US Government to Recall all Dimes

[SpaceMouse]

State potential for lawsuit if swallowed. In a similar move, US Steel is stopping production of all screws and bolts smaller than 1/2" in diameter.

"It's just not worth the risk," says a spokesman for the Treasury Department.

Penny and nickels will not be affected.

[cwclark]

I still remember the "car keys in the electrical socket" game as a kid...talk about a good buzz and a light show!...chuck

[Fergmiester]

It's just another sign of the dimes[:-^]

Anyone else?

A penny for your thoughts

Just my [2c]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cwclark

I still remember the "car keys in the electrical socket" game as a kid...talk about a good buzz and a light show!...chuck

Car keys? Heck, I just shoved my fingers in there. And then there was the time I ate the whole tube of toothpaste. Funny how some things just stick in your memory, isn't it?

[tatans]

How about hiding under the CN trestle while a steam engine stopped above you, no one ever told us a LOT of crap falls, drips, pours, oozes, blasts, from a steam locomotive, why weren't there notices to protect us little darlings?( I really think the hogger knew we were there) Mind you, we never did it again.

[Adelie]

How did I ever live to reach 43 years of age, and how will I possibly make 44 (less than 2 months away). All these lethal hazards and so little time.

[Anonymous]

Then there was the mercury I had as a kid - and my Gilbert Chemistry Set ....

But my favorites were my copies of "The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments", where you learned to produce hydrogen and chlorine gas - THAT book isn't on the market anymore (but I still have a copy), and the Amateurs Rocketry Handbook, where you found the formulas for rocket fuels - for METAL rockets !!!

Well, despite an explosion (thanks to a formula I found in a Robert Heinlein novel, actually), I'm still alive .... and a chemist !!!!

[grandeman]

Thank a lawyer when you get the chance. They (and greedy clients) brought us here.

[Anonymous]

I can dig up some addresses of suppliers over here that are willing to ship such things (the screws/bolts/etc obviously, not the dimes!)... Will it still be legal to order them in from overseas or will incoming shipments be searched?

has visions of "bolt smuggling" becoming a big money industry...

[scubaterry]

My brothers and I used to play darts allot! We couldn't afford a target so we just used each other as moving targets. We still have all of our eyes and body parts however we have these little black specs all over that don't seem to go away. We also played Army allot (we were army brats) we couldn't get real grenades so we used a box of Army pad locks our dad had "borrowed" from the Army. We gave that up pretty quick when we had to explain the bumps, bruises, cuts and blood. It is amazing we all are alive today fairly intact. Nowadays they have anticeptic towels, soap, disinfectant for the air and you are no longer allowed to eat dirt of any kind. Kids have it easy nowdays. No wonder they get so bored. I must admit however none of us ever thought of eating DImes. ***!

[tstage]

It's sad. Kids nowaways will NEVER experience the thrill and the dangers of the "old days" like we did. These so-called "mandates" are probably one of the leading causes for the proliferation of many of the video games that are out these days.

In the meantime, if it makes any of you feel any better, mail all your "discarded" and unwanted dimes to me. I'll find some way to get rid of them for you. [:)]

Tom

[trolleyboy]

I think we had better all stock up on rail conectors and 2/56 screws.Oh and all layouts will soon need to be enclosed in a hermatically sealed room with an electronic lock with retina scanner. that way only you can get hurt. LOL Rob

[davekelly]

grandeman,

You're very welcome. Of course I think I may need to change the jurisdiction I practice in. Where I am it is the juries that decide the amount of an award to a plaintiff. I need to go practice in a state where I can decide how much my client gets. Where would that be?

[jeffshultz]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trolleyboy

I think we had better all stock up on rail conectors and 2/56 screws.Oh and all layouts will soon need to be enclosed in a hermatically sealed room with an electronic lock with retina scanner. that way only you can get hurt. LOL Rob

Be nice... my wife might read this. We don't have children yet, but she's determined that when we do, my layout will be in a room that has a closable and lockable door.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised they haven't stopped production of gasoline. At age 10, I thought it would be really cool to simulate a nuclear explosion over some 'junk' Revell battleships in my backyard sandbox. What an interesting learning experience that was! My friends and I were able to run far enough away without getting hurt, but I was grounded for a month...

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by KenLarsen

I'm surprised they haven't stopped production of gasoline. At age 10, I thought it would be really cool to simulate a nuclear explosion over some 'junk' Revell battleships in my backyard sandbox. What an interesting learning experience that was! My friends and I were able to run far enough away without getting hurt, but I was grounded for a month...

See how safe it is today, since our kids can't afford the price of gasoline to simulate anything, let alone a Nuclear explosion.

First the dimes, and off course the penny would follow because the rules and danger will continue to change as we get smarter about this.

A good example of this danger is the stack extension on the BLI Santa Fe engine, 3751. I would hope the government does not notice how easy it would be to choke on it. Oh, the dangers of model railroading.

Maybe we need a warning label for everything.

[tstage]

Guess I'd better cut off my index finger 'cause I'm starting to gag on it... (Whoa!...what a dilemma!)

Tom

[mersenne6]

gbailey - those were two GREAT books! I wasn't as interested in the hydrogen as I was in making the synthetic fiber. It seemed like it took forever to save up the money needed for all the ingredients but I did it and the experiment worked as advertised.

I tried to put together the money needed for building a rocket as per the handbook but Dad put the kibosh on that project when he pointed out we didn't have sufficient room to launch and recover without risk of the expended rocket slamming into something other than dirt. However, all was not lost - since I didn't believe him he taught me the basics of computation of area needed for a safe impact for an object falling from a distance of X feet in the presence of wind of varying velocities.

So between the book on chemistry, and the handbook on rockets and my trains I managed to learn about chemistry, mathematics, and electricity - not too bad for the pastimes of my childhood. [:)]

[fiatfan]

All I can say is you guys had a lot more fun growing up than I did!

Tom

[Virginian]

And in spite of all the things we did before video games, when I went to high school probably half the cars in the parking lot had guns in them. We were always going hunting or target shooting. But we never thought of shooting up the school or our classmates. And of course everyone had a pocket knife on them at all times. By today's standards it's amazing anyone is alive.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mersenne6

gbailey - those were two GREAT books! I wasn't as interested in the hydrogen as I was in making the synthetic fiber. It seemed like it took forever to save up the money needed for all the ingredients but I did it and the experiment worked as advertised.

I tried to put together the money needed for building a rocket as per the handbook but Dad put the kibosh on that project when he pointed out we didn't have sufficient room to launch and recover without risk of the expended rocket slamming into something other than dirt. However, all was not lost - since I didn't believe him he taught me the basics of computation of area needed for a safe impact for an object falling from a distance of X feet in the presence of wind of varying velocities.

I tried to teach myselt this one spring in a 20 acre field ready for planting. I kept shooting an arrow straight up into the air and watching how the wind carried it off vertical. When I had enough of that I decided I should try something a little smaller. Like a .22 long rifle. Needless to say as soon as I pulled the trigger I realized I was not going to be able to watch an see if the bullet was really carried off by the wind. Judging by the plume of dust it went about 18 inches down wind. Then tere were the blasting caps..... Growing up on a farm was FUN!

[Anonymous]

I hate to admit it:
I rode my bike without a helmet
I used glue in grade school for projects
I climbed the 'monkey bars'
I played Little League
I ate candy & ice cream
I played outside with my friends

And to think all without a legal waiver . . . .

Jeeez

[joseph2]

One of the hardest things about being a parent is trying to find toys that actually interest a child,everything seems to be too safe.In high school chemistry back in 1969 our teacher made us distill alcohol,one of our books even told how to make napalm.Kids in shop class learned to make cross-bow pistols.I can't think of any classmates who were ever actually hurt.

[JohnT14808]

Sheesh...When I was 12, I spent two days in the hospital recovering from a cracked skull ( only a minor one..) that I gave my self jumping my bike off the corner curb and yanking up on the handle bars to do a wheelie. 'Course, the front wheel came off and the forks planted into the asphalt and over the handlebars I went......no helmet, of course.....
I remember running ALL OVER the neighborhood playing 'COMBAT', one of the current TV shows back then, or Elliot Ness, G-Man......kids today just have no imagination and no "get up and go". Too many regulations to go outside and play.

Ok...I'm done ranting.

[Anonymous]

I can remember getting the recipe for gun powder from Star Trek. Then there were those great series of Boy's Book of ......topics covering everything except uranium enrichment. As Virginian, most of the cars in the school lot had rifles or shotguns for hunting before and after school and you carried a pocket knife. You were considered strange if you didn't have one.

[Wdlgln005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by KenLarsen

I'm surprised they haven't stopped production of gasoline. At age 10, I thought it would be really cool to simulate a nuclear explosion over some 'junk' Revell battleships in my backyard sandbox. What an interesting learning experience that was! My friends and I were able to run far enough away without getting hurt, but I was grounded for a month...

Gasoline? I used the can of 3/1 oil we had in the garage. That and some firecrackers placed in the Bismark hull. See how tough styrene and tube glue can be. And we didn't use any eye protection for flying objects. Use the ship to hold metal sparklers.

The best part was to put a cracker & some oil down the stack of the kit. Make it look like Victory at Sea or the other movies out on the big b&w screen at the time. For a really big bang, try the new M-80. My cousins on the farm could get them as rodent chasers.

