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"A Game Of Chess"
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A Game Of Chess
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A Game Of Chess

by Paul Taylor on August 15, 2011 at 12:00 am
Story: Wapsi-Archive
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Discussion (141) ¬

  1. Cheesy1
    August 15, 2011, 12:01 am | # | Reply

    Love Tina’s expression while serving Phix! 😀

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 12:05 am | # | Reply

      I like Phix’s cup…

      • Jay-Em
        August 15, 2011, 12:18 am | #

        Yeah.. Now ThAt’s wat I would call ” a good cupper..”. 😀

      • Paula
        August 15, 2011, 12:23 am | #

        *giggles* just saw that 😀
        love the tiny details 😀

    • Dave
      August 15, 2011, 1:01 pm | # | Reply

      Yeah… “Somehow, I think that agreeing to deliver out, in return for a really good tip, wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve done recently. Oh, boy…”

  2. txmystic
    August 15, 2011, 12:03 am | # | Reply

    Awesome…totally awesome…

  3. Fairportfan
    August 15, 2011, 12:03 am | # | Reply

    L like the sepia.

    Is Tina wearing skates?

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 12:04 am | # | Reply

      Arrrgh.

      “I like…”

    • MerchManDan
      August 15, 2011, 1:39 am | # | Reply

      Can’t see any wheels, so I’m pretty sure they’re just boots.

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 2:27 am | #

        But you can’t see her legs below about mid-calf…

    • SoWhyMe
      August 15, 2011, 2:43 am | # | Reply

      Do they even make boot skates?

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 3:08 am | #

        Yes. But they usually lace up the front.

        http://www.rhythmskatedepot.com/images/skates/express_lg.jpg

        I was joking about old drive-in diners where the carhops wore skates…

        (If i were ever crazy enough to try skating – either ice or roller – i’d have to have high boot skates to support the ankle i recked up back in 1972…)

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 3:18 am | #

        Carhops

      • bmonk
        August 15, 2011, 11:58 am | #

        When we were growing up, there was a “Dog-n-suds downtown. My sister even worked there for a while. I think some of the carhops wore skates.

        I notice that Nudge is not fully caprine in her manifestation.

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 1:09 pm | #

        Well, we knew she had equine-type hooves from the comic grace note when Phix clocked her one.

      • MerchManDan
        August 16, 2011, 2:10 am | #

        OH!! Carhops, right. Um, sorry. Sleep deprivation strikes again. 😐

  4. jwhouk
    August 15, 2011, 12:03 am | # | Reply

    Can I get some chocolate and caramel sauce with chopped peanuts? I prefer Turtle Cheesecake myself. 😉

    • jwhouk
      August 15, 2011, 12:04 am | # | Reply

      And… you know, it never really hit me that Phix could be a redhead…

      • Jay-Em
        August 15, 2011, 12:20 am | #

        Same here..

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 12:31 am | #

        Well, Cleopatra (who was actually Greek) quite likely was a redhead…

      • JeffEpp
        August 15, 2011, 2:47 am | #

        It never occurred to me that she might NOT be.

      • W.
        August 15, 2011, 7:35 am | #

        *cough*

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:48 am | # | Reply

      kind of lost me with that comment…
      you have very odd coffee.
      or tasty depending on your tastebuds 🙂

      • Xiutecuhtli
        August 15, 2011, 5:18 pm | #

        Been a while since you went to Sonic (where they still have skating carhops, btw) for a sundae, I take it.

      • Paula
        August 16, 2011, 1:54 am | #

        never been 🙂
        american diner i assume? 😀
        from the uk 😀

  5. txmystic
    August 15, 2011, 12:07 am | # | Reply

    Looks like Phix has Nudge pinned with her Rook, unless that’s Nudge’s Bishop at G2, then the answer is obvious…

    • Dafydd
      August 15, 2011, 1:00 am | # | Reply

      No, I think that’s a rook; it looks like Nudge castled on the queen side.

