Local woman finds unpleasant surprise in her potato chips

By STACY VOGEL   Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009
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Emma Schweiger of Janesville was eating potato chips from a brand new bag she bought at Aldi when she found this Nokia cell phone in the bag.

Emma Schweiger of Janesville was eating potato chips from a brand new bag she bought at Aldi when she found this Nokia cell phone in the bag.

— Found: One Nokia cell phone covered in crumbs and grease. Unmistakable odor of potato chips.

If that’s your phone, you have some explaining to do.

Emma Schweiger of Janesville Township said she found the phone in a bag of Clancy’s Ripple Potato Chips.

She bought two bags of chips from the local Aldi store Wednesday, she said. That night, she opened one bag and was absent-mindedly grabbing handfuls of chips while reading the newspaper when she felt something hard.

“Your heart just kind of jumps,” she said.

She reached in and grabbed a blue and silver Nokia phone, she said.

Schweiger alternated between laughter and disgust as she described the event to a Janesville Gazette reporter Friday. The offending phone, still covered in greasy potato-chip film, lay on the counter next to the open bag of chips.

It wouldn’t turn on, but it had a T-Mobile chip—the computer kind—and a discolored circle on the back, as if it was once connected to a belt clip.

Schweiger didn’t notice anything odd about the bag when she bought it, but after finding the phone, she and her husband compared the bag with the phone in it with the unopened bag, she said. It was slightly heavier.

The bag says the chips are distributed by Aldi in Batavia, Ill.

Aldi knows of the incident and has informed its supplier, which is investigating the matter, said Martha Swaney, corporate spokeswoman.

“Certainly the health and safety of our customers are our top priority,” she said.

Anyone with concerns about a product can return the product for a refund and replacement product, she said.

Schweiger said she called the local Aldi store, and an employee told her the store would pull all chips with the same brand and expiration date as hers. The employee also told her she could get a new bag of chips, but she doesn’t plan on taking the store up on that offer.

“You kind of don’t want chips for a while” after something like that, she said.

Schweiger contacted the Madison office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and an official there told her to hang onto the bag for an investigation, she said.

FDA officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

Schweiger isn’t sure what she’ll do next but hopes the FDA can track down the owner of the phone.

She’s glad she found the phone and not a child who might have put it in his or her mouth, she said. She’s also glad the phone wasn’t in a product she would have heated, she said.

Schweiger doesn’t know when she’ll have an appetite for potato chips again, but when she does, she’ll do things a little differently.

“I will never, ever eat chips out of a bag again,” she said. “They will be dumped in the bowl.”







reader COMMENTS (126)
Sandman
Sep 22, 2009 at 4:04 p.m.
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Looks like cutting back on potato chips wouldn't hurt her... (yawn)

upnorthwi
Apr 28, 2009 at 12:24 p.m.
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happy...whats that supposed to mean??

happycamper
Apr 27, 2009 at 7:48 p.m.
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Aldi, Say no more.

teacher2b
Mar 9, 2009 at 2:01 a.m.
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Maybe the new guy just misunderstood a simple instruction...the CHIP goes in the PHONE. Possibly dyslexic?

JvlBorn
Mar 9, 2009 at 1:42 a.m.
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All I know is that those factory workers need to be paid more so they can afford decent phones. Is that analog? Have those even worked in the past 3-4 years with the newer digital technologies? How old were the chips?

klick
Mar 5, 2009 at 3:57 p.m.
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beeferer the check for the puffs are in the mail.

beeferer
Mar 4, 2009 at 7:55 a.m.
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No problem klick- as soon as I get my puffs...

klick
Mar 4, 2009 at 3:15 a.m.
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beeferer yes a nice array of flowers would be nice .and a vase that would be great

kiowamohican
Mar 3, 2009 at 10:34 p.m.
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evansvillehousewife:
THANK YOU! My God; at least someone still thinks out side the box these days! Isn't it obvious it's a hoax? What amazes me is how often people buy into this nonsense. Remember the rat found in a coke can? People actually bought into that hoax. Or remember 4-5 years ago when that girl up at the UW faked an abduction because her boyfriend dumped her, and you had stories all over the national news? It's amazing how many actually buy into this nonsense. Christ people have made livings from the gullible claiming that the moon landing was staged, and aliens have abducted them.

evansvillehousewife
Mar 3, 2009 at 8:01 p.m.
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If this is a hoax, it's an ill-thought out one. It will be easy to pull the programming and activation data from the phone and see where/ who it came from.

optimism
Mar 3, 2009 at 7:39 p.m.
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MYSONSMOM ~ with the info you just gave, makes me wonder if there isn't a little foul play on the woman's part? Maybe a way to get a extra coin? (probably not, but it does make one wonder)

gixxer
Mar 3, 2009 at 3 p.m.
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I think that phone belongs to Mr.Potatoe Head ! Imagine if she had swallowed it,and then shortly afterward someone calls that number.Talk about ring from within?

