House of Flying Fan Blades: Ryobi Recalls Leaf Blowers With Faulty Fan Components
I don't own a house. It's apartment life for me. That has its ups and downs, of course, but squarely in the "up" column is the part where I don't have to do yard work anymore. Doing it in my youth admittedly could have been worse; my family had a gas-powered lawnmower and and electric...
HoMedics Recalls 400,000 Faulty Massager Units for Fire Hazard
Generally when products aren't what we expect them to be, they're just sort of a cosmetic letdown over what they show in carefully-arranged advertising (the idea of "expectation vs. reality"), but sometimes they are faulty in more serious ways. When that happens people don't just groan and roll their eyes in disappointment--they can actually get...
It’s Not the Devices–It’s the Batteries
I'm optimistic about the progress of technology and its increasing usefulness for modern living. I'm not blind to its more sinister applications, of course, but generally when I think of the future I try to see less Blade Runner and more Jetsons. Of course, part of the Jetsons future is a world that is so...
iFault: Should Apple Be Implicated in Distracted Driving Injuries?
Most people are passingly familiar with the psychological theory of classical conditioning; it's the process behind the famous "Pavlov's Dog" experiments. In that classic example, the researcher takes an object of strong positive stimulus (food) and an object of neutral stimulus (a ringing bell). Over the course of the experiment, the dog is neurologically conditioned...
“Blade” Crossbows with Faulty Safety Recalled by Carbon Express
A popular model of crossbow has recently been recalled by its manufacturer after a consumer experienced injury from a misfire. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the manufacturer has issued a voluntary recall after receiving reports that a faulty safety still permits the crossbow to fire when engaged. Obviously this poses a...
Due Process: Cuisinart Issues Large Recall for Faulty Food-Processor Blades
On Tuesday, December 13, Cuisinart issued a nationwide recall after receiving several reports that customers found metal shards in their prepared food. These customers allege that the shards are pieces of their food processor blades, which the official recall confirms can crack and disintegrate over time. Who Makes The Affected Products? Cuisinart is the only...
Playground Equipment Company Recalls 1,300 Units After Slide Defect Injures Children
While no one usually gives a second thought to playground slides, a recent recall thrust the issue of playground safety into the public conversation. Here's what we know so far and why 1,300 defective slides are subject to a manufacturer's recall. Who Makes The Affected Products? According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the...
Hello, Operator? FDA Probe Reveals Unreported Medical Device Injuries
The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is often called "The Father of Western Medicine." Among his contributions to the medical world are several of its terms and information about how to diagnosed several pulmonary disorders. He is credited as the inspiration for the Hippocratic Corpus (hence its name), which is a series of over sixty lectures,...
Trigger Warning: Remington Arms Co. Discloses Files Showing Trigger Defects in Model 700 Rifle
Transparency is on the whole a very important thing to exercise when something conceivably could go wrong, yet time and time again it is revealed that corporations deliberately conceal known risks in order to continue selling malfunctioning products. I know we aren't just talking about cranky cats when it comes to the potential millions (or...
Johnson & Johnson Seeks Change of Venue for Talcum Powder MDL
I wrote recently about the results of the third test case in the ongoing talcum powder lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. For those emerging from an Internet-free cave for the first time in a few years, allow me to quickly recap: the allegations against the company involve the idea that talc, the primary ingredient in...
