Man Finds Dead Mouse in Can of Monster Energy Drink - Facts

Story:

Man Finds Dead Mouse in Can of ‘Monster’ Energy Drink.

Analysis:

This is a message that comes with a video showing a news report of a man claiming to have found a dead mouse in his can of Monster energy drink. It is partially fact.

This story was actually reported in March 2011 when Vitaliy Sulzhik, a 19 year old man from Federal Way, Washington, has reported that he found a dead mouse at the bottom of his Monster energy drink can. Sulzhik said, after finishing his can of drink, he felt the can wasn’t empty. So when he checked into the can, he said he saw the tail of a mouse, and when he cut the can open, he was surprised to see an entire dead mouse inside. Sulzhik claims he vomited everywhere after seeing the dead mouse in his can of Monster energy drink.

Sulzhik sought Reed Yurchak, an attorney and sent the can for a series of forensic tests at MDE Inc., a Seattle-based lab. The tests revealed that the death of the mouse was not associated with any kind of trauma or poison, suggesting that the mouse may not be introduced inside the can by someone. Mr. Sulzhik claimed that he was not able to drink from a can since that discovery a year ago. They filed a lawsuit against Hansen Beverage Company, the makers of Monster energy drink, claiming reasonable compensation for the physical and emotional damages.

The company, on behalf of their drink Monster, called the lawsuit as frivolous and unfounded. They responded with a public statement pointing out that Mr. Sulzhik drank a part of his Monster energy drink and then left his can opened and unattended for hours in his car, giving an ample opportunity for a small mouse to crawl into the can. Sulzhik returned later, and finished his drink to discover the mouse inside can. The company also stated that if the mouse was introduced inside the can at the time of production, the mouse would have deteriorated after death and then the drink would not have been drinkable from the very first sip.