Mikki
Mar 3, 2009 at 11:48 a.m.
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phlurky, those Lucky Charms marshmallows were an entire food group for me during my teenage years.
The rest of the cereal resembled cat chow.

mysonsmom
Mar 3, 2009 at 11:45 a.m.
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I work in a food manufacturing facility and am concerned - not about the bag weight but about metal detection. The food goes into a scale, and once it hits a target weight, it drops into a bag and the bag is sealed. The phone must have been dropped on the line prior to the scale/bagger. After the bagger there should be a metal detector. This would reject any bags that have metal in them - for example a part from the bagger (or a cell phone). You can bet their HACCP plan will be scrutinized, as well as their metal detector checks which are required by their HACCP plan. Aldi would be smart to drop them as a supplier - Aldi is a good account to have given our economic situation in the US!

beeferer
Mar 3, 2009 at 8:09 a.m.
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klick- you can bring out the negativity in people by posting accusations without merit. Out of the blue you accuse me of being negative. What do you expect? Do you want me to send you flowers?

optimism
Mar 2, 2009 at 9:48 p.m.
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This is just dumb. I am sorry, but is it really that big of a deal? It was a phone for pete's sake. A child puts worse things in their mouth in an average day at daycare or school. Is it really that impossible to see how this might have ACCIDENTALLY happened?? Lighten up woman.

MDCCLXXVI
Mar 2, 2009 at 7:17 p.m.
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.
BostonBill:
"...THEIR PHONE WAS IN A BAG OF CHIPS."
.
ROFLMAO. Funny stuff. You win.

gmaof3
Mar 2, 2009 at 6:42 p.m.
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Jeepers! Is the phone under warranty? Or does it fall under the clause of water-damaged... (Does chip grease count?)

klick
Mar 2, 2009 at 5:58 p.m.
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beeferer
Gee klick, I am sorry if I offended you by going to the Snopes website.
-----------------------------------------------
BEEFEATER i never said anything about offeneding you.
Back to remedial reading for you .
i said you were a NEGATIVE person and you are.
case closed .

klick
Mar 2, 2009 at 5:05 p.m.
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Mikki you forgot to say to beeferer and this time i mean it.

klick
Mar 2, 2009 at 5 p.m.
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beeferer thanks for apologizing to me don't let it get you down .as a person of good will i will send you a box of puffs .

come_on_people
Mar 2, 2009 at 4:12 p.m.
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I've known Emma since we were kids and she is not a sue happy, looking for $$ kind of person. Geez! Why don't you all spend your energy talking about something important instead of putting down a woman none of you even know????

beeferer
Mar 2, 2009 at 12:26 p.m.
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Oh Mikki... [Wiping a tear from my eye] thanks.

Mikki
Mar 2, 2009 at 12:17 p.m.
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Well, beeferer, I love you, if that means anything.
LOL

dudefromjsvl
Mar 2, 2009 at 12:02 p.m.
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thats funny, use the cell phone and eat chips, enjoy

beeferer
Mar 2, 2009 at 11:12 a.m.
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One other thing, klick. Although I have thought and thought about it, I cannot for the life of me think of anything negative to say about you. OK, that's an outright lie, but I would never post it, unless you ask me real nicely.

beeferer
Mar 2, 2009 at 11:08 a.m.
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Gee klick, I am sorry if I offended you by going to the Snopes website. I never got the memo stating that this practice will automatically label me as offensive. I just didn't know. And now, for klick's sake, I would like to express my regret for overstepping my boundaries and visiting the Snopes website. Please klick, tell me I am forgiven. Please? Pretty please? Oh, it means so much to me- apparently just as much as me going to Snopes means to you.

matthew516
Mar 2, 2009 at 9:19 a.m.
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I think we need to get the govt. involved in this case. It's way too serious and complex for anyone other than them to handle.

thediplomat
Mar 2, 2009 at 8:44 a.m.
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klick,

You whine too much (there is your something negative that you asked for). Beeferer was just pointing out that the individual could do a simple snopes.com search before posting something as fact. It takes an extra minute. Not too tough.

klick
Mar 1, 2009 at 11:26 p.m.
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ya know what beeferer you are a very negative person, now find something negative about me and retaliate.

