Vending Machine = Death Machine
(Reader Contribution to
15 Stupidest Warning Labels)

I don't think the vending machine warning label is really that stupid because people HAVE been killed by them. They tip and rock the machine to try and get free stuff out of it without realizing how heavy those machines are. Some of them can weigh more than 800lbs., heavy enough to crush a person to death.
"Every year, a few people are killed when machines topple over on them, either while trying to steal from them, or venting frustration on them, especially when a malfunction causes the machine to fail to dispense the purchased item or the proper change. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (11 November 1988, p. 2697) documents 15 cases in which men trying to get a can out of the machine were crushed. Three died, the other 12 required hospitalization for injuries such as fractures of the skull, toe, ankle, tibia, femur, and pelvis; intracerebral bleeding; knee contusion; and one punctured bladder. The article states that because the soft drinks are located in the upper half of the machine (so that they can fall into the dispensing slot), the center of gravity of the machine is abnormally high, and the machine will fall after it has been tipped only 20 degrees, a deceptively small angle. A large, fully loaded soft drink machine can weigh over 400 kg (880 lbs.)"
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15 Stupidest Warning Labels