Whoa, now that's a recall. Six of them, actually. The CPSC has issued a sweeping set of recalls of window blinds, Roman shades, and roller shades sold at a whole bunch of major retailers and manufacturers, including Target, Ikea, Pottery Barn Kids, and Home Depot's Expo Design Centers. The products affected were sold as long ago as 1992 and as recently as this summer. The threat is