      • BeetlesBane
        August 15, 2011, 9:56 am | #

        No; the black rooks are stacked on the e-file.

    • Bucc-i
      August 15, 2011, 1:10 am | # | Reply

      OH NO! Its Attack of the Chess Nerds! Everybody RUN!

      • Dave
        August 15, 2011, 12:59 pm | #

        I suppose it’s now obligatory to make reference to one of the classics…

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/turtlemom_nancy/5264341976/

        How much is appropriate for a Pun Jar donation, for a “pun by reference”? Is there a discount for not actually making y’all splorfle your coffee on this particular site’s screen?

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 11:04 pm | #

        hsssss

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:45 am | # | Reply

      I wonder if this picture is based on something i.e movie or painting
      To play a game of chess simply to draw it in a picture is (to me) above and beyond!

      • MerchManDan
        August 15, 2011, 1:50 am | #

        Paula, I was wondering that too; this sort of situation looks so familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

      • Paula
        August 15, 2011, 1:56 am | #

        I did watch a swedish foreign film where a guy challenged death to a chess game, i suspect thats where I am getting it from 🙂

        (the peeps in it sounded exactly like the swedish chef from the muppets – unsure if this was intentional but did make it more amusing for me)

      • BeetlesBane
        August 15, 2011, 9:59 am | #

        Ingmar Bergman The Seventh Seal.

      • Paula
        August 15, 2011, 1:15 pm | #

        Thats the one 🙂
        was quite good 🙂

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 1:17 pm | #

        ..and then there’s De Düva

      • Paula
        August 15, 2011, 1:23 pm | #

        i be commin soon backa

        love the script 😀

    • Wyvern
      August 15, 2011, 6:07 pm | # | Reply

      I’m glad I’m not the only one who tried to figure out their game. I’d say more but I don’t have a chess board at hand to recreate it and ponder over it.

      • BeetlesBane
        August 17, 2011, 3:17 pm | #

        My “best” reading of the position:
        white Kg1 Qb2 Rb1 c6 Bg2 Nf3 Pa3 d3 f2 g3 h2
        (captured B N 3P)
        black Kg8 Qd8 Re8 e7 Bb7 Pa6 c7 d4 f7 g7 h6
        (captred B 2N 2P).
        It’s likely the immediate preceding move was Rx46 (M).

    • Wyvern
      August 15, 2011, 10:34 pm | # | Reply

      Later on: yes. It’s black’s move and that rook seems dangling out there undefended, easy prey for the bishop. White enjoys only a mild advantage in material, but Phix seems much more confident.

      • BeetlesBane
        August 16, 2011, 10:36 am | #

        The difficult man to identify is that on b7; it’s black and looks like a pawn or bishop (more like a bishop), but the captured black men do not seem to include a knight, It could be the “missing” knight which would explain why theobvious Bxc6 (R) isn’t immediate.

      • Wyvern
        August 16, 2011, 2:30 pm | #

        I’m pretty sure both sides have lost at least one knight (they may be hard hard to spot if not in profile). Phix has one left, visible near her king; last night I could have told you, when I had a pile of everything not accounted for on the board.

  6. txmystic
    August 15, 2011, 12:08 am | # | Reply

    BTW, the size of Phix’s coffee is roughly the correct size I require in the morning…

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:41 am | # | Reply

      ditto 🙂

    • Ratcatcher
      August 15, 2011, 2:07 am | # | Reply

      txmystic- Too small. but mine’s tea.

      • Julie
        August 15, 2011, 8:59 am | #

        Mmm…tea. Thanks for reminding me of my stash here at work. 🙂 I need something to make my throat stop feeling like it was swabbed by sandpaper overnight.

      • txmystic
        August 15, 2011, 10:11 am | #

        ^^Indeed. Stupid drought!

        I also do Irish breakfast Tea. Yum-o.

