uSketchy 10% Of Doctors Are Writing More Than 50% Of Painkiller Prescriptionsr

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  While most doctors try to honor their oath to do no harm, some physicians just want to be paid (or are really, really, just horrible at their jobs). Take, for example, the 1-in-10 doctors responsible for writing the majority of painkiller prescriptions.

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently looked at painkiller prescription patterns in eight states — California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Ohio, and West Virginia — and found that a small percentage of doctors are writing a significantly large percentage of these prescriptions.

  Anywhere from 49.6% (Idaho) to 65.9% (Delaware) of opioid prescriptions in these states were written by only 10% of physicians. The top 20% of doctors account for more than two-thirds of painkiller prescriptions in all of these states and more than three-quarters of prescriptions in six of the eight states.

  In Delaware, more than 25% of opioid prescriptions come from only 1% of the state’s physicians. In Florida, Louisiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, this elite class of sketchy doctor is responsible for at least 20% of painkiller prescriptions.

  And these doctors are also writing prescriptions with substantially larger daily dosages. The more frequently a physician prescribed opioids, the higher the dosage tended to be. In general, the dosages prescribed by prescription-happy physicians were about double their more conservative colleagues.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uSouthwest Airlines Plane Grounded After Pilots Report Suspicious Objectr

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  Anyone who has traveled through an airport in the last decade will recognize the common loudspeaker announcement to be on the lookout for and to report any unattended, suspicious baggage or activity. It was one such item that caused Southwest Airlines to ground a flight and move passengers to another plane on Thursday night.
  

  The 134 passengers on the Southwest flight from New Orleans to Phoenix had to deplane shortly before takeoff when pilots noticed a suspicious item, The Times-Picayune reports.

  A spokesperson for Southwest says the pilots reported the unusual object around 7 p.m. – just 30 minutes before scheduled takeoff. Passengers were then relocated to another aircraft.

  “When you see the pilot point at the plane, you know there’s a problem,” one traveler tells ABC15 in Arizona. “When you see the police pull up and point at the plane, you know there’s a problem.”

  The spokesperson for the airline says the aircraft was eventually “cleared of any security threat,” but declined to provide additional details on what the object was.

  Local authorities also declined to provide comment on the incident.

  Southwest grounds airplane in New Orleans because of suspicious object [The Times-Picayune]
  Suspicious package found on Southwest Airlines flight bound for Phoenix [ABC15 Arizona]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uMan Experiences Every New Yorker’s Worst Fear By Falling Through Open Cellar Door In Front Of McDonald’sr

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  There you are, walking along, living your life, when suddenly the sidewalk opens beneath you and engulfs you in its wide, yawning maw: you don’t have to be a New Yorker to fear the sidewalk grate — those shuttered cellar doors restaurants and other businesses have out front that are supposed to be safe to walk on, but still strike fear in the heart of many a pedestrian. One man embodied that common worry when he stumbled into an open sidewalk door in front of McDonald’s recently in the city’s busy Midtown neighborhood.

  The man fell at least 12 feet through an entrance to a cellar yesterday afternoon in front of a McDonald’s that’s in an area of the city that sees a lot of foot traffic, reports CBS New York, and was taken to the hospital. He reportedly hit his head, but he’s expected to be okay.

  While some witnesses told the news station that the cellar door didn’t have any cones or barriers up indicating that the door was open and waiting to eat oblivious people, a McDonald’s manager claimed there were cones up at the time, and that three employees were standing outside blocking the entrance. The manager also said the man could’ve been on his phone when he fell.

  Stay alert, friends who walk on city streets. You never know when the Earth will open up and swallow you whole.

  Man Falls Into Sidewalk Grate In Front Of Midtown McDonald’s [CBS New York]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uIt’s Almost Too Easy To Install Windows 10 — Even If You Weren’t Planning On Itr

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  There are many reasons someone might choose to delay installing Microsoft’s Windows 10: maybe you just want to stick with Windows 7 or 8 a little longer, or you don’t feel like making space on your PC to accommodate the new OS. But if you aren’t paying attention, you could end up downloading the OS installer anyway.

