Goggles

So, what tool did I buy?

A 15-amp right-angle grinder? You surely do need goggles for such a tool. A grinder can throw off debris at horrific speeds. I know because in one of my many jobs I spent hours behind a grinder, and you may be sure I wore safety goggles. I know also because I remember a case from when I was a claims adjuster (Hi, Dave M.) in which a plaintiff was injured using just such a grinder. But instead of a tiny piece of metal it was a large chunk of the grinder wheel itself that smashed through his safety glasses and ended up blinding him in one eye. We insured the manufacturer of the glasses, and our expert testified it was unreasonable to expect them to prevent the injury under the circumstances. He told the jury, "The plaintiff was struck with such force that it would like expecting them [the goggles] to stop a .45 caliber bullet to the face at point-blank range." (Our policyholder was found not guilty.)

But no, this label is not attached to a grinder.

Did I buy a suicidal 7-1/4-inch circular saw? It's all too easy to cut the electrical cord that powers a circ saw. Unlike some tools, a circular saw takes a few seconds to spin down after you release the trigger. Normally a blade guard snaps into place after the cut so you can set the tool down immediately. But sometimes a stray chunk of wood or some other error will lock the guard open, and if you then set the saw down it will try to roll itself backwards. Which is what happened to me at the end of a tiring day as a professional carpenter. The saw staggered backwards a few inches and just managed to run over its own cord before it died and tripped the circuit breaker for the whole job site.

But no, this label is not attached to a circular saw.

So, what was the product I bought whose warning label warns so plainly of the need to wear safety glasses and to protect against electrical shock?

A package of three carpenter's pencils.