Warning Does Not Work

I have spent years in the window treatment business and always found the tag that the government forced all manufacturers to attach to their products to be a fool's errand. Pictured above, it is present on the cords of all window treatment hardware these days, written in English on one side and Spanish on the opposite side. And, my suspicion that it served no useful purpose was confirmed today when I heard that 50 million blinds are being recalled.

It's the second largest recall in the nation's history. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Window Covering Safety Council are announcing a voluntary recall of more than 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds. To the surprise of many parents, these common household items can pose a life-threatening danger.

So, 50 million blinds are being recalled, because:

There have been eight reported deaths from Roman shades and roll-up blinds since 2001 and 16 near-strangulations.

Wow, how will mankind survive! Whatever happened to common sense?

"We had placed those shades there, next to his crib, with no idea that they were potentially so dangerous," said his wife Susan.

Or, reading a warning tag?

And, lastly, what evidence is there to make one believe that the proposed fix will actually prevent future Darwin Award nominees from harming themselves? Are we expected to believe a kid won't find a way to get his head in the cord even with a cord tensioner in place? Good luck with that.