  Microsoft has tried to nudge Windows 7 and 8 users in the direction of their free upgrade by providing it via Windows Update control panel. Which is all well and good, as until now, it showed up as an optional update, meaning it won’t install automatically.

  But as Ars Technica points out, despite the fact that it’s optional, the update appears pre-checked by default, so if you’ve got a bunch of other things ready to install and don’t look carefully at the list, you may find yourself downloading the Windows 10 installer before you’re ready.

  Though some users had reported the installer program also then starting up on its own, Ars checked it out and found that the installer needs direct action to actually make it go. If you do accidentally upgrade to Windows 10, you at least won’t find your computer suddenly running on it without your permission.

  Microsoft told Ars that the default update option happened accidentally, and it’s going to change that soon.

  “As part of our effort to bring Windows 10 to existing genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers, the Windows 10 upgrade may appear as an optional update in the Windows Update (WU) control panel,” the company said. “This is an intuitive and trusted place people go to find Recommended and Optional updates to Windows. In the recent Windows update, this option was checked as default; this was a mistake and we are removing the check.”

  Windows 10 upgrade installing automatically on some Windows 7, 8 systems [Ars Technica]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uKroger Gets Rid Of Unrefrigerated Caramel Apples On Sticks Just To Be Surer

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  Is it possible that the caramel apples sitting on store shelves right now have been contaminated with bacteria, made worse because the fruits are impaled on sticks and coated with candy? The many grocery brands owned by Kroger aren’t taking any chances, and announced that they’re getting rid of all unrefrigerated caramel apples.

  With apple-harvesting season and Halloween, October is peak caramel apple season. This week, a study published in the open-access journal mBio showed how an apple that’s already contaminated with Listeria can incubate even more bacteria after it’s covered with caramel and sits on a shelf for a few weeks. The juice exiting the apple when the fruit is impaled on a stick brings the bacteria out of the fruit, where it grows between the apple skin and the candy.

  Kroger cites this study in its announcement to ditch all of their current inventory of caramel apples: last year’s outbreak killed seven people and caused one miscarriage, and no one wants to see that happen again.

  “While we believe the potential health risk is minimal, we are acting out of an abundance of caution on behalf of our customers,” the company’s VP of food safety said in a statement. The company won’t rule out selling caramel apples again in the future, but only after manufacturers find a safer method to mass-produce the treats.

  Kroger Withdraws Unrefrigerated Caramel Apples Due to Potential Food Safety Risk [Kroger] (via Food Safety News)

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uWoman Claims Her Burger King Sandwich Came With Extra Ingredient: Moldr

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  A North Carolina woman certainly didn’t get a recent Burger King breakfast “her way”: instead of a fresh sausage croissant, she claims she was given a moldy sandwich. 

  The woman, who filed a complaint with the county health department, tells WSOC-TV that she stopped by the local fast food joint for a quick bite to eat on the way to work earlier this week when she realized her meal wasn’t all that fresh.

  After ordering the sandwich, the woman says she took a quick bite while driving, but waited to finish the meal.

  “When I got to my parking space and… peeled back wrapper to eat the rest, I realized that I was eating mold,” she said. “Contrary to belief, you cannot taste mold and savory sausage tastes better than mold — never tasted it.”

  After realizing what she had eaten, the woman says she immediately got sick and then returned the sandwich to the restaurant.

  “The manager was apologetic and refunded money with no hesitation, but Burger King corporate on social media wasn’t as responsive,” she said.

  The company offered the woman a free Whooper for the issue, but she declined, noting that she wouldn’t be eating at the restaurant again.

  WSOC-TV reports that the Burger King where the sandwich was purchased has previously been cited for health violations.

  “Food quality and safety are top priorities at all Burger King restaurants and we take this very seriously,” Burger King corporate tells WSOC-TV. “We have reached out to the franchisee that owns and operates this restaurant to get further information.”

  Report: Woman bites into moldy Burger King sandwich [WSOC-TV]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uConsumerist Friday Flickr Findsr

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• Here are eight of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist