Not only do fax machines still exist, but HP sells them, and the government is forcing a recall of nearly one million of the obsolete things. Why? They might burn down your house—ancient and deadly, like a velociraptor.
The official U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall cites the HP fax 1040 and 1050 models, which, judging by the photos, are either in your attic or local landfill by now. But if you've still got one hooked up to a wall for some reason, beware!
The fax machines can overheat due to an internal electrical component failure, posing fire and burn hazards.
Hewlett-Packard is aware of seven reports of fax machines overheating and catching fire, resulting in property damage, including one instance of significant property damage and one instance of a minor burn injury to a consumer's finger. Six incidents were reported in the U.S. and one in Canada.
So, how did you injure your hand, man?
Oh, I burned it on a defective fax machine.
I want a divorce.
Is your HP fax machine on fire right now? I advise you to go check—if so, HP will provide you the world' most insulting recall compensation: "a rebate on the purchase of an authorized replacement HP fax machine or a partial rebate of certain HP ink jet printers." [CPSC]