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Learning from Willy Wonka's safety mistakes

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Willy Wonka's chocolate factory might be a “non-pollutionary, anti-institutionary, pro-confectionery factory of fun” (according to the tagline attached to the 1971 film), but a U.K. manufacturer of safety products is asking Mr. Wonka to make safety a priority, as well.

In an open letter to Mr. Wonka, dated Nov. 5, Elland, England-based A-Safe suggests the candy maker familiarize himself with modern health and safety practices, as several Golden Ticket holders recently disappeared during a guided tour of the factory.

“As we understand it, the first incident occurred in the Chocolate Room with one Augustus Gloop,” the letter states. “It seems that despite advice to the contrary, young Mr. Gloop approached your chocolate river, drank a substantial quantity of product … and, subsequently, fell in.”

The letter goes on to state that, while A-Safe can't do anything about Veruca Salt being a “bad nut,” it can supply integrated signboards for workplace areas. A “staff only” or “do not enter” sign on the Nut Room door “may have acted as (a) suitable deterrent,” according to the letter.

A-Safe even included a shout-out to Mr. Wonka's workers, the Oompa Loompas, asking if they could visit the company's marketing department “to impart some of their ethos.”

This isn't the first time Mr. Wonka, who was played by Gene Wilder in the film, has been used to make a point about safety. As many travelers have pointed out over the years, the safety cards found in the seatback pockets of Sun Country Airlines' flights feature a man in a purple tuxedo who bears a likeness to Mr. Wonka.