What would you do if you received a knife in the mail?
By shywolf
@shywolf (4514)
United States
January 24, 2007 4:13pm CST
What is the strangest thing you've ever received in the mail? Apparently, Unilever sent out a batch of letters awhile back trying to promote one of it's brands of margarine. Their mistake was sending a small knife with a metal blade along with the letter. This caused several injuries among children, and quite a few parents complained.
What would you have done if you recieved this knife in the mail? Don't you think that it was irresponsible of Unilever, as a company, not to foresee this happening? Why would they send a metal bladed-knife in the first place? Surely a plastic knife would have been good enough, and have been more safe! *laugh*
If you have no thoughts on the above, what is the strangest and/or most interesting thing that you've ever received in the mail?
You can read more about this story here:
http://www.davesdaily.com/out.php?id=23858&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fs%2Fnm%2F20070123%2Fod_uk_nm%2Foukoe_uk_unilever_knives
12 people like this
51 responses
@judyt00 (3497)
• Canada
24 Jan 07
The question begs to be asked? why are these stupid parents letting their kids play with these knives and open their mail?? I can't believe people are this stupid. You get a free kitchen utensil in the mail, and you just let your child have it because its cute?. I think most of those parents should have to take a course on child rearing. And ifthe kid gets hurt opening the mail, Good! the kid shouldn't be doing so in the first place unless the mail is directed to them specifically. Would you open other peoples' mail? I don't think so! Its just not polite! Don't parents teach their kids about respect any more?
4 people like this
@shywolf (4514)
• United States
25 Jan 07
I really am not sure how or why the children in question got ahold of the knife that came with the mail. It does seem odd to me to thikn that the children would have been the ones opening the mail themselves. And surely the mail did not come addressed to them. Good point!
2 people like this
@opinder (420)
• India
25 Jan 07
that's exactly what i was wondering about. what kind of people would let their kids open mails? a knife with metal blade was surely meant as a handy gift to the recievers which they completely misinterpreted. the kids could have hurt themselves with any other knife too. why let the kids lay their hands on such objects anyway.
@happymommy3 (2012)
• United States
25 Jan 07
Oh my gosh, I also agree! I get upset if I even see my kids opening my junk mail! That is a terrible story though! I would be shocked if I got that in the mail!
@jumpinjack00 (3054)
• United States
24 Jan 07
No I didn't receive one of those knives.
That has got to be the most ridiculous
marketing stunts I've ever heard of. I
sure hope someone got fired for that.
I received an orange road construction
cone with the postage pasted right on it.
The cone wasn't wrapped, just sent that way.
It was sent by my nutty sister across the
country just to see if it would reach me.
4 people like this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
25 Jan 07
Ha ha And where did she get this orange construction cone? LOL
I would think it would be hilarious to receive something like that in the mail.
Who is your sister? Does she want a pen-pal? LOL
@rsmith512 (1561)
• United States
28 Jan 07
Haha!
I would find it really humorous to find something in my mail or beside my mail like that!
How funny....I cant believe it even got to you!
And, how did she get the orange cone?? :D
@shywolf (4514)
• United States
25 Jan 07
Oh my gosh! I love that your sister sent you that traffic cone all the way from across the country. How even funnier that it actually got all the way to you. I would love to receive something wacky in the mail like that. i really appreciate you sharing your story. Thanks!! ^_^
2 people like this
@rsmith512 (1561)
• United States
28 Jan 07
Wow! How funny and dangerous!
I think that the Company was a fault and did not just send a plastic knife, but the parents are also at fault.
Who would just let a child play with the mail?
How did the child get the mail? Did you leave it down??
That is funny though! And, I don't think that I have ever recieved anything like that in the mail. Just plain MAIL in the mailbox. Besides the annoying coupons that you get!! :D
1 person likes this
@JMPILAPIL (503)
• Philippines
25 Jan 07
Receiving knife from mail is really a strange thing. In the first place it would be very expensive to include metals or knives in a mail because if its weight but I would be thankful to receive a knife for free...specially if I don't have a better cutting knife. lol. Well to answer your question anyway I haven't received any strange thing through mail.