  7. Jim
    August 15, 2011, 12:11 am | # | Reply

    Aw, mannn. Ya gotta quite spoiling us with these awesome colored/shaded pieces.

    +1, “Like” and all ah Twitter about this one.

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:49 am | # | Reply

      Yea more peeps have been posting stuff recently that makes me reach for the ‘like’ button.

      i need to spend less time on facebook 😛

  8. Jay-Em
    August 15, 2011, 12:16 am | # | Reply

    Oh. WOOWW! Love, love LOVE it!
    The situation drawn, could lead to an enormous amount of gags..

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:50 am | # | Reply

      ooh or a caption contest!

      mine =

      Tina (to nudge) “let the wookie..err..sphinx win!”

      • SoWhyMe
        August 15, 2011, 2:18 am | #

        “Ah good, the snacks have arrived. The stuff on the tray is for you, Nudge.”

      • Jay-Em
        August 15, 2011, 8:14 am | #

        Win! Absolute win!!

      • Paula
        August 15, 2011, 1:16 pm | #

        her grin and that comment go so well…

      • Julie
        August 15, 2011, 9:00 am | #

        Well played Paula! 🙂

  9. Atomic
    August 15, 2011, 12:16 am | # | Reply

    Fun stuff!

    Reminds me a bit of of the chess match in Pawn (NSFW-ish).

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 10:11 am | # | Reply

      …or Cheating Death…

      (Definitely NSFW)

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 10:13 am | # | Reply

      Oh – BTW – After Joe Minotaur i hate you best.

      All i can say is it looks like i’m lucky and it doesn’t update a lot…

      • Eee
        August 15, 2011, 10:26 am | #

        Yeah, doesn’t update a lot is putting it… mildly…

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 11:02 pm | #

        Judging by the comments i saw, on the latest page, it must have updated in the last couple months or so.

        Heck – i still check in on Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki every so often – and it updates maybe twice a year…

    • Eee
      August 15, 2011, 10:20 am | # | Reply

      Yay, a fellow PAWN fan!

      Baalah’s a BAD loser. 🙁

      If not such a bad person. 🙂

      • Atomic
        August 16, 2011, 1:02 am | #

        For what it’s worth, Pawn page 13 (two pages after the link above) is what got me formally started in cartooning and art studies. I had been working a lot with pencils professionally, and that page stood out because of the layout and construction. I could see how it worked and wanted to do that. So, I am!

  10. Casey
    August 15, 2011, 12:17 am | # | Reply

    Despite my best efforts, I can’t figure out who will win. Nudge’s style of play is a bit different that what I expected based on her habit of not thinking things through.

    • txmystic
      August 15, 2011, 12:20 am | # | Reply

      The Phix is in…

      • Ratcatcher
        August 15, 2011, 2:11 am | #

        txmystic- Shakes jar, shrugs puts in Confederate dollar (dirty and tattered paper), OK?

      • txmystic
        August 15, 2011, 3:00 pm | #

        …along with my payment to the pun jar

        plink!

  11. Paula
    August 15, 2011, 12:20 am | # | Reply

    oh wow

    epic picture!
    love the expressions 😀
    amazing background – i know its probably just rocks but to me the resemble lightning as though it was a battle between nudge and phix for dominion over the coffee shop 😛
    Tina was right – pastries so good the inspired a war! or a game of chess. 😛

    • SoWhyMe
      August 15, 2011, 2:33 am | # | Reply

      To me it looks like a portal energy wall. What Tina may have just stepped through to get from the coffee shop to where the players are.

  12. Jay-Em
    August 15, 2011, 12:25 am | # | Reply

    Oh, and again: Hands. Paul draws some fantastic hands.
    *jealous*

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:43 am | # | Reply

      and animal feet 🙂

      • Wyvern
        August 15, 2011, 5:52 pm | #

        I can almost see Nudge tapping her hoof as she’s thinking.

