl personally. Basically, a relative that she didn't know wrote to her knowing she had money, and she said, sure, but since you aren't exactly close family, I'll put some conditions on it. Like you said, if you want to get judgey with Ayn Rand, this is at the bottom of the list.
drewcoo 3y ago
As anyone ever interviewed by a journalist or even remotely attached to a news-worthy event can tell you, it's not just the shocking claims that deserve follow-up. We're all prone to Gell-Mann amnesia. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/65213-briefly-stated-the-gell-mann-amnesia-effect-is-as-follows-you https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/65213-briefly-stated-the-ge...
- jancsika 3y ago
  > We're all prone to Gell-Mann amnesia. For those who don't know: Gell-Mann amnesia is the effect is what happens when you read a story in the newspaper about, say, the rampant corruption of the opioid crisis, but then turn the page and read about the Covid vaccine with fresh eyes. It's basically like containerization for knowledge that helps prevent conspiratorial-thinking exploits. :) Note: I am fully misrepresenting the intention of the phrase "Gell-Mann amnesia effect," but in a way that AFAICT is 100% consistent with its definition.

fsckboy 3y ago

hot liquids can burn. people like hot coffee. takeout coffee cools relatively quickly. coffee is made with boiling water. What temperature should a coffeeshop serve their coffee at? Who is responsible for what? I think the case was overblown. Life has risks, assume them or don't leave your house. I understand that others might differ, they want only "safe" coffee to be served, but we're not looking at a "trolley problem." Less than hot coffee is just a different arbitrary line, one that will increase number of people disappointed by cold coffee. "hey, lower speeds save lives, let's put the highway speed limits at 45 and strictly enforce!" It's not something to make a morals case out of, it's a practical tradeoff.

ceejayoz 3y ago
> What temperature should a coffeeshop serve their coffee at? Not 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
SamoyedFurFluff 3y ago
Tbh if a coffee shop pours me coffee hot enough to melt the skin off my lips when I drink it, that’s too fucking hot.

bitwize 3y ago

And, famously, it turned out that the "brown M&Ms" clause in Van Halen's performance contract was a canary to see whether venues carefully read the contract -- not an example of rock star overweening entitlement. I remember an article about a letter Ayn Rand wrote to her teenage niece. It was clear from the article text surrounding the letter that the author intended for the reader to pass judgement against Rand as a horrid, unfeeling aunt. But the actual text of the letter told a different story: Rand had agreed to lend $25 to the niece to buy a new dress, on the condition that she repay it within a year: six months to find a job, and then in six monthly installments after that, under pain of being considered an "embezzler" and being cut off from contact with her aunt altogether. Which is very... Ayn Rand, but a wholly unkind aunt would never have lent the money in the first place, let alone at no interest. And Rand also wished to convey a lesson: a responsible person does not enter into debt without the intent of repaying it in full. Something more teenagers especially today could stand to learn. This letter is probably least on the list of things to judge Ayn Rand for. Because of things like these I tend to check claims in sensationalist journalism much more carefully now.

reb 3y ago
Everyone should doublecheck sensationalist claims given the well-known incentives to lie, exaggerate, etc. That said, cutting off contact with an under-age relative over a couple hundred dollars does sound like pretty miserly behavior. A lesson in the tenuousness of familial ties in the face of stubborn ideology, if anything.
dghlsakjg 3y ago
Ayn Rand also didn't know the girl personally. Basically, a relative that she didn't know wrote to her knowing she had money, and she said, sure, but since you aren't exactly close family, I'll put some conditions on it. Like you said, if you want to get judgey with Ayn Rand, this is at the bottom of the list.

drewcoo 3y ago

As anyone ever interviewed by a journalist or even remotely attached to a news-worthy event can tell you, it's not just the shocking claims that deserve follow-up. We're all prone to Gell-Mann amnesia. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/65213-briefly-stated-the-gell-mann-amnesia-effect-is-as-follows-you https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/65213-briefly-stated-the-ge...

jancsika 3y ago
> We're all prone to Gell-Mann amnesia. For those who don't know: Gell-Mann amnesia is the effect is what happens when you read a story in the newspaper about, say, the rampant corruption of the opioid crisis, but then turn the page and read about the Covid vaccine with fresh eyes. It's basically like containerization for knowledge that helps prevent conspiratorial-thinking exploits. :) Note: I am fully misrepresenting the intention of the phrase "Gell-Mann amnesia effect," but in a way that AFAICT is 100% consistent with its definition.