1919eternal
Mar 1, 2009 at 9:12 p.m.
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Frito Lay would never do that!!

smrthing
Mar 1, 2009 at 7:45 p.m.
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OMG.. I'm laughing so hard I'm almost crying. Thank goodness most of you here also feel this is about the most ridiculous thing we've read in weeks. Thank goodness we uncovered this "tragedy" in the wake of all that's happening in our community and country. We needed the laugh.

werpknarly
Mar 1, 2009 at 7:01 p.m.
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WOW! better than the last prize i got in my Cracker Jacks!

carlitosway
Mar 1, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.
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the name brands and generic brands of some products are actually bagged and canned in the same factory. I worked at Aunt Nellys in Climan Wi and all we did was change the labels of the cans. Dole/ roundys /Aunt Nellys/ and so on. After that buy the cheaper one. As to blaming a store lol.Also I had a whole potato in a bag of Jays potato chips and it was soggy and nasty I called the company and reported lot # and problem, I got coupons in the mail I still eat jays chips . Stuff happens get over it. had it been a hundred dollar bill would there have been a problem? And that is also full of germs.

befair
Mar 1, 2009 at 10:32 a.m.
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Gross? Yes. Worth a front page story in the local newspaper? Probably not.

RUSerious
Mar 1, 2009 at 10:20 a.m.
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call1 says: "I liken this lady to that circuit court Judge..."
You do? Does it mention anywhere that she IS going to sue Aldi? You're more like that judge than she is. I mean-if you find anything in that bag of chips besides chips-especially something as strange as a cell phone...it could be considered kind of out of the ordinary...or "news". You did read the story for some reason. What would you do...set the phone aside and keep eating like it happened everyday? I hope the phone owner doesn't lose his job, too, but he/she DID somehow lose it in a bag of chips....he/she WAS the careless one, not the one who bought the chips. I'd love to know how it happened.
And for those who berate Aldi (most stores sell various quality potato chips), Big Lots (spam? you can buy that anywhere), Nokia...no wonder other people think Americans are spoiled. Nothing's quite good enough. A phone brand, 2 stores, and Mexicans (some comments apparently removed) have been berated in these comments(re: "i have never been to the store and i plan on keeping it that way, yuck !")
On another note...this woman could have commented under the present Gazette story "Finding Your Call".

call1
Mar 1, 2009 at 8:26 a.m.
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PS.. I read a few more comments.. & had to correct one thing i said.. I mentioned I thought this lady was fishing for a lawsuit (which i believe she is).. but I, in no way, shape, or form thinks she has a chance in He11 of getting anywhere near a courtroom.

Could be wrong, but i doubt it.. Besides.. with all the frivolous lawsuits out there now, I'd be afraid of ticking off the Judge.

I liken this lady to that circuit court Judge a couple years ago, who sued the cleaners for (i believe) a $1,000,000 for losing his pants, after turning down a $5,000 for the pants from the owner of the cleaners. JEEPERS.. what a nut.. he lost his job too.. (as he should have)

call1
Mar 1, 2009 at 8:18 a.m.
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Its has to be a slow news week.. I can't believe the press this lady got for this. I once found a bolt from a automated machine in my potato chip bag.. to think i didn't call the gazette, FDA, CIA, FBI, NSA.. I did call the manufacturer to let them know they may have a problem with one of their machines, but give me a break... This stuff happens. This isn't the time to get some mom or dad fired from their jobs. Whats wrong with people today. If you want attention... Do something good for mankind..