  13. Joe Minotaur
    August 15, 2011, 12:27 am | # | Reply

    PAUL!!!
    I love it!!
    This is the artwork I commissioned Paul to do for me at the end of June. He did a great job and I can’t wait to get my hands on the original!!

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 12:32 am | # | Reply

      Hate.

      You.

    • Jim
      August 15, 2011, 12:47 am | # | Reply

      Arrrrrgh!

      Very nice still.

      sigh

      Looks like I’m gonna have to save some pennies and commission something.

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:52 am | # | Reply

      Thank you for commisioning it 😀

      feel quite guilty to see it for free 🙁
      chuffed also 😀

    • Joe Minotaur
      August 15, 2011, 2:00 am | # | Reply

      Thank you for all the love/hate.
      The commission is pretty much as you see here with Phix/Nudge playing chess as Tina waits on them with a nervous toothy grin. I left the rest of the details up to Paul and I must say that he did an outstanding job. No, it was not cheap! Save your pennies, nickels, dimes, etc… and someday you can have a commission of your very own!

      • Timinithis
        August 15, 2011, 3:03 am | #

        Paul did one of me and Acacia sharing coffee when I was in the desert in ’09. I really like how it turned out. He does really awesome work and turns things around fairly fast — even for someone putting out a daily web comic. Buying the original comic art is nice, but having a one of a kind to your specifications original is something else 🙂

    • Julie
      August 15, 2011, 9:03 am | # | Reply

      Sooo jealous! 🙂 But glad you requested it since it means we get to see it.

    • ShadowsCat
      August 19, 2011, 2:00 am | # | Reply

      Great commission. Love the picture.
      You know that would make a Awesome poster. Wonder if Paul would do that cause that would be So Cool XD

      • Paul Taylor
        August 19, 2011, 2:43 am | #

        You can get a print of the comic by clicking the “buy print” button bellow the comic. 🙂

  14. NOTDilbert
    August 15, 2011, 12:28 am | # | Reply

    This picture is so full of Win – not sure if the wicked grin is for Tina, or ’cause she has advantage in the game – or just in general, ’cause she IS off-duty….

  15. Jayessell
    August 15, 2011, 12:36 am | # | Reply

    When Phix was introduced her clothing seemed frayed.
    Now…. Nice vest.

    I know little about chess, but it looks 60/40 rather than 80/20 you would expect of Phix.

    • txmystic
      August 15, 2011, 12:38 am | # | Reply

      Nudge is still a trickster…

    • Alechsa
      August 15, 2011, 12:40 am | # | Reply

      Phix is a cat… she’s playing with her prey.

      • Vorlonagent
        August 15, 2011, 11:35 am | #

        That’s my bet, too.

      • Wyvern
        August 15, 2011, 5:55 pm | #

        Nudge looks nervous, Phix looks confident and self-possessed. It’s very in character for both of them. The board is hard to read; neither seems to have a strong material advantage.

  16. bargamer
    August 15, 2011, 1:23 am | # | Reply

    It’s difficult to make out the chess pieces, but if I were Nudge, I’d move either the queen to threaten Phix’s rook, or advance a pawn. Depending on player skill, it’s either mid-game or endgame.

  17. Bucc-i
    August 15, 2011, 1:39 am | # | Reply

    What the hell is this???
    They still have their tops on!

    Chess… your doing it wrong.

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:41 am | # | Reply

      it looks as though nudge hasn’t 🙂

    • MerchManDan
      August 15, 2011, 1:43 am | # | Reply

      Hey, Nudge is currently top-free. (Yes, I know she’s usually top-free, but my point still stands.)

    • bmonk
      August 15, 2011, 12:20 pm | # | Reply

      Maybe it’s Strip Chess, and they haven’t gotten very far?

      • BeetlesBane
        August 16, 2011, 10:42 am | #

        They’ve each made 4 captures.

      • BeetlesBane
        August 19, 2011, 8:35 am | #

        I don’t know if I was careless or tired, but that 4 should be a 5.

