The Mountain Dew Defense: We’d MELT a Mouse!

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I remember hearing about the case of a mouse supposedly showing up in a can of Pepsi, and had assumed that it had all been settled out of court long ago. But a post today at the Consumerist shows that is not the case!

The case goes back to 2009, and here are some details:

A man who found a dead mouse in a can of Mountain Dew after taking a swig from it is suing Pepsico, a store and its manager.

Ronald Ball claims he bought a can of Mountain Dew from a vending machine located at his work place, Marathon Oil, in Wood River on Nov. 10, according to the complaint filed April 29 in Madison County District Court.

“After purchasing said can of Mountain Dew, Plaintiff opened the can and immediately became violently ill such that he began to vomit,” the suit states.

Immediately, Ball poured the Mountain Dew into a Styrofoam cup. Along with the liquid, a dead mouse plopped out of the can, Ball claims.

Before Ball purchased the can, it was sealed and had not been punctured or tampered with, the suit states.

The Mountain Dew had been purchased from defendant store Shop N’ Save, where co-defendant Paul Pohlman was store manager, the complaint says.

After finding the mouse in his soda, Ball called the number on the side of the Mountain Dew can and made a formal complaint, he says.

An adjuster investigating Ball’s complaint called him back to ask if Ball could send the mouse to the company as evidence of his claims, according to the complaint. Following the company’s request, Ball sent the dead mouse to the company in a mason jar filled with the leftover Mountain Dew from the can.

But the interesting thing noted by the Consumerist is that in the latest legal wranglings involving Pepsi changing lawyers, it has been revealed that a key defense for Pepsi is that the mouse could never remain intact in a can of Mountain Dew:

Ronald Ball, from Illinois, was told he would never have known the mouse had been in his can of soda – because it would have dissolved into jelly.

So which is worse … the possibility that a mouse managed to get into what is presumably a sealed and sterile packaging environment … or that the Mountain Dew I enjoy would dissolve a living creature into jelly?

Source: Consumerist

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

3 Comments on "The Mountain Dew Defense: We’d MELT a Mouse!"

  1. Now we know what Dorothy poured on the Wicked Witch…it wasn’t water, it was Mountain Dew!

    (also, after this article I am never drinking soda again).

  2. Love the video doogald – it has been decades (literally) since I’ve seen that …

    And Carly – I had just bought a couple of 6-packs of the 24oz Diet Mountain Dew for a business trip to an equipment manufacturer … yeah, not so thrilled now!

    • Well when you think about it, bottled/canned Mountain Dew takes some time to get from the plant to the shelf. Looking at the ingredients list of Mountain Dew, the culprit would be citric acid. If Pepsico is to be believed, one could achieve the same effect with a glass of particularly sour orange juice.

      Up for an experiment, Michael? 🙂

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