It's a Recall-bration!
Remember that grill brush you bought? Yeah, about that...
On March 13th, 2026, I woke up with the feeling that it was going to be a great day.
Then I checked my email.
Important Product Recall Notice
We’re writing you to inform you of a recall that may impact an item you purchased.
Weber Stainless steel Plastic 21.8-Inches Grill brush
Hazard: Small metal wire bristles can detach from the brushes, stick to the grill or food, posing an ingestion hazard and risk of serious internal injuries that could require surgery.
Well, that’s terrifying…
Also, I didn’t realize that wire bristles coming off a grill brush and sticking to the food was even a thing until that moment.
I started thinking of recalls in general. It’s pretty crazy how many things get recalled.
We all basically spin the roulette wheel of life every day and hope the ball doesn’t land on something bad or unlucky. It’s also amazing how much trust we have to put into other humans to have our days go safe and smoothly. You could drive yourself mad by thinking of everything that could go wrong and just decide to never leave your house… but that could be just as dangerous…
In the recall email, there were steps I had to follow to get a new grill brush sent to me. It required me to download an app in order to take a picture of my current grill brush and send it to Weber.
Which of the following is worse for a company to do? Supply you with a product that could result in emergency surgery or Force you to download an app?
It’s a close call.
A few days later, I got a generic email saying that my wire brush photo was approved and that Weber would be shipping me a new grill brush. The email ended with this…
Thank you for participating in the Weber Wire Grill Brush Recall
Wait… what?
It made it sound like I just voluntarily attended a fun party.
Shouldn’t that email have been a little more apologetic? Maybe something like this?
Your photo has been reviewed and approved. Also, we’re really sorry we might have caused you to get emergency surgery by ripping your insides apart with our grill brush bristles. Our deepest apologies. Your new brush will be there soon! Seriously, we’re truly sorry! For real.
If you think about it, the whole idea of getting a replacement item for something that is recalled is pretty strange.
Yup… I managed to avoid disaster with my old grill brush and now I’m about to willingly bring another Weber grill brush into my family’s life? That kind of feels like assuming the position and welcoming potential abuse from Weber.
The allure of getting something free is powerful, but sometimes you learn something (like wire brushes can shed) and you adapt to the situation. I texted some friends and asked what they use for grill cleaning. One friend mentioned he was now using a bristle-free cleaner from Scrub Daddy. Seems like that might be a smart way to go. What do you guys think I should do?
A) Use the new Weber grill brush because nothing bad will probably happen and it’s FREE!
B) Be safe and invest in a bristle-free brush so your family won’t hate you
C) I don’t care what you do, but I love your illustrated stories so much.
Vote in the poll below! Any recommendations are welcome as well.
Until next time,
Patrick

Have you missed any stories from Things That Happened? Check out the archive!










Hilarious party scene!!!
I bet your new Weber brush will be bristle-less with a continuous loop wire like the brush I use. Thank goodness a friend told me about the risk and I bought a different one - and narrowly avoided being put in jail by child protective services for attempted internal assault on my children! 😂
B for sure from me but also C because seeeeriously love these stories. 😂 Absolutely dying because of (and appreciating the update on) the recall party marketing they chose to go with, that is absurdly hilarious (and ofc your illustrated represention is 💯🔥🎉)
(Good luck with the choose your own adventure: grilling utensils edition!)