  18. MerchManDan
    August 15, 2011, 1:47 am | # | Reply

    A sphinx, a demon, a barista & a game of chess. This is so great, I won’t ruin it by trying to make up a crappy joke.

    • Paula
      August 15, 2011, 1:53 am | # | Reply

      Sounds like the makings of a Terry Pratchet novel really..

      • Ratcatcher
        August 15, 2011, 2:14 am | #

        Paula- I’d buy that.

  19. Qalypso
    August 15, 2011, 2:30 am | # | Reply

    From the predatory look that Phix is giving Tina, I would have titled this page “Checkmate”….

  20. Qalypso
    August 15, 2011, 2:32 am | # | Reply

    Lions do devour humans in the wild, after all….

  21. SoWhyMe
    August 15, 2011, 2:38 am | # | Reply

    Is Phix looking at Tina or Nudge? At first I thought it was Tina, but now I’m not so sure.

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 3:11 am | # | Reply

      Given that she’s behind Nudge (putting Nudge to her right, more or less), but has her head turned left, i’d have to say that, if she’s not looking at Tins, she’s looking at something off-panel to the right…

  22. awesomearmyguy
    August 15, 2011, 5:37 am | # | Reply

    can we get that a background, that would be amazing

  23. Bud Fanboi
    August 15, 2011, 5:46 am | # | Reply

    Keep drawing Tina like that and I’ll have to change my name to Tina Fanboi lol

    • BudFanboi
      August 15, 2011, 5:51 am | # | Reply

      Also, little details I love, see something new each time I look. Horse Shoe on Nudge for instance. Tina’s keeping relatively cool considering the situation however.

    • The Old Wolf
      August 15, 2011, 7:42 am | # | Reply

      Oh, but that name’s already taken 😛

  24. The Old Wolf
    August 15, 2011, 7:37 am | # | Reply

    You know that’s going up on eBay, and I weep to know that I won’t be able to afford it. Lovely work!

    • Joe Minotaur
      August 15, 2011, 7:49 am | # | Reply

      The Old Wolf
      It’s already taken. If you scan up, you will find my post regarding my commissioning of this item.

      • The Old Wolf
        August 15, 2011, 10:54 am | #

        No time to scan up, but happy for u!

  25. The Old Wolf
    August 15, 2011, 7:41 am | # | Reply

    Nudge’s top half looks less “fuzzy” than it did in her earlier appearances.

    • Eee
      August 15, 2011, 10:00 am | # | Reply

      Maybe she’s brushing out her pelt more often these days.

      (Is suddenly taken aback by the related question: Does Phix groom herself like a cat?

      Maybe there are things mortal man is not meant to know…)

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 10:15 am | #

        Can you imagine the size of the hairballs …

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 10:16 am | #

        Can you imagine the size of the hairballs…

  26. W.
    August 15, 2011, 7:57 am | # | Reply

    I really like this one a lot! I guess it helps that two of my favorite characters are playing chess!(Not to mention my favorite barista bringing the java.) Thank you Joe Minotaur for commissioning this and giving Paul the idea; he did an awesome job.

  27. Bell pepper
    August 15, 2011, 8:24 am | # | Reply

    I wonder how often Nudge has to be Re-shoed?

    • W.
      August 15, 2011, 8:29 am | # | Reply

      Probably six to eight weeks, depending on conditions. She might be able to be reset, if she hasn’t done a lot of physical work. I wonder if Hephaestus is her farrier?

      • Jabberwonky
        August 15, 2011, 2:47 pm | #

        I think it would be determined by how often Phix knocks one loose…

  28. Lustwane
    August 15, 2011, 8:41 am | # | Reply

    Best. Ever.

    Ever.

  29. Ohnhai
    August 15, 2011, 8:51 am | # | Reply

    Would have been nifty if the pieces on the board had been recognisably the Wapsi cast… 🙂

    • BeetlesBane
      August 19, 2011, 8:40 am | # | Reply

      There wasa Lexx episode that used the cast as figures for “Living Chess”.

