Pretty sure the coffee and water were not superheated though so where are you trying to go with this? The hot coffee was hot and the hot water was hot. Just like it is supposed to be. They were not handed a superheated beverage that blew up. They were handed something and then mishandled it. Holding a company responsible for mishandling their product seems a bit too nanny stateish for me...
You can't super heat coffee first of all, and second, water has to be pretty pure and requires a container with very few nucleation sites to even pull that off. I doubt you could even manage to do it with the resources given at your average McDonald's. Third I doubt the employee could get it form the microwave to the window without it erupting any way. Put a little more thought into your hypothetical response next time.
Are we talking about something other than people looking for payouts from McDonald's because they can't handle hot liquids with the caution they deserve? Nice side step of your previous bullshit hypothetical.
If I just ordered a glass of super heated water then yes...I have assumed that risk. Sorry stupid girl burned her naughty bits..but she's still stupid and undeserving of a payout for her mishandling of the hot liquids she ordered.
The people on the jury didn't follow any kind of law or sense, it was an emotional verdict siding with the poor little old lady over common sense.
And yet again - the documents are stupid but still nothing to do with what is "normal". Health codes say (or at least they used to) 140 degrees for the sanitizing solution in dishwashing, but dishwashers go much hotter. I want my coffee brewed at 200 degrees Fahrenheit, not some temp that won't burn if it's spilled. Lets go with things people use hot water for - oatmeal, hot chocolate, tea... You put a kettle on the stove and let it get hot - what temp is it when it whistles?
I once went through the McD's drive-thru for a cup of coffee and it turned out to be a cup of C4 and it blew both my legs off. True story, brah'.
Depends on your altitude. Atlanta area is ~~1000ft above sea level, ∴ boiling point is about 210° for open water. Given that the water (steam) is necessarily under some pressure to force itself through the vent to create the whistle sound, who knows. It's actually not even 100% definitively understood precisely how & why a kettle whistles: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/how-the-kettle-got-its-whistle
Heard yesterday about a couple sueing Applebee's because they ordered hot water to theirs table to wash their utensils in and it got splashed on their infant and burned it. Who the hell washes their utensils at the table in a restaurant? If you're that much of a germaphobe stay home.