Can anyone say, "here comes another dumb lawsuit." I could understand if it was a razor, or grenade, C4, etc.. but a cell phone... a Nokia no less. It belongs in the garbage, yes.. but on the news.. absolutely no way..

tma
Mar 1, 2009 at 7:34 a.m.
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You wanna talk gross stuff in your food? Remember Jeffrey Dahmer? He worked in a chocolate factory in Milwaukee. Now that's what you call a ButterFINGER - or a Three Muskateers or Whatchamacallit.
*Release of liability: Dahmer did not work for Nestle or Hersheys, the actual manufacturer of those candy bars.

transformer07
Feb 28, 2009 at 11:58 p.m.
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wonder what the TSA would have thought when sending the bag through the XRAY machine.....

kawisixer01
Feb 28, 2009 at 11:26 p.m.
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I have a hard time beleiving this. I work in a mojor food producer's plant and am very familiar with food production. Depending on the plant this product was produced in, if it were any kind of a mojor producer they would have foreign matter detectors scanning the product as it is falling into the bagmaker from it's weigher. These scanners pick up anything bigger than 1.5 mm ferrous and 2.5 mm non-ferrous metal (which the battery in the phone would have quite significantly more than) and also are typically sensitive to plastic or anything more solid than a chip. Also the phone should have weighed enough that it would have faulted out the weigher and usual protocall is to pull any bags out that were produced from a weigher error. Either this is a very shoddy facility that is not set up very well, possibly in another country, or this is a hoax. I doubt it is a hoax though because if someone is attempting hoaxes they typically go after the big boys and not small contract manufacturers. Thats not to say you can't get foreign matter in your product. It is not uncommon throughout the food industry to have small washers or other hardware from equipment found in bags on very rare occasions. People need to realize the thousands and thousands of pounds of food that are produced per hour in a typical production plant, and the amount of machinery and such committing that work is quite vast.

BostonBill
Feb 28, 2009 at 11:24 p.m.
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The article said, "Aldi officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
Of course they couldn't be reached, THEIR PHONE WAS IN A BAG OF CHIPS.

truthman
Feb 28, 2009 at 11:17 p.m.
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tbatch wrote "Are we, as a society, getting more stupid....? Ya Think??!!" and he then wrote a bunch of outdated, debunked "lawsuits" he got from some e-mail forward. yeah, tbatch, you provide Exhibit A to answer your question. people who believe whatever they read in an e-mail forward, or on the comments to a newspaper website (I'm talking to you localboysince1968 and hannah), should take a look in the mirror before they start asking if "we" are getting more stupid.

snuba
Feb 28, 2009 at 10:47 p.m.
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I can think of worse things to find in your potato chips!!!

SarahB
Feb 28, 2009 at 8:32 p.m.
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Cell phone mystery solved. Now, if only I could find those glasses I also lost.

prevention
Feb 28, 2009 at 7:54 p.m.
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Guess the inspection processor failed that day at the plant.

Are there rules, regulations, and protocols set in place for the 'caution: contents may be hot' types of events? I mean, after all, they are placed on things like nobody's business.

For example, the bag of pistachios has an allergy warning to the effect of the pistachios being in the same facility as pistachios. Huh?

anonomouse
Feb 28, 2009 at 7:29 p.m.
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This story reminds me of the finger in the Wendy's chili. Turned out the person who found it planted it. Not saying thats what happened but I wouldn't doubt it. Chips are sold by weight. Cell phones weigh more than chips

916WI
Feb 28, 2009 at 6:53 p.m.
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Too bad it wasn't an ipod--That would have been an awesome bag of chips....."a kid is going to eat it" or "you could get germs from it" come on people, get a life..........

klick
Feb 28, 2009 at 5 p.m.
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One thing i forgot about the mouse the tail was kind of crunchy .

janesvillean
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:44 p.m.
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The Crackerjack prizes sure have changed.

TechMasterFlex
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:36 p.m.
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On time I opened a bag of rice and noticed they were moving. I looked closer and it was full of maggots!!

gazettefan
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:26 p.m.
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:~(

klick
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:24 p.m.
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I once bought a bag of chips had a dead mouse in it, so i peeled the hair off the mouse ate it i must say not to damn bad . it was kinda flat though.

gazettefan
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:19 p.m.
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Wow, now my thoughts and prayers go out to Emma!!!

klick
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:15 p.m.
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gabby06 now you will sliced worm on your pickles eh .