  30. Computer Matthew
    August 15, 2011, 9:19 am | # | Reply

    I think I had this dream once. Woke up screaming when I spilled the coffee on myself.

    • Fairportfan
      August 15, 2011, 2:49 pm | # | Reply

      Did you sue Mucho Mocha?

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 2:50 pm | #

        Of course, that McDonalds suit has been very badly reported. They served that coffee so hot that she received second and third degree scalds on her legs. Also, she was not – as so many claim – driving and juggling the coffee cup – she was the passenger…

        And the huge award was all the first jury’s idea – she was basically suing for medical costs and a bit over for pain and sufering.

      • Kessog
        August 15, 2011, 4:57 pm | #

        From what I hear from others (being a non-coffee drinker) is the reason to get McDonalds coffee is that it’s STILL HOT by the time you get to work. Besides, I can’t imagine anyone with half a brain opening a container of liquid (particularly a scalding hot one) in a moving car. Maybe she didn’t realize when she ordered HOT COFFEE that it was…well…hot?

      • Yamara
        August 15, 2011, 6:29 pm | #

        Maybe everyone who hears about (and repeats, in the human fashion) the suit focuses on the reward one person received and not on the issue that coffee was being served at dangerously high temperatures at thousands of restaurants.

        Very few of us are golems with high ethical standards. If human corporations faced the liability that demon corporations do, we wouldn’t have to find monetary ways to make them feel responsible.

        …

        Now I have in my head the image of a demonic Ronald McDonald screaming I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO HURT ANYONE

        Did Dietzel set you guys up for this conversation?

      • Paula
        August 16, 2011, 2:02 am | #

        how did they even get it that hot i mean – boiling water is hot enough for a cup of coffee ya?
        why have it hotter?

      • scantron
        August 15, 2011, 7:51 pm | #

        my roommate did a report on that case in college, he found out some other stuff too… the amount that was originally requested was about 4 times the value that she actually got, the judge basically said the “I’m NOT going to give you bazillions of buck’s for being stupid… HOWEVER, i AM going to punish Mcd’s for doing it, so you’ll get a big payout, but not as big as you wanted though.” One of his reasons was that they had settled out-of-court about a dozen times previously, for the EXACT same thing, and that she was the first to say “BS on that!, I’m taking this all the way!” another thing was that they had some chemical analysis’s done on the coffee and found that after about only 30 minutes at the temp they were required to make it (180f i think it?), that it decomposes (or whatever they call it in chemistry) into it’s basic chemical compounds and that it could no longer be called “coffee” when it got served, yet the same coffee sits in the pot for a whole lot longer than 30 minutes (it usually got changed about 3 times during a shift of 8 HOURS), because it was easier and less costly to just leave it than it was to dump it out and make new every 20-25 minutes even if nobody bought any! another thing was they had to redesign the cup labels so that you can turn the cup in any direction and still see a warning label, before it was in only a few places and if you held it “juuust right” you could claim “but i didn’t SEE any warning officer”…

      • scantron
        August 15, 2011, 7:53 pm | #

        @Yamara: yeah, but then they’d go out of business entirely… especially after the movie “supersize me” came out.

      • Fairportfan
        August 15, 2011, 10:58 pm | #

        Okay. Here are the facts of the case.

        Burn incident

        On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, ordered a 49-cent cup of coffee from the drive-through window of a local McDonald’s restaurant. Liebeck was in the passenger’s seat of her Ford Probe, and her nephew Chris parked the car so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee. Liebeck placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap. Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin. Liebeck was taken to the hospital, where it was determined that she had suffered third-degree burns on six percent of her skin and lesser burns over sixteen percent. She remained in the hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting. During this period, Liebeck lost 20 pounds (9 kg, nearly 20% of her body weight), reducing her down to 83 pounds (38 kg). Two years of medical treatment followed.

