Story 005 | The Snail in the Dark Bottle

 

One sunny evening in Scotland, a lady went to a café with her friend. Her friend bought her a bottle of ginger beer made of dark, opaque glass. The lady poured some out over her ice cream and took a sip. But when she poured the rest, out floated the remains of a decomposed snail! She became very sick. The problem was, she hadn’t bought the bottle herself, so she had no contract with the shopkeeper. The judges had to decide: does a manufacturer owe a duty to look out for the person who actually drinks the soda? They decided that we must all “love our neighbor” by making sure we don’t hurt them with our mistakes. Who is responsible for the snail – the shopkeeper or the person who made the bottle?