The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Main > Home Base
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Home Base A starting point, and place for threads don't seem to belong anywhere else

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-13-2006, 09:23 AM   #1
wolf
lobber of scimitars
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Phila Burbs
Posts: 20,774
Somebody ran the formula from Fight Club, didn't they?
__________________
wolf eht htiw og

"Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island

High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis
wolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2006, 10:25 AM   #2
velocityboy
Drawn Druid
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Issaquah, WA
Posts: 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolf
Somebody ran the formula from Fight Club, didn't they?
No doubt Let's make up some numbers:

This thing came out last year, was widely advertised and won a boating product of the year award. I'm going to make a conservative estimate and say they sold 5,000 units. They retail for $599, but can be had for about $450 in some places, so let's say after materials, fabrication, shipping, marketing, etc. etc. they net $100 on each unit. That's a profit of $500k. One or two lawsuits, even if SportsStuff won, could eat up most of that in legal fees. And if they lost with any kind of settlement, well, game over Charlie. Not to mention the negative press that could impact their other product sales.

Now let's look at the press release for the recall. They claim 29 injuries requiring medical attention. We know from the press that two of those were deaths. Let's assume that about half of these were from people with excess testosterone (witness the internet video of the guy getting on the tube and telling the boat driver, "Just gun it, dude!"). So 15 injuries and one death affecting users following directions. That means, in a year of average use, you stand a 0.3% chance of being hurt seriously enough to require medical attention, or a 0.02% chance of death. (Given the estimate of number of units is correct).

<sarcasm>The system works.</sarcasm>
velocityboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2006, 10:26 AM   #3
MaggieL
in the Hour of Scampering
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Jeffersonville PA (15 mi NW of Philadelphia)
Posts: 4,060
A triumph for dimwits everywhere, who will be protected from themselves in yet another way. Yet it's still true that in foolproof systems the fool is always stronger than the proof.

And now we can watch the resale value of used "kites of death" skyrocket.
__________________
"Neither can his Mind be thought to be in Tune,whose words do jarre; nor his reason In frame, whose sentence is preposterous..."

MaggieL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2006, 10:37 AM   #4
Pangloss62
Lecturer
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 768
Finally!

Maybe now this kite tube string will end. I'm not trying to claim some kind of honor, but I think I might have started this whole thing with a post about how the National Park Service banned their use at Lake Powell about a month ago (can't remember exactly). I never thought it would go this far; the string became more about law and responsibility than the product, and now the latter is being recalled. What will we talk about next? Lawn Darts went off the shelves years ago.
__________________
Things are never as good, or bad, as they seem.
Pangloss62 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2006, 10:40 AM   #5
Happy Monkey
I think this line's mostly filler.
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: DC
Posts: 13,575
Irwin Mainway...
Attached Images
 
__________________
_________________
|...............| We live in the nick of times.
| Len 17, Wid 3 |
|_______________| [pics]
Happy Monkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:57 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.