The House Of Odd

Back in 1993 some guy named Keith Long purchased a new computer with a shiny new monitor. You know the ancient CRT kind that you can’t get rid of and have to pay somebody to ‘recycle’.

The monitor had an advertised screen size of 14 inches. The trouble was the actual viewable size was more like 13 inches measured diagonally. For Keith this was an injustice to humanity that he could not let stand. Some attorneys were added into the mix, fast forward four years and a multi-million dollar settlement was the result.

From then on all monitor manufacturers and retailers included a ‘viewable size’ disclaimer with all advertisements.

Companies have become increasingly paranoid over lawsuits. Car commercials warn viewers “Professional driver on closed course. Do not attempt.” Drug companies use up to 1/3 of their air time listing every known possible side effect. My coffee cup from McDonalds informs me that the contents are hot. Duh.

This weeks’ Best Buy ad has taken CYA to a new level of absurdity. High definition televisions are measured diagonally just like computer monitors. The ad below describes a sale for a Samsung 46 inch LCD HD television. According to the ad the actual measurement is 45.99 inches. That is a whopping 1/100th of an inch difference.

Just about every tape measure the average Joe and can get their hands on is only accurate to 1/32 of an inch.

There seems to be no ends to the lengths companies will take to shield themselves from the never ending onslaught of frivolous lawsuits.