What's with those 'Do Not Remove' tags on mattresses and pillows — and is it really illegal to rip one off?
Turns out it’s not illegal for you to snip them off, but it is a crime for stores or manufacturers to do so. But how did these items, and only these, end up with such weird tags? That’s a question the Curiosity Desk from #GloucesterMA resident Betty Davis.
It turns out that that label’s history has to do with addressing a serious public health issue.
"I mean ... years ago they threw anything they wanted into the bedding," says Maggie Terry of Legal Label. "Newspapers, dirty rags, sweepings off the floor, part of their lunches, droppings, anything," — not to mention horsehair, chopped up old hospital or hotel mattress innards, and corn husks.
Yuck, right? And a health hazard. So those legal labels started as a way to ensure that bedding was stuffed with clean materials.
In GBH’s Curiosity Desk, Edgar B. Herwick III answers your questions and examines some of the everyday mysteries hiding in plain sight. Check back for new episodes every Wednesday.
Got a question? Ask Edgar! www.wgbh.org/news/the-curiosity-desk