        Settlement offers

        Liebeck sought to settle with McDonald’s for $20,000 to cover her actual and anticipated expenses. Her past medical expenses were $10,500; her anticipated future medical expenses were approximately $2,500; and her loss of income was approximately $5,000 for a total of approximately $18,000. Instead, the company offered only $800. When McDonald’s refused to raise its offer, Liebeck retained Texas attorney Reed Morgan. Morgan filed suit in New Mexico District Court accusing McDonald’s of “gross negligence” for selling coffee that was “unreasonably dangerous” and “defectively manufactured”. McDonald’s refused Morgan’s offer to settle for $90,000. Morgan offered to settle for $300,000, and a mediator suggested $225,000 just before trial, but McDonald’s refused these final pre-trial attempts to settle.

        Trial and verdict

        The trial took place from August 8–17, 1994, before Judge Robert H. Scott. During the case, Liebeck’s attorneys discovered that McDonald’s required franchisees to serve coffee at 180–190 °F (82–88 °C). At that temperature, the coffee would cause a third-degree burn in two to seven seconds. Stella Liebeck’s attorney argued that coffee should never be served hotter than 140 °F (60 °C), and that a number of other establishments served coffee at a substantially lower temperature than McDonald’s. Liebeck’s lawyers presented the jury with evidence that 180 °F (82 °C) coffee like that McDonald’s served may produce third-degree burns (where skin grafting is necessary) in about 12 to 15 seconds. Lowering the temperature to 160 °F (71 °C) would increase the time for the coffee to produce such a burn to 20 seconds. (A British court later rejected this argument as scientifically false finding that 149 °F (65 °C) liquid could cause deep tissue damage in only two seconds.) Liebeck’s attorneys argued that these extra seconds could provide adequate time to remove the coffee from exposed skin, thereby preventing many burns. McDonald’s claimed that the reason for serving such hot coffee in its drive-through windows was that those who purchased the coffee typically were commuters who wanted to drive a distance with the coffee; the high initial temperature would keep the coffee hot during the trip. McDonalds research showed customers intend to consume the coffee while driving to their destination.

        Other documents obtained from McDonald’s showed that from 1982 to 1992 the company had received more than 700 reports of people burned by McDonald’s coffee to varying degrees of severity, and had settled claims arising from scalding injuries for more than $500,000. McDonald’s quality control manager, Christopher Appleton, testified that this number of injuries was insufficient to cause the company to evaluate its practices. He argued that all foods hotter than 130 °F (54 °C) constituted a burn hazard, and that restaurants had more pressing dangers to warn about. The plaintiffs argued that Appleton conceded that McDonald’s coffee would burn the mouth and throat if consumed when served.

        A twelve-person jury reached its verdict on August 18, 1994. Applying the principles of comparative negligence, the jury found that McDonald’s was 80% responsible for the incident and Liebeck was 20% at fault. Though there was a warning on the coffee cup, the jury decided that the warning was neither large enough nor sufficient. They awarded Liebeck US$200,000 in compensatory damages, which was then reduced by 20% to $160,000. In addition, they awarded her $2.7 million in punitive damages. The jurors apparently arrived at this figure from Morgan’s suggestion to penalize McDonald’s for one or two days’ worth of coffee revenues, which were about $1.35 million per day. The judge reduced punitive damages to $480,000, three times the compensatory amount, for a total of $640,000. The decision was appealed by both McDonald’s and Liebeck in December 1994, but the parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount less than $600,000

        (Emphases added.)

        So, the car was parked, not moving, and she originally wanted $20,000, which was basically her expenses.

        Indeed, there were three offers of settlements – but they were quite reasonable amounts, from her side, and McDonald’s turned them down. (I like the chutzpah of offering $800 to someone who had $1o,500 in out-of-pocket medical expenses already and was going to run up more…)

        The demands for successively larger amounts of money each time seem eminently logical to me – (A) Legal fees when you’re suing someone as big as McD’s ain’t cheap, and very likely she and her family were getting more and more pissed at being blown off.

