Killer Flashlights?

From the: I never thought of that one file:

Did you get one of those nifty flashlights that generate their own power through an almost obscene shaking motion? If so you might want to keep it away from your hard drive, pace maker, defibrillator, or other magnetically sensitive device. It seems that the flashlights are powered by a large magnet that can cause some large magnet like problems for folks who shouldn't be near magnets.

This caused L.L. Bean to recall a product which they had sold called an "Outdoorsman in a Bottle." The product was a nice water bottle packed with among other things the magnet powered flashlight and a compass. In addition to the risks to people and machinery from the magnet laden flashlight there was also a small problem with the compass. It seems that long time periods of being in close proximity to a large magnet does not really help a compass when you need to call on it to find north. Who would have thought that a mere flashlight could wreak so much havoc?

For the record, you should know that in typical fashion, the folks at L.L. Bean did the right thing and sent out a replacement compass to everyone who bought the product.