RE: Open letter to Linux kernel developers (was Re: Binary Drivers)

["David Schwartz" <davids@webmaster.com>]

> The recommendet _serving_ temperature for coffe is 55 °C or below.

Nonsense! 55C (100F) is ludicrously low for coffee.

70C (125F) is the *minimum* recommended serving temperature. 165-190F is the
preferred serving range. I can cite source after source for this. For
example:
http://www.bunn.com/pages/coffeebasics/cb6holding.html
http://www.millcreekcoffee.com/holding.htm

Can we stop repeating a ridiculous myth? Coffee is supposed to be served
hot, very hot, hot enough to cause third-degree burns in seconds. Yes,
really.

Don't spill coffee on yourself or you could wind up in the hospital with
severe burns. This is a simple fact even if coffee is served at the ideal
serving temperature.

The fact that coffee is dangerous means that it is a virtual certainty that
dozens of people will be seriously burned by coffee every year. If this
scares or bothers you, don't drink coffee.

>1) mcdonald's was not merely serving their coffee "hot," but
>*scalding* hot (180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit), a temperature that
>will produce third-degree burns almost immediately, and

Right, 175 is the generally-recommended serving temperature and will also
produce third-degree burns almost immediately. Coffee served *anywhere*
inside the generally-accepted serving range will cause third degree burns
almost immediately. Consumer studies show that people generally like their
coffee more the hotter you serve it, with 190-200 degrees (the practical
maximum) consistently winning over lower temperature ranges.

Car manufacturers make cars that don't just go "fast" but *dangerously* fast
(100 to 120 MPH), a speed that can result in death almost immediately.

>2) there had, for a decade prior, been some *700* cases where people
>had burned themselves with mcdonald's coffee, so it's not as if
>mcdonald's was unaware of the danger, yet continued to ignore it.

Right, coffee is dangerous. It has always been and always will be if it's
served at the proper temperature. Thousands of people hurt themselves skiing
every year, yet the resorts stay open.

The danger of burns is inherent to the serving of hot beverages. If you
don't want to take that risk, don't order hot beverages.

How many people die each year in car accidents? Is this in any way evidence
that the car manufacturers are doing anything wrong?

>yes, the american system of justice is brain-damaged.  but it's time
>to find another example to use as the evidence, ok?

This is a *perfect* example. The tort system is meant to correct wrongdoing.
McDonald's served coffee at the temperature customers prefer it, in holders
that were perfectly suitable for beverages served at that temperature. The
justice system made them pay because someone was *hurt*, not because anyone
did something *wrong*.

http://www.overlawyered.com/2005/10/urban_legends_and_stella_liebe.html

DS