Stop! In the name of the law!

Long ago, when I was about 10 years old, I remember lying awake one night, unable to sleep because I was worried. I wondered if a 10 year old could be put in jail for removing the tag on her new pillow. You know... the tag that said, “DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW”! In a moment of weakness, because I was annoyed at the unsightly protrusion, I cut it off. I read the ominous label, but thought... "who would know"?? It didn't occur to me until afterward, that I could have just adjusted the pillow case and tucked it away in the other end (but it still would've made that crinkly sound!!).

Since then, as a means of repentance, I never cut those goofy tags off pillows, comforters, sofa cushions, etc. Until this weekend. We got some new bedding and EVERYTHING, even pillow shams and sheets, has these unsightly tags sticking out of the seams. Except now... the tag says, "UNDER PENALTY OF LAW -- THIS TAG NOT TO BE REMOVED EXCEPT BY THE CONSUMER." So, I did a little research, and found that it was always OK for the consumer to cut off the labels; it was assumed that the consumer would know this. Turns out I didn't break the law after all. Whew!

Laws requiring these tags were passed to let consumers know whether the stuffed article they bought contained new or recycled materials. This is important because recycled stuffing material can be contaminated.

Way back when... clever men devised crude mattresses by sewing animal skins together, stuffing them with straw, and placing them in a wooden frame, cross-strung with rope. Because the ropes would eventually sag, they needed to periodically be re-tightened. Thus, the saying, "Sleep tight". In the early 1900's, laws were instituted to regulate 'stuffing', because it was a common problem for even new mattress to be vermin-infested, with bugs, bacteria and mildew. Thus, the rest of the saying, "...and don't let the bed-bugs bite!"

So, this was the reason for the goofy tags... and to protect the consumer, it was a law that all stuffed items had to have a declaration of what was inside. The ominous wording was to ensure the manufacturers complied. And, sometime between the time I was 10, and now, they changed the wording to clarify that the consumer may remove them. I went through the house yesterday and cut off those labels everywhere I found them, and I felt, ... redeemed.

Laws are usually made to protect us, from each other and from ourselves. While the law and governmental warnings may restrict us at times, in the proper perspective, they are for our good. A friend of mine recently sent me this photo which explains the reason for the U.S. Governmental Health Warning: DO NOT SWALLOW CHEWING GUM.

'Nuf said!

(Thanks, Jacque!)