somewhere....somebody...said Mcdonalds kept their coffee extra hot...to
discourage the old farts from sitting around taking up space with cup after
cup. That was the basis of the decision, not that she spilled the coffee
herself, but that they made a conscious decision, and were even cited
several times by the local health department, to overheat the brew.
dave henrie
> > If a woman burns her thighs on the hot coffee she was holding in her lap
> while
> > driving, she blames the restaurant.
> Not that I think the settlement in this case was justifiable, but there
were
> some interesting facts in this case. I have been studying thermal injury
to
> skin and muscle lately, so that's how I came across this. McDonalds used
to
> hold their coffee at about 80C (180F), pretty high. Most other
> restaurants, and the coffee machines at home, hold the coffee at 60C
> (140F). The relationship between temperature of exposure, time of
exposure
> and tissue injury is such that this seemingly small increase in
temperature
> means instant and deep burns if it spills, compared to much less severe
> consequences at the "normal" temperature.
> Still, no excuses for driving with coffee in your lap (although she wasn't
> driving) and also no excuses for wearing really absorbent, pink fleece
track
> pants in any circumstances!
> Stephen