evansvillehousewife
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:15 p.m.
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This is so laughable. Have you ever seen a wagon of oats as it is harvested, on it's way to be oatmeal? It's about 35% grasshoppers.
The chicken nuggets came from a chicken that was scalded in the water that 1000 other chickens went through that same half hour filled with their feces, lice, and feathers. Most likely your fruit was sprayed with a carcinogen that penetrated the surface so it looks picture perfect, with a slight poison coating.
Ever so slight.
I think eating potato chips will kill you a lot faster than finding a cell phone in a bag of them. Particularly since there were probably mice, worms, or bugs crawling over the potatoes before they were processed. Fourteen tablespoons of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of salt over a baked potato, and you have the basic nutritional equal...
Aldis has swell sales on fish this month... just don't watch how they get processed. Ever.
Now, if they still sold WHOLE fresh fish... you'd get a chance of buying one with a diamond ring in it's stomach...

upnorthwi
Feb 28, 2009 at 4:01 p.m.
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localboy..are trying to say that only poor people shop at Aldi? That's what you are coming across as. It's smart people who want to save $$ that shop there. Trust me, there are quite a few of wealthy people that go there, that's how the rich stay rich.

upnorthwi
Feb 28, 2009 at 3:55 p.m.
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You people knocking Aldi...do you think that they have their own manufacturing plant??? Uh, no. The food comes from the regular places that also supply your other local grocery stores. So, to say Aldi has gross food, or would never shop there, I guess you won't buy Ocean Spray juice, or Roundy's, or Little Debbies etc. from anywhere else either. I suppose you don't eat tomatoes, green onions, peanut butter, hot peppers, lettuce or anything else that has been recalled because of Ecoli either. Get real!!

momof5
Feb 28, 2009 at 3:43 p.m.
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SarahB: are you going on Monday? Find a job yet?

gabby06
Feb 28, 2009 at 3:15 p.m.
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My best friend and I always liked the huge dill pickles you could get from the ball park. Her mom went to the store and bought us a jar of the biggest pickles she could find. We started eating them. My best friend bit into one and looked down, there was a worm in her pickle. UGH! I never eat pickles now unless they are sliced.

coyote
Feb 28, 2009 at 3:06 p.m.
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AT least it wasn't a finger or something like that.

SarahB
Feb 28, 2009 at 3:03 p.m.
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I'm glad all of you uppity people plan to remain out of Aldi's. That means the lines won't grow longer and I can still laugh at those buying the same thing (with a different label pasted on the bottle) at another store for a jacked up price.

justsaynotomath
Feb 28, 2009 at 2:51 p.m.
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this is a great ad for Aldi's. i have never been to the store and i plan on keeping it that way, yuck !

lynda
Feb 28, 2009 at 1:47 p.m.
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gazette fan: you made my day....thanks for the laugh.

Shopierehuh
Feb 28, 2009 at 1:35 p.m.
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Emma, do you feel the love? It is what is known as the "Wrath Of The Dumb*****."

gazettefan
Feb 28, 2009 at 1:08 p.m.
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Maybe thekid could tell us here about the Polar Plunge and whether he did it after smoking mother nature.

The tie-in is that the lady in the story had the munchies.

'~)

gazettefan
Feb 28, 2009 at 12:46 p.m.
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My thoughts and prayers go out to whoever lost the cell phone.

bkrkim
Feb 28, 2009 at 11:34 a.m.
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Sounds like a dip on a chip.

janesvillecomments
Feb 28, 2009 at 10:58 a.m.
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If there is a weight inspection of the chips after the bags are sealed, I'm guessing it's to ensure the minimum advertised weight of the product is contained in the bags, not to check for phone-induced weight overages.

freddog
Feb 28, 2009 at 10:52 a.m.
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I never win nothing when i buy stuff...:(

robinvioleth
Feb 28, 2009 at 10:52 a.m.
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OMG she found a cell phone charge it up and call a number and return the phone and because she took it so far a job will be lost some people just need 15mins of fame!

TechMasterFlex
Feb 28, 2009 at 9:59 a.m.
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Germs? I'm thinking now. Where do I keep my phone? Pocket. Does a modern cell phone come near my mouth? Nope. Maybe I store and talk differently with my phone then most people. The germs would be minimal and they are all over the chips that little billy would be eating too. Run away!!!

ericbakkum
Feb 28, 2009 at 9:56 a.m.
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cardtrader: I,m sure the mexican that lost it will bw happy to get it back

Are these chips bagged in Mexico? Do you have some insight you could share with everyone?