@mzbubblie (3839)
• United States
24 Jan 07
And to top it off they wanted to give them a toy consolation???WHOA...talking bout cheapo's with human lives. I haven't ever gotten anything weird in the mail before. But, the knife thought was poor taste and whoever approved it need to be fired...lol
2 people like this
@shywolf (4514)
• United States
25 Jan 07
I know, that's pretty silly, the toy consolation idea. Oh well. I've gotten some interesting things in the mail before, like a wolf conservation kit awhile back that i didnt even realize was going to come. I figured out that it was becasue i signed a save the wolves petition online, but at the time i didn't realize they were going to send me something in the mail for doing it. Very cool! ^_^
1 person likes this
@ashumit02 (818)
• United States
25 Jan 07
Very Happy!and accept this as a Gift for someone else.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
28 Jan 07
This was obviously a serious error of judgement on behalf of Unilever, bot to be fair it is easy to see the faults in this decision now that they have been highlighted. It may be easy to criticise, although nobody seems to complain or criticise when so many companies send ball point pens in the post. This is a common thing in the United Kingdom, and a ball point pen can serious harm if a child is not careful with it.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
25 Jan 07
Company...Gee, sorry was sent you knives in the mail. Here, let us send you a cuddly toy instead. What? They are trying to compensate with sending a stuffed animal? LOL That's too funny! They better choose the right toy! Because if they pick one of those toys that have removable parts or parts that do come off inadvertently, they the parents will get made again.
I have a question though...why were the parents allowing their kids play with the knife sent to them in the mail? What, they opened the mail and saw the knife and handed to their child saying, "Here, go play."? I don't leave mail or knives laying around my house.
Sure, this company should not have sent out knives for a promotional item...but instead allowed people to mail in a certificate to redeem one if that is what they wanted to give away. But the parents should also be more responsible with what they do with their mail and knives.
1 person likes this
@TAURUSGIRL (735)
•
25 Jan 07
i would ask where the rest of it wa i e fork and spoon. sorry joking apart not a good thing
@Eskimo (2315)
•
26 Aug 07
Its now illegal in the U.K. for people to carry knives, so I would have thought that sending them through the post would not be allowed either. I don't see what connection the knife would have with margarine, unless it is for spreading the margarine onto slices of bread.
I tried looking up the story but it is several months old and looks like it has been deleted.
@Geminigirl (1909)
• United States
28 Jan 07
If I received a knife in the mail, I'm sure that would be just the thing to make me snap, and then I would go on a "knifing" rampage and kill hundreds!!! WArning: Keep all knives away from me!!
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Aug 07
So what happens if x-rated mail gets sent to their house? Also, we've had mailbox bombs in our state. So who lets their kids get their mail?
I would really appreciate a metal knife in the mail. I've broken several of mine recently. I'm about out of steak knives.
A picture from a friend of a halloween costume that was a man with a sheep if you get my drift. I asked her not to send that kind of thing again, but that was really weird.
Mostly I get soap and lotions in the mail.
@Marie2473 (8512)
• Sweden
25 Jan 07
At one time I actually recived a bullet in an envelope. It turned out though that it was not ment for me , but for my neighbour (the police knew that he was beeing threatened) scary experiance though!
@jessescottus (807)
• United States
25 Jan 07
I gave my son a pocket knife when he was 9. He was in the "Cub Scouts". I showed him how it worked and told him not to cut himself. An hour or so later he was bleeding. I took the knife away and told him that I would think about when to give it back. I waited a day and gave it back. He hasn't cut himself since, he's 12 now.The strangest thing that I've gotten in the mail?Not much.
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
25 Jan 07
Well, I'd complain. That has to be one of the dumbest things a company could do. I'd send a slip of paper offering the knife to customers..and if they wanted it I'd send it to them after they replied to it..it would definitely be in better packaging though.
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
25 Jan 07
I have never recieve anything all that strange . I have recieved soaps and shamposs and pampers stuff like that . I have recieved free formula and different kinds kind of baby food ect.
As a big company you would have realized how sharp and dangerous a knife would be , someone could have been severly hurt and sued for such a mistake .
My dad recieved crystal earrings one time in the mail which he gave to me and I still have them today . Different people have commented that I must have paid a fortune for them and when I tell them my dad got them in the mail they are always amazed . I don't know that they have any acutal value behind them but they are really pretty .