[grandeman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by davekelly

grandeman,

You're very welcome. Of course I think I may need to change the jurisdiction I practice in. Where I am it is the juries that decide the amount of an award to a plaintiff. I need to go practice in a state where I can decide how much my client gets. Where would that be?

Dave, I'm sure you're one of the good guys that tries to always do the right thing. I wish everyone else in your profession did. I wish greedy plaintiffs didn't see a frivolous lawsuit as a way to get rich quick at someone else'e expense. Corporations sometime make decisions based on what their lawyers tell them. Their lawyers are up on the underhanded tactics their peers may try to use against their employers. It's a never ending cicrle. Lawyers are a big part of it and so are greedy plantiffs. You guys are the ones that argue to convince the juries... As I said before, I'm sure you're one of the good guys. My intent isn't to offend a good guy. I do believe my statements concerning this are true.

[chateauricher]

W A R N I N G ! ! !

LIVING MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH
LIFE IS TERMINAL
THERE IS NO VACINE, TREATMENTS OR CURE

As kids, I can remember...

jumping of the peak of the roof of my parents' bungalow into the snow bank and getting stuck waist deep in the snow.

skating on an outdoor ice rink until losing all feeling in the feet.

chasing my brother with my mother's butcher's knife (he could be a real pain in the [censored] at times).

bike helmets ? What are those ? How does a bike wear a helmet ?

road trips with my parents in a smoke-filled car, no airconditioning, no DVD player, no Gamboys. Just each other's heads to hit with the toys and books that were supposed to keep us quiet.

[sigh] Ahh ... The good old days...

[TBat55]

urban legend

don't believe everything you read and only half of what you see

[davekelly]

grandeman,

Thank you - but it really isn't as bad as I think you think it is. The vast majority of "outrageous" lawsuits you hear about are as true as the email that says if you forward the thing to 10 people Bill Gates will give you $10,000. Case in point - the story about the woman that sued and got a couple hundred grand from tripping over her own child is fabricated - an urban legend that unfortunately many folks think is real - it has even been used by politicians (but then again two politicians running for senate a few years ago had a debate about the proposed email tax - you know the one that is described in the email that was introduced by a senator that doesn't exist). Of course very few people want to research the true facts - it's more fun not to.

Case in point. A person saw a structure kit on ebay advertised as 20 percent below MSRP. He checked the Walthers catalog and discovered that the advertised price was higher than the price in the catalog. Many folks jumped in and started talking about dishonest ebayers etc. A quick check of the Walthers website showed that the Walthers price had risen and that the seller indeed was asking 20 percent below that price. 30 seconds to check it out and no one bothered. How can we expect anyone to research all those stories about those "outrageous" court actions? (Most folks don't know the whole story of the McDonalds case - once all the facts are laid out it becomes more difficult to make a decision one way or another).

I agree there are greedy lawyers and clients out there - but why is it that so many people are willing to believe that it is only the plaintiffs' lawyers that are able to mislead the jury? Doesn't anyone believe that the corporations hire attorneys too? That the corporation's lawyers are just as greedy (ie: they want to keep their jobs) and of course have more resources to use than the plaintiff's attorney? If everyone knows about he dirty underhanded tricks of lawyers how come juries seem to be the only clueless ones out there? And the bar does disipline its own members. Every issue of the Texas Bar Journal has two pages of disiplinary action against its members ranging from fines to suspensions to disbarments. It grates me that the media only likes publishing the bad stuff and ignores things like the multi million dollar fine Walmart got from withholding information in which they concluded that one of its parking lots was dangerous and they didn't do anything about it (such as lighting) which contributed to a woman being assaulted. Walmart attempted to say something along the lines of "we didn't do a study - which was what was asked for in discovery - we did a survey." The judge saw right through that. Nothing is published about the millions of dollars of time members of the Texas Bar have donated to help the disadvantaged. Nothing really is talked about the positive change brought about by lawsuits - desegragation of schools. Conviction of criminals. Protecting battered women etc etc.

As a hobby I sometimes do some research into those "outrageous" law suits we often hear about. The vast majority of times I have I have discovered things that aren't reported. These things make the award somewhat understandable - but of course don't make good press. The person that is injured and only wants the defendant to pay for his/her medical costs which were very arguably caused by the defendant and then when the defendant refuses - many very bad actions of the defendant are brought out. Other times I find the story is totally fabricated. It's pretty much like when you see a movie that is described as "based on a true story." The character might have actually existed but everything else is pretty much made up. Yet people think the whole thing is real (Oliver Stone is great at this).

Oh well. It's a upward battle I seem to fight every day.