Some things I've noticed about this era of human achievment...

On a Japanese food processor: 'Not to be used for the other use' (I gotta admit, I'm curious).

On a Korean Knife: Keep out of Children

On a packet of Sainsbury's salted peanuts: 'CONTAINS NUTS' (duh!)

On a Swedish chain saw: 'Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals'.

On an American Airlines packet of nuts: 'Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts.' (Step 3: Fly Delta).

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: 'Product will be hot after heating'. (As night follows the day . . . .)

On Sears hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping.

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom of box): 'Do not turn upside down'. (Oops, too late!)

On the ingredients label for all Spam, it says 'Pork with Ham'

Printed on inside of solid cardboard sunscreen for car windshield: Remove Sunscreen before operating vehicle!( duh? how come?)

Pschitt - A german drink that doesn't sound too appetizing.

Sewn into the lining of a new clothing line: We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it all carefully by hand.

Smackers Chap Stick warning: Do not use on chapped lips.

On a bag of Fritos: 'You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside'. (Evidently, the shoplifter special)

On a Bar of Dove soap: Use Like regular soap. (And how would that be?)

On a box of cheerios: A great source of calcium when milk is added!

On a child's Superman costume: Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly'.

Superpiss - a real-life Finnish cleaning fluid for windscreens that didn't do so well in the English-speaking market.

When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named the product something that when pronounced sounded like "Coca-Cola." The only problem was that the characters used meant "Bite the wax tadpole." They later changed to a set of characters that mean "Happiness in the mouth."

When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as here in the USA - with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside since most people can't read.

The written material that comes with the Q Tip rectal thermometer states 'every rectal thermometer made by Q-Tip is PERSONALLY tested'.

Some of the warnings actually need to be on there because people have tried it (actually, I'm sure at one point someone has tried it, but these are just more common:

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: 'Product will be hot after heating'. (As night follows the day . . . .)

(same as the warning on coffee or other hot beverages: contents will be hot - because of that lawsuit against McDonalds saying that it didn't warn the customer that it would be hot

On Sears hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping.

Someone probably did use it while sleeping, thinking they could save time

On a child's Superman costume: Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly'.

Kids actually think this all the time.

And now some "debunking" from snopes.com

When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named the product something that when pronounced sounded like "Coca-Cola." The only problem was that the characters used meant "Bite the wax tadpole." They later changed to a set of characters that mean "Happiness in the mouth."

Not quite - See here

When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as here in the USA - with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside since most people can't read.

See here

The written material that comes with the Q Tip rectal thermometer states 'every rectal thermometer made by Q-Tip is PERSONALLY tested'.

Not really...

What about the...

Chevy Nova not selling in Latin America because "No Va" meant "No Go" is that one at snopes?...

On a Korean Knife: Keep out of Children
there goes the sword swallowing beginner's class in 3rd grade...

On a Swedish chain saw: 'Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals'.
That would have been some major surgery...

On an American Airlines packet of nuts: 'Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts.' (Step 3: Fly Delta).
Delta???...

On Sears hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping.
Someone was probably trying to use it as a heater...

On the ingredients label for all Spam, it says 'Pork with Ham'
That's inbreeding..

Pschitt - A german drink that doesn't sound too appetizing.
Must be one of those warm drinks - with thick texture...

Sewn into the lining of a new clothing line: We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it all carefully by hand.
This must take years of training to prefect...

Smackers Chap Stick warning: Do not use on chapped lips.
But you can use on someone else's chapped lips...

On a box of cheerios: A great source of calcium when milk is added!
On Milk's new marketing ads - a great source of fiber when cheerios is added...

Originally posted by train
What about the...

Chevy Nova not selling in Latin America because "No Va" meant "No Go" is that one at snopes?...

yep.

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

Eeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllll - Camino!!!....

That place sure has some interesting insights... how did you ever find it spidey?...

I can't remember... it's been awhile. I probably initially did a search on some urban legend type thing and found it...

Actually, I'd like to debunk the debunkers concerning the Chevy Nova. I'm not going to claim that the story about the Nova is true, but there are a couple of points that snopes makes that are totally incorrect.

First of all, the phrase "no va" (literally "doesn't go") and the word "nova" are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word "nova" as equivalent to the phrase "no va" and think "Hey, this car doesn't go!" is akin to assuming that English speakers woud spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn't include a table.

Anyone here actually seen a Chevy Nova? I have, and the name "NOVA" is in large block letters on the back of the car, with the "NO" on one side of an ornament, and the "VA" on the other, clearly splitting it into two distinct words.

Although "no va" can be literally translated as "no go," it would be a curious locution for a speaker of Spanish to use in reference to a car. Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it "doesn't run" rather than it "doesn't go," so a Spanish speaker would refer to a malfunctioning automobile by saying "no marcha" or "no funciona" or "no camina" rather than "no va."

That's like saying something is wet must be water. It's faulty logic. Just because I would say "doesn't run" instead of "doesn't go" doesn't mean that I wouldn't understand someone who did say "doesn't go".

I can't speak to the actual sales figures, but snopes doesn't dispute that the Nova was released in the spanish speaking market as a "Nova", the only dispute that it hindered sales, which is really a judgement call because we don't know how it would have sold with a different name instead.

I have seen an older Nova , and the letters are split in such a manner...

but of course I don't think about those things when needed...

"Isn't there a champion of the obvious... he must've rolled over me..."

You ought to write to them with your points. They're fairly good about answering emails...

And they're fairly good points...

Good points with sharp ends...

This news item mentions the Nova in passing, where it says

Despite the name, and contrary to popular folklore, the car sold well.

Again, we don't know if it would have sold better under a different name, but "sold well" seems to indicate that the name itself was not a factor in the decision to buy the car, which is what the rumor is all about anyway.