From an e-mail I recently received:
After reading your posts this morning, I was looking through some documentation I got with the my new Dell laptop here at work. I found something that greatly amused me and I think you will find it likewise interesting ... Look at the bottom of the page at the section titled "California Residents" ... something that I would normally stop reading right then but for some reason I read the following paragraph.
What did it say, you ask?
California Residents
WARNING: Handling the cord on this product, or cords associated with accessories sold with this product, will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash your hands after handling the cord.
Amazing. So, ignore what your crunchy friend from California says, you go right ahead and expose yourself to as much lead as possible. Says the e-mail, "Just another example of the downward pressure big business is constantly exerting on society." So true.