But will they read the label?

We laugh at the warning labels on some products. I knew someone who once received a gift of some little apple shaped candles in a small replica of a washtub. The warning was something like: "Do not bob for apples while candles are lit." We are prone to think that the person who put that label on there was an idiot. But most likely, the idiot was the one who had bought the product and actually tried to bob for those lit candles, forcing the company to put that inane label on the carton.

Stephen Yearout of Garland is pushing for legislation to require warning labels on venetian blinds. His little boy entangled himself in a blind cord last year, and it's all the blind company's fault because they didn't have a warning on the blinds. Maybe I'm a little smarter than the average bear, but I thought it was pretty common knowledge that any kind of a string or cord could pose a choking danger for a small child. And if a parent isn't smart enough to know that, is he the kind of a parent who will read a warning label? I kind of doubt it. Yearout says, "Home Depot and Lowe's and all places that sell blinds need to be responsible for putting up some sort of signage." Maybe Yearout needs to be responsible for watching his small children a little more closely.

And now we have the Window Covering Safety Council to "educate consumers about window cord safety." What's to educate? If you put it around your neck and pull, you'll choke! Next thing you know, we'll have the "Rear Wiping Safety Council." They'll put warning labels on toilet paper -- "Warning: harmful if swallowed." "Warning: fire hazard if lit with a match." "Warning: harmful if stuffed up the nose or other body orifices." "Warning: may cause flooding if stuffed in large quantities down the toilet."

It all goes back to that prevalent attitude in society today -- somebody needs to take care of me. I fear for our future.

"Shedding light on safety." The Dallas Morning News; August 30, 2009; p. 1B.