        Like US automakers in more than a few cases, McDonald’s knew of the hazard, but figured that it would be cheaper to settle for small amounts than to actually do something because most people wouldn’t sue someone who could afford the kind of lawyers they could.

        Also note that McDonald’s tried to shift the emphasis to “Well, everybody knows it’ll burn your mouth,” away from “If you spill this on your legs it will cause third-degree burns.”

        And, while she (and her attorneys) appealed the reduction of the verdict, i likely would have, too – if a few million bucks fall into my lap, i’d try to hang onto it, tool.

        And the warning labels McD’s were ordered to put on their coffee basically said “We are serving this stuff way too hot to safely drink, but since we’re warning you, if you drink it, we’ll try not to pay your medical bills.”

        I think they re-designed their coffee lids to make them harder to spill, and they did reduce the temp they served their coffee at.

      • 5hademaker
        August 15, 2011, 11:38 pm | #

        My coffee maker (Kuerig) preps coffee with 192 degree water. A percolator uses boiling water; what comes out of the spout is usually 175+. Instant coffee is usually made by dumping boiling (200+ depending on altitude) water into a cup with the coffee.

        Sorry, but coffee is HOT. and anyone who drinks it knows it. Yeah, accidents happen. And I agree that she probably deserved expenses. But this country is going to ridiculous extremes to protect us from our own stupidity.

  31. Ertain
    August 15, 2011, 1:26 pm | # | Reply

    Most impressive!

  32. Kessog
    August 15, 2011, 5:04 pm | # | Reply

    I am a big fan of ladies in vests. Nicely done indeed.

    • Xiutecuhtli
      August 15, 2011, 5:25 pm | # | Reply

      IMO that’s less a vest than a waistcoat. (N.B.: translate to en-GB for correct context)

  33. Oldwolf
    August 15, 2011, 7:06 pm | # | Reply

    I’ve seen those LARGE sized coffe cups on shows like Friends & such. But I haven’t been able to find them out here in CA. Are they just an East coast thing???

    • Dave
      August 15, 2011, 7:43 pm | # | Reply

      They’re definitely available on the left coast… my wife and I have a few, which I tend to use for hot tomato soup and for miso and stuff like that. I’m nervous about trying to actually use one for a full cuppa… even a caffeine-saturated programmer like me might go through the roof after a dose of espresso that large.

      I don’t recall just where we got them… one was a promo from my employer, not sure about the others. You might want to try World Market (a.k.a. Cost Plus).

    • scantron
      August 15, 2011, 7:55 pm | # | Reply

      i know they have them up here in Seattle, but i forget where… give me a few days and i’ll see if i can remember/ find them again, i’ll send a link if i can.

      • scantron
        August 15, 2011, 8:13 pm | #

        a quick Google-Fu, and here’s a link to a place that sells them:
        http://www.ceramic-mugs.com/printed-ceramics.htm
        #2400 looks to be the closest size at 23oz…

        i found some that are 30oz, but they are straight-sided rather than the curved sides as seen here, if you really want the volume not the shape… 😉

    • Dave
      August 16, 2011, 1:23 pm | # | Reply

      My wife confirmed that my hunch was correct… she got several of our megacups at Cost Plus.

  34. Kamy
    August 16, 2011, 6:24 am | # | Reply

    Nudge gots ironed Hooves !!! :’-D

  35. kingklash
    August 16, 2011, 11:34 am | # | Reply

    Let the Wookie win.

  36. Centaur71
    August 18, 2011, 7:33 pm | # | Reply

    HA! I ALWAYS SAID PHIX WAS RATHER CHESS-TY! 🙂

  37. JohnN -ThaAussie
    January 27, 2012, 9:37 pm | # | Reply

    Please tell me this is a Desktop Wallpaper somewhere. It’s awesome. I’d pay for it.

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