{"id":58196,"date":"2013-12-07T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2013-12-07T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=58196"},"modified":"2013-12-05T03:41:13","modified_gmt":"2013-12-05T08:41:13","slug":"the-soundbite-echo-chamber-and-the-women-who-sued-mcdonalds-for-too-hot-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2013\/12\/07\/the-soundbite-echo-chamber-and-the-women-who-sued-mcdonalds-for-too-hot-coffee\/","title":{"rendered":"The Soundbite Echo Chamber and the Women Who Sued McDonald’s for Too Hot Coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screenshot_1\"<\/a>The joke about the woman who sued McDonald’s after spilling hot coffee in her lap has become a cultural lightening rod, mocked in sitcoms and used to argue in favor of reforming the law that guides civil lawsuits. \u00a0In fact, the coffee was served 30 degrees higher than coffee made at home. When it spilled between\u00a079-year-old\u00a0 Stella Liebeck’s legs and pooled in her seat, she went into shock. \u00a0She was burned over 16% of her body, 6% of the burns were 3rd degree. \u00a0She spent a week in the hospital and had to have skin grafts. \u00a0When she asked McDonald’s to pay her hospital bills, they refused. \u00a0Later it came out that the restaurant had gotten many complaints about the temperature of their coffee.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0video<\/a> reviews the case, described as the “most widely misunderstood story in America.” \u00a0From a sociological perspective, it’s a great example of how stories can bounce around in the media echo chamber, constrained by the need for sound bites, and become a cultural touchstone.<\/p>\n