Midget of the Year

Dear Vudes and Tus,

I was at the county fair and I went in to a booth to meet the world's smallest woman for $3. As I was leaving the booth, I tripped over a "World's Smallest Woman" figurine placed a few yards from the door. The figurine shattered, and the woman came rushing out of the booth and demanded compensation. I don't think I should have to pay for her figurine that she left in a public place, but I heard that a person should always be obligated for damages. What in the world should I do?

Sincerely,

RJGray

Dear RJGray,

That experience sure sounds mad trill, but the ending is quite upsetting for you. Honestly, your obligation here can vary based on the specific details. According to Rav, if there had been figurines everywhere, you wouldn't be obligated for breaking one. According to Samuel, if it had been nighttime and you had been unable to see, you wouldn't be obligated for breaking the figurine. Sir Yochanan says that, if the figurine had been around the corner and not immediately in front of the entrance, you wouldn't be obligated. The final thing that would exempt you here is given by DJ OOLY. It's impossible for society to expect people to be constantly paying attention when walking, especially when in a daze from such a life changing experience like the one you had. Therefore, the woman shouldn't have been negligent by leaving her figurine in a place where it could've been broken by someone walking regularly. The only exception to this rule would be if the fair was a place where people are allowed to leave things around, so you should've been paying attention. Since we didn't have enough details, we can't really determine your case, but you can use these details to decide your obligations for yourself. Sincerely,

Vudes and Tus