140. Surge banned in schools (1997)

This is an article from my personal collection. I was really big on cutting articles out of the paper when I was a pre-teen. 

Surge was never banned from my school. They didn’t care what we drank as long as it wasn’t booze, you know? I remember when Surge came out right after Christmas, 1996 when I was 13. I drank a lot of it in 8th grade because it was new, but I never remember being “wired” from it. I think I had so much caffeine in my lifetime by then that it didn’t bother me. Just like today. I could drink Diet Coke and coffee before bed and still sleep.

My dad gave me this vending machine sticker right after Surge came out. If memory serves me correct, dad was at the firehouse where he volunteered at when the Coke guy came to refill the machine, and it gave it to him. 

A little off topic, but this was my soda can collection when I was a teenager. I had it from when I was 11-17. This picture is from 1998. You can see Surge next to the wacky Cherry Coke can from the Surge era. Coke had some creative designers back then, I wonder what happened. That new Diet Coke can is atrocious. 

139. Marge Simpsons’ shoe size (1990)

I’m sitting here watching the Every Simpsons Marathon on the FXX channel, and the first season episode where Marge gets bowling lessons from Jacque is on. 

Remember the scene where Marge is offended that the man at the bowling alley asks her for her shoe size? It was because Marge wore a size 13AAA shoe! I completely forgot about this, and I’ve seen this episode at least once a year for 24 years. 

Thirteen double A!!! The closest I've got is a nine and a fifteen.

138. Robin Williams’ arms in “Hook” (1991)

I read somewhere years ago that Robin had to either get his arms waxed or shaved before filming Hook. I don’t even know the source, but I think it because he didn’t look like Peter Pan with that jungle on his arms. 

Related: 

Robin defuzzed back in January

“Robin Williams Syndrome” (Urban Dictionary)

Popeye Is the Best Movie Robin Williams Ever Made (Vanity Fair) – For years I would watch Popeye every time it was on TV. 

137. “Young models ready for show” (August 10, 1992)

Peterson, Craig. “Young Models Ready for Show." The Press-Courier, August 10, 1992.

137. “Young models ready for show” (August 10, 1992)

Peterson, Craig. “Young Models Ready for Show." The Press-Courier, August 10, 1992.

136. BURGESS v. CLAIROL, INC. (1986, 1991)

(I don’t know if this is the Foot Fixer model in question. This is a photo I found online of an infamous “internet celebrity” using a Foot Fixer model.)

Who knew something that most people buy as a thoughtless Christmas Present on December 23rd could make a man lose his legs? 

In 1986, George Burgess purchased a Clairol Foot Fixer, an electronic foot bath massager. Naturally, he put his feet in the warm water for about 30 minutes. Oh, George was also a diabetic with poor foot circulation. I’m pre-diabetic, I’m scared to put my feet in any danger, like too tight shoes, or hot showers, because I’m afraid of losing my feet. That’s what happened to George, his feet blistered, and the blood vessels in his toes were burnt to such a degree that there was no hope in saving them. Eventually, George had his legs amputated from the knees down. 

A lawsuit ensued, with Burgess stating that the Foot Fixer heated water to 105 degrees, (which could maim people with poor circulation) instead of the proper 95 degrees, and that Clairol did not put warnings on the box or the instructions.  However, in 1991, George died. The lawsuit was amended to a wrongful death lawsuit–from the research I did, I never found a cause of George’s death though. Due to his death, with the lawsuit being amended to George’s estate as the plaintiff, the claim was put an end to. When he died, so did the lawsuit: 

Punitive damages are not available under Illinois’ Wrongful Death Act, nor does a punitive damage claim pass to the decedent’s estate under Illinois’ Survival Act, the U.S . District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently held (George Burgess and
Cynthia Burgess v. Clairol Inc. . No. 87 C 8918, N.D. Ill.)

Sources:

1. “BURGESS v. CLAIROL, INC. | Leagle.com.” BURGESS v. CLAIROL, INC. | Leagle.com. http://www.leagle.com/decision/19912054776FSupp1278_11890.xml/BURGESS%20v.%20CLAIROL,%20INC. (accessed August 3, 2014).

2. Mealey’s Litigation Reports 6: 5-7. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/documentStore/u/r/g/urg22f00/Surg22f00.pdf (accessed August 3, 2014)