Buzz
The most extensive product recall in U.S. history took place recently when Takata Corporation pulled millions of faulty air bags from circulation. Although this recall was massive, it was just one among the thousands of recalls managed annually by organizations like the USDA and CPSC. While most recalls are understandable or even predictable, such as recalling spoiled food to ensure consumer safety, some reasons for recalls are so unexpected they seem bizarre or shocking.
10. A Cookbook with Explosive Recipes
In 1978, the U.S. published a cookbook called Woman’s Day Crockery Cuisine. Though every recipe in the book was thoroughly tested before release, a significant flaw was discovered by an employee at the publishing company. Anyone who followed the instructions for making Silky Caramel Slices would find their slow cooker dangerously exploding.
The publisher explained that a simple typo was responsible: water, a vital ingredient in one of the steps, had been accidentally left out of the instructions. Instead, the recipe instructed cooks to heat an unopened can of condensed milk for four hours on high, which built up dangerous pressure inside the can until it exploded. As a result, the publisher recalled all unsold copies and instructed customers who had already purchased the book to cross out the faulty recipe. Fortunately, no one was harmed by this hazardous dessert.
9. Polio Vaccine Contained Live, Lethal Polio
In the coming decade, wild polio viruses are expected to be completely eradicated. However, early polio vaccines were often problematic, as seen in the infamous Cutter Incident, which highlights some of the issues.
In 1955, Cutter Laboratories created a polio vaccine that was meant to contain an inactivated form of the virus. However, over 100,000 doses of the vaccine ended up containing live, dangerous polio viruses. When this error was discovered, a full recall was issued, but the damage had already been done. Over 200,000 people were infected by the vaccine, nearly 200 children were partially paralyzed, and ten people lost their lives. Amidst the tragedy, there was a glimmer of hope: a lawsuit against Cutter Laboratories set a legal precedent for holding manufacturers of defective drugs more accountable for the harm they cause.
8. “Anti-Muslim” Basketball Shoes
For decades, Nike has been the global leader in basketball footwear, consistently outselling its competitors. However, in 1997, Nike faced unforeseen backlash concerning its new Air Max shoes. The Air logo, which was intended to resemble a flame, was perceived by some as resembling the Arabic script for 'Allah,' the name for God in Islam.
The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations criticized the shoes, saying it was disrespectful to have the name of God on shoes that could get dirty, sweaty, or soiled. Some even advocated for a boycott. In response, Nike issued its first-ever product recall for the sneakers. To mend relations with the Islamic community, Nike donated playgrounds to three Islamic communities in the U.S. and trained its designers on Islamic imagery. The Air Max shoes were later reintroduced with a different, less controversial logo, and the Air branding continues to be used today.
7. Arm-Wrestling Arcade Game Breaks People’s Arms
In 2007, the arm-wrestling video game Arm Spirit was launched in Japanese arcades. The game had a unique concept: players would sit down and literally arm-wrestle a robotic arm. The mechanical arm portrayed various comical characters on the arcade screen, with its strength determined by the opponent shown on screen. Unfortunately, the robotic arm turned out to be a bit too powerful, resulting in three players breaking their arms while playing the game.
How did Atlus, the game's developer, respond to the initial reports of injuries? Not with much sympathy, actually. A spokesperson argued that the machines weren't very strong, claiming that 'even women should be able to beat [the game],' and suggested that overzealous players might have broken their arms by twisting them in awkward positions. However, as a precaution, the company recalled all 150 arcade cabinets in circulation at the time. With the game no longer posing a danger, modern arcade-goers are thankfully only worried about less hazardous occurrences, like out-of-control vehicles crashing through arcade lobbies.
6. Children’s Movie Swears At Children
In October 2000, the widely loved movie Toy Story 2 was released on DVD, bringing joy to millions of children. However, one mother was not pleased with the DVD release when she discovered that her copy would randomly start playing the movie High Fidelity. Unfortunately, High Fidelity is a mature romantic comedy, and the scenes that mistakenly played exposed her children to inappropriate language, including the infamous F-word.
When further complaints emerged and the story gained national attention, Disney had no choice but to respond. The company quickly explained that an unspecified 'duplication error' had occurred during the manufacturing process, and only a small number of discs were impacted. In fact, only around 1,000 discs were eventually recalled, all from U.S. Costco stores. Despite the negative publicity, the incident didn't have much of an effect on sales: Toy Story 2 still went on to sell millions of copies.
5. Hair Dryers Blow Asbestos Into People’s Faces
Most people didn't fully grasp the dangers of asbestos until the mid to late 20th century, by which time its use in consumer products had spread rapidly around the world. In 1979, an investigation by U.S. television station WRC-TV and the Environmental Defense Fund uncovered another product containing dangerous levels of asbestos: hand-held hair dryers.
At the time, many hair dryers used asbestos in their heat shield insulation. This exposed the asbestos to the dryer’s hot air flow, which could produce airborne asbestos levels as high as 110,000 fibers per cubic meter (3,100 fibers per cubic foot). Although the manufacturers initially denied any dangers, the dryers were eventually recalled after discussions with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Following the recall, the overwhelmed CPSC received up to 2,500 calls a day about the dryers and had to reject an additional 6,000 calls per hour due to insufficient staff. Despite the recall, only a small fraction of the estimated 10-11 million affected dryers were returned, and it's unclear how many of the asbestos-laden models are still in use today.
4. The Smelliest Thanksgiving Turkeys Ever
Thanksgiving in the United States is synonymous with parades, family gatherings, and of course, a feast laden with turkey. Given the holiday's connection to abundance, it's not too surprising when food recalls happen. However, in 1991, consumers in nine U.S. states were shocked by the reason their turkeys were being recalled: the stench was absolutely unbearable.
It turned out the turkeys had been exposed to unusually high temperatures during processing or distribution. While this didn't make them unsafe to eat, the heat allowed for a slight decay in the meat that caused the turkeys to emit an odor that resembled rotten eggs. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, enough complaints about the foul smell prompted a recall. A total of 70,000 turkeys were returned, costing the company a hefty sum, but assuring consumers that they would at least enjoy a turkey that wouldn't make them gag.
3. Profane Baseball Card
The history of recalled collectible sports cards is often rather uneventful. For example, some cards have been recalled simply because they were exposed to excessive UV light. However, in 1989, there was an unexpected and startling recall of a Billy Ripken baseball card. The reason? The bat Billy was holding on the card clearly displayed the words 'F – – K FACE.'
Fleer Corporation, the company responsible for producing the card, quickly issued a recall, but by that time, the card had turned into a massive collectible sensation. Individual copies were selling for as much as $200 each, and collectors were even purchasing unopened Fleer boxes for double their original price, hoping to find the controversial card. Initially, Billy claimed to be the victim of a prank. Later, he admitted to writing the words on the bat but insisted that he never meant to use that bat for the photo. He even suggested that Fleer had noticed the profanity and exaggerated its appearance to stir up a scandal.
2. Radioactive Milk from Chernobyl
Food products often contain trace amounts of contaminants, but these levels usually pose no immediate risk to human health unless exposure is prolonged over time. Many foods, in fact, contain measurable levels of radioactivity, and yet are still considered safe to consume. However, a case of unsafe radioactive contamination occurred in 1986, following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which likely led to the contamination of nearby food supplies.
Soon after the disaster, the Philippine Health Ministry pulled two powdered milk products from store shelves. These products were found to contain up to five times the allowable level of certain radioactive cesium isotopes. While there wasn’t definitive proof at the time that the contamination was directly caused by Chernobyl, the connection seemed clear. To avoid another public health and PR disaster so soon after the Chernobyl crisis, more than 200,000 cans of the powdered milk were recalled. Fortunately, no injuries were reported due to the contaminated milk.
1. A Rock CD Is Too Loud
The indie rock group Dinosaur Jr. is renowned for its significant influence on ’90s alternative rock. Fans were disheartened when they split up in 1997, but the band reunited in 2005 and resumed releasing new albums. One of their post-reunion releases, titled *Farm*, caused an unexpected problem with certain European copies—these versions of the album were simply too loud, leading to a full recall of the affected discs.
Though rock music is typically associated with loudness, the band felt that the excessive volume on their album was a mistake. They explained that a software glitch had unintentionally doubled the sound layers during the mixing process. This error resulted in a three-decibel increase in volume—enough to notice, but not enough to damage listeners' ears. Despite this, the final mix didn’t align with their original vision. To make it right with their fans, the band offered a free replacement disc and a bonus Dinosaur Jr. ringtone to anyone who purchased the flawed CD.
