Once upon
a time (and a very, very long time ago) people were extremely silly and
believed what they were told in an advertisement, something which would never
happen these days! One of these people bought a small ball filled with
carbolic acid from which a rubber tube entered the nose and when the ball was
squeezed, the vapours made the nose run thereby preventing the catching of flu.
Well, so the company who made them claimed. In fact, they were so insistent
that this little device would prevent the owner from getting flu, they
proclaimed in their advertisement that if it were to fail, they would pay £100
to the poor sufferer (if they survived of course, as flu was a tricky customer
in 1891) and to show their sincerity, they had deposited £1000 with a bank in
Regent Street.
Well, Mrs Carlill (for that was her name) duly bought herself a Carbolic Smoke Ball and used it in accordance with the instructions. Sadly, however, she contracted the flu. Upon recovery from said flu, Mrs Carlill became the personification of vengeance and pursued the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to within an inch of its life. I won't bore you with the arguments but the outcome was that Mrs Carlill won her reward of £100 (and seemed to suffer no lasting ill-effects from either the flu or the nasally-inserted rubber hose complete with nostril-hair-removing carbolic fumes).
The point of law that arose from this strange case was to do with contract law (Case citation: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1892] EWCA Civ 1). The company argued that it was not meant to be a real contract and that the promise of a reward was a "mere puff" which was not meant to be taken seriously. They also said that it did not comply with the requirements of a proper contract as the offer was made to the public as a whole and there was no "acceptance" (necessary to form a contract at that time). The judges thought otherwise and said that the Company had made a UNILATERAL offer of a contract to the entire world and that Mrs Carlill had accepted that offer by purchasing the Smoke Ball. They also said that the Company had clearly meant what they had said as they had deposited the money with a bank. In other words, the only "mere puff" had been from the smoke ball itself.
Finally, just so as you know, carbolic acid was put on the Poisons Register in 1900 and Mrs Carlill lived to a ripe old age of 96, succumbing to the Grim Reaper in 1942 mainly through old age but, sadly, also due to a touch of flu.
Tina Morgan www.john-kennedy.co.uk
Well, Mrs Carlill (for that was her name) duly bought herself a Carbolic Smoke Ball and used it in accordance with the instructions. Sadly, however, she contracted the flu. Upon recovery from said flu, Mrs Carlill became the personification of vengeance and pursued the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to within an inch of its life. I won't bore you with the arguments but the outcome was that Mrs Carlill won her reward of £100 (and seemed to suffer no lasting ill-effects from either the flu or the nasally-inserted rubber hose complete with nostril-hair-removing carbolic fumes).
The point of law that arose from this strange case was to do with contract law (Case citation: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1892] EWCA Civ 1). The company argued that it was not meant to be a real contract and that the promise of a reward was a "mere puff" which was not meant to be taken seriously. They also said that it did not comply with the requirements of a proper contract as the offer was made to the public as a whole and there was no "acceptance" (necessary to form a contract at that time). The judges thought otherwise and said that the Company had made a UNILATERAL offer of a contract to the entire world and that Mrs Carlill had accepted that offer by purchasing the Smoke Ball. They also said that the Company had clearly meant what they had said as they had deposited the money with a bank. In other words, the only "mere puff" had been from the smoke ball itself.
Finally, just so as you know, carbolic acid was put on the Poisons Register in 1900 and Mrs Carlill lived to a ripe old age of 96, succumbing to the Grim Reaper in 1942 mainly through old age but, sadly, also due to a touch of flu.
Tina Morgan www.john-kennedy.co.uk
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