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Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

goodmorningamerica.com

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Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#41

Post by rimliu »

iammjm wrote: post #22
x______________ wrote: post #2

Initially assumed it was due to some sort of contamination or production defect. Turns out people leave perishable and fermenting foods in the thermos, and after a while when opened, the pressure lifts the lid of the thermos at quasi-unimaginable speeds, striking the curiously unsuspecting humans straight in the face, with some instances causing permanent damage to vision. Coffee is hot, but a pressure release system…

Isn't the point of a thermos to put "perishable and fermenting foods" in it, like coffee or tea? Like this could totally have been me, like make a thermos-full of coffee one day, then forget about it only to come back to in some weeks just to open it and have one of my eyes blown off

good luck of anything fermenting after dousing with boiling water..

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#42

Post by baq »

jofzar wrote: post #30
x______________ wrote: post #2

Initially assumed it was due to some sort of contamination or production defect. Turns out people leave perishable and fermenting foods in the thermos, and after a while when opened, the pressure lifts the lid of the thermos at quasi-unimaginable speeds, striking the curiously unsuspecting humans straight in the face, with some instances causing permanent damage to vision. Coffee is hot, but a pressure release system…

I really hope we get a video out of this to see how bad it actually is and how much "pressure" is needed for this. > Incidents/Injuries: Thermos has received 27 reports of consumers who were struck by a stopper that forcefully ejected from these containers upon opening, including complaints of impact and laceration injuries requiring medical attention. Three consumers suffered permanent vision loss after being struck…

> I wonder what about the design makes it a rocket compared to what I would assume is a pretty standard design?

Injuries nonwithstanding, the quality of the seal means it was an exceptionally well designed item for the purpose of storing 99% water.

side note: there's a reason you get a visit from the FBI if you buy ten pressure cookers (e.g. if you find a great Black Friday deal and have a large family and plan Christmas gifts...)

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#43

Post by cindyllm »

ZpJuUuNaQ5 wrote: post #38

I hate life a little bit more every time I stumble upon stories like this. Anything and everything can happen to you, suddenly, without warning, without planning, not necessarily because of any obvious fault of your own (from your perspective, at least). "Oh, you thought you already had enough problems and worries as it is? Congratulations, now you are blind in one eye, forever, because you wanted to keep your coffee…

[dead]

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#44

Post by odie5533 »

nirava wrote: post #40

Any (sealed) container designed to hold hot things should have a pressure release system. It can be seals that buckle before the lid. It can be a tiny hole with a soft rubber stopper. It can be one of many things that cost a couple of cents extra and a bit more engineering and testing effort. The cheapest disposable coffee cups I've used have a tiny hole for the express purpose of not pressurizing and spilling hot li…

My steam cleaner recently was recalled and sent me a new cap with a built-in pressure-locking valve. People were opening it too early and getting burns. Heat and pressure can be very dangerous.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#45

Post by roel_v »

bilekas wrote: post #20

This is wild.. It looks like they changed their lid to be a bit cheaper ? Looking at the version that's not recalled, I would guess it costs more to make.

The one without the relieve valve is nicer to use because it's (much) easier to clean. Source: I've cleaned these things pretty much every weekday for the last 2 or 3 years.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#46

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

jofzar wrote: post #30
x______________ wrote: post #2

Initially assumed it was due to some sort of contamination or production defect. Turns out people leave perishable and fermenting foods in the thermos, and after a while when opened, the pressure lifts the lid of the thermos at quasi-unimaginable speeds, striking the curiously unsuspecting humans straight in the face, with some instances causing permanent damage to vision. Coffee is hot, but a pressure release system…

I really hope we get a video out of this to see how bad it actually is and how much "pressure" is needed for this. > Incidents/Injuries: Thermos has received 27 reports of consumers who were struck by a stopper that forcefully ejected from these containers upon opening, including complaints of impact and laceration injuries requiring medical attention. Three consumers suffered permanent vision loss after being struck…

The pressure build up can be quite a lot from fermentation. I’ve accidentally fermented drinks in glass swing top bottles. And upon attempting to open the bottle the pressure ripped the stopper and the metal parts right off the bottle at high speed.

If you were purposely fermenting something, you could build enough pressure to pop the bottle.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#47

Post by ahoka »

jmalicki wrote: post #7
traceroute66 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is there some expectation that it should have pressure release? Scroll down in that article to the section with photographs of "recalled" and "not recalled" lids side by side.

Why is there an expectation that it should be a required feature?

I think most people have the expectation of not getting a cap in the eyes when opening something.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#48

Post by gcr »

Aachen wrote: post #19
traceroute66 wrote: post #4

I too from the headline assumed it was some sort of chemical contamination during manufacturing. But then I read the words "The malfunction is due to multiple models of containers missing a pressure relief function in the center of the stopper." How non-existent does your quality assurance have to be in order to miss such a critical, obvious and easy to identify flaw ? Looking at the published photographs, you don't…

I've never seen a thermos bottle with a relief valve. Not sure if all manufacturers in Europe have nonexistent QA or if it's just not a thing that's commonly needed since you can't heat the contents up in there anyway (it's not like an insulated water boiler, which does have a release valve). Never considered that someone might leave food in there long enough to build up explosive pressure. Feels a bit like saying a…

I bet you’ve been using these your whole life without knowing it: in non-USA thermoses, the lid releases pressure before becoming mechanically free. You’d hear a “pop” and then the lid has to be twisted slightly further before it can be removed.

Not all safety features have to be obvious/obtrusive.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#49

Post by RobotToaster »

jmalicki wrote: post #7
traceroute66 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is there some expectation that it should have pressure release? Scroll down in that article to the section with photographs of "recalled" and "not recalled" lids side by side.

Why is there an expectation that it should be a required feature?

Because blinding people is bad and causes expensive lawsuits? How is this even a question.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#50

Post by edwcross »

roel_v wrote: post #39

That sucks. I have both and the ones with the pressure relieve valve are a pain in the ass to clean. You have to pull out the rubber inner thingy, you can't get a towel inside the hole that thingy goes into, and in general the rubber thing gets lost easily. I wish Thermos would send me a few of those 8 million stoppers, I'll promise I won't be a dumbass with them :(

> I promise I won't be a dumbass with them

That's not very empathic of fellow people who might just have mistakenly forgotten food in the container.

It's not like they were intentionally using this for brewing some illegal substance or misusing it in a way specifically forbidden in the manual or obviously unsafe (e.g. removing a magnetron and all of its protections from a microwave to make pretty wood carvings).

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