Science Jokes

  A Call for More Scientific Truth in Product Warning Labels
 
                               by Susan Hewitt and Edward Subitzky
 
                          from the Journal of Irreproducible Results, Vol 36, No. 1
 
 
 
 As scientists and concerned citizens, we applaud the recent trend towards
 legislation that requires the prominent placing of warnings on products that 
 present hazards to the general public.  Yet we must also offer the cautionary
 thought that such warnings, however well-intentioned, merely scratch the
 surface of what is really necessary in this important area.  This is especially
 true in light of the findings of 20th century physics.
 
 We are therefore proposing that, as responsible scientists, we join together in
 an intensive push for new laws that will mandate the conspicuous placement
 of suitably informative warnings on the packaging of every product offered
 for sale in the United States of America.  Our Suggested list of required
 warnings appears below.
 
 Warning: This Product Warps Space and Time in Its Vicinity.
 
 Warning: This Product Attracts Every Other Piece of Matter in the Universe,
 Including the Products of Other Manufacturers, with a Force Proportional to
 the Product of the Masses and Inversely Proportional to the Distance
 Between Them.
 
 Caution: The Mass of This Product Contains the Energy Equivalent of 85
 Million Tons of TNT per Net Ounce of Weight.
 
 Handle with Extreme Care: This Product Contains Minute Electrically
 Charged Particles Moving at Velocities in Excess of Five Hundred Million
 Miles per Hour.
 
 Consumer Notice: Because of the 'Uncertainty Principle,' It Is Impossible
 for the Consumer to Find Out at the Same Time Both Precisely Where This
 Product Is and How Fast It Is Moving.
 
 Advisory: There is an Extremely Small but Nonzero Chance That, Through a
 Process Known as 'Tunneling,' This Product May Spontaneously Disappear
 from Its Present Location and Reappear at Any Random Place in the
 Universe, Including Your NeighborUs Domicile.  The Manufacturer Will Not
 Be Responsible for Any Damages or Inconvenience That May Result.
 
 Read This Before Opening Package: According to Certain Suggested
 Versions of a Grand Unified Theory, the Primary Particles Constituting This
 Product May Decay to Nothingness Within the Next Four Hundred Million
 Years.
 
 This is a 100% Matter product: In the Unlikely Event That This Merchandise
 Should Contact Antimatter in Any Form, a Catastrophic Explosion Will
 Result.
 
 Public Notice as Required by Law: Any Use of This Product, in Any Manner
 Whatsoever, Will Increase the Amount of Disorder in the Universe.
 Although No Liability Is Implied Herein, the Consumer Is Warned That This
 Process Will Ultimately Lead to the Heat Death of the Universe.
 
 Note: The Most Fundamental Particles in This Product Are Held Together
 by a 'Gluing' Force About Which Little Is Currently Known and Whose
 Adhesive Power Can Therefore Not Be Permanently Guaranteed.
 
 Attention: Despite Any Other Listing of Product Contents Found Hereon,
 the Consumer Is Advised That, in Actuality, This Product Consists Of
 99.9999999999% Empty Space.
 
 New Grand Unified Theory Disclaimer: The Manufacturer May Technically
 Be Entitled to Claim That This Product Is Ten-Dimensional.  However, the
 Consumer Is Reminded That This Confers No Legal Rights Above and
 Beyond Those Applicable to Three-Dimensional Objects, Since the Seven
 New Dimensions Are 'Rolled Up' into Such a Small 'Area' That They
 Cannot Be Detected.
 
 Please Note: Some Quantum Physics Theories Suggest That When the
 Consumer Is Not Directly Observing This Product, It May Cease to Exist or
 Will Exist Only in a Vague and Undetermined State.
 
 Component equivalency notice: The Subatomic Particles (Electrons,
 Protons, etc.) Comprising This Product Are Exactly the Same in Every
 Measurable Respect as Those Used in the Products of Other Manufacturers,
 and No Claim to the Contrary May Legitimately Be Expressed or Implied.
 
 Health Warning: Care Should Be Taken When Lifting This Product, Since
 Its Mass, and Thus Its Weight, Is Dependent on Its Velocity Relative to the
 User.
 
 Important Notice to Purchasers: The Entire Physical Universe, Including
 This Product, May One Day Collapse Back into an Infinitesimally Small
 Space.  Should Another Universe Subsequently Re-emerge, the Existence of
 This Product in That Universe Cannot be Guaranteed.