OkieFed
Feb 28, 2009 at 9:46 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
bn1967
Feb 28, 2009 at 9:38 a.m.
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When I saw the headlines I was expecting something dead or really gross. I think I'll be dumping my bags of chips, crackers... out anyways; not that the same thing will ever happen again.

garyprimer
Feb 28, 2009 at 9:18 a.m.
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Is this article suggesting that potato chips from Aldi's are greasy?

Zoom
Feb 28, 2009 at 9:01 a.m.
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Epic Fail to thatch2000 for not only posting internet falsehoods, but doing it seven times in the same thread! Don't believe everything you read on the interwebs or that email thingy.

ihavealife
Feb 28, 2009 at 9 a.m.
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localboy...You also must shop at those places if you know about the deals ??
I'm wondering how the bag of chips got pass the weight inspection?? Just doesn't sound right to me ??

beeferer
Feb 28, 2009 at 8:49 a.m.
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tbatch2000- You should do some checking into those Stella awards before submitting them as fact. They are in fact falsehoods. Read all about them here. Now your integrity has been compromised.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/cruis...
http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp...

SpongeBob
Feb 28, 2009 at 7:59 a.m.
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phlurky- yes, we can hear you now. But unfortunately we've heard that one already. There has only been a handful of posts so let's try and keep up.

retiredat55
Feb 28, 2009 at 7:37 a.m.
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more than likely the supplier will offer her some free product and a small amount of cash and offer a apology and get to the bottom of their problem,this was a non intentional thing that happened. If this was a mouse or something of that order she would have a case,so she should just sit back and relax she will be contacted by the right sources in due time. She should not had to contact the fda for such a small incident.

cardtrader
Feb 28, 2009 at 7:17 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
localboysince1968
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:53 a.m.
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tbatch2000 - the way this lady carries on about finding a cell phone in her chips makes me think she is one of your finalists. I give her a week before she is back to eating potato chips. That is what she gets for buying chips at Aldi's. She probably left there, and stopped at Big Lots for a jar of pickles, and a loaf of spam on the way home.

tbatch2000
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:17 a.m.
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Im not saying that Emma Schweiger is going to this extreme but I know there is people out there would take this all the way to the bank.

tbatch2000
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:15 a.m.
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3RD PLACE: Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. Whatever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?

Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two more Stellas to go...

2ND PLACE: Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

tbatch2000
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:14 a.m.
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5TH PLACE: Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT, days on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish.

Keep scratching. There are more...

4TH PLACE: Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.
Grrrrr. Scratch, scratch.

tbatch2000
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:14 a.m.
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7TH PLACE: Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

6TH PLACE: Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

tbatch2000
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:13 a.m.
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If you dont know whThe "Stella Awards"

It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right?

That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

o stella is here it is

tbatch2000
Feb 28, 2009 at 5:12 a.m.
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In trying times watch how this ends up! A couple million dollar lawsuits, If you were to reach into the bag and grab this cell phone Im pretty sure your not going to put into your mouth. DAH

Ponder this for a while is this the type of society we really want to be?
1ST PLACE: (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos please)

This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned

Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

Are we, as a society, getting more stupid....? Ya Think??!!

More than a few of our judge's elevators don't go to the top floor either!

Shopierehuh
Feb 28, 2009 at 3:20 a.m.
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Have you ever heard of germs, TMF? A used cell phone would likely have an interesting array of viruses and bacteria on it. Why don't you go suck on people's cell phones for a year or so and see if your health changes?

Truth
Feb 28, 2009 at 1:20 a.m.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the winner of our first Clancy's cell phone give away. (Void in WA, HI, UT and WI)

janesvillecomments
Feb 28, 2009 at 1:12 a.m.
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"Can you hear me now?" Oh, wait... that's the Frito Lay bag. Never mind.

TechMasterFlex
Feb 28, 2009 at 12:45 a.m.
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"a child who might have put it in his or her mouth" Thank God!! Just think of what might have happened! I mean if a kid got this and they just, well, ummmmm, ahhhhhhh. I guess a kid might put it in its mouth and what? Notice its not crunchy and delicious and cry due to disapointment?

transformer07
Feb 28, 2009 at 12:23 a.m.
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I seem to lost my cell phone......

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