Walmart has pulled nearly a million Ozark Trail water bottles from shelves after the lids turned into dangerous projectiles, permanently blinding two consumers.
🚨 Why It Matters: The recall affects 850,000 stainless steel bottles that many families rely on daily, with injuries already reported from lids that can explosively eject when opened after storing certain beverages.
🔍 The Details: The 64-ounce stainless steel insulated bottles (model 83-662) can build up dangerous pressure when used to store food, carbonated drinks, or perishable beverages like juice or milk.
- Three consumers have been struck in the face by forcefully ejected lids
- Two people suffered permanent vision loss after being hit in the eye
- The bottles have been sold at Walmart stores and online since 2017 for about $15
⚠️ What To Do Now: Stop using these bottles immediately and return them to any Walmart store for a full refund.
- Look for silver stainless steel bottles with black one-piece screwcap lids
- The bottles measure 4.41 x 4.41 x 11.5 inches with an Ozark Trail logo on the side
- The model number (83-662) appears only on packaging, not on the bottle itself
📞 Need Help? Contact Walmart at 800-925-6278 (7am-9pm CT daily) or visit walmart.com/help for more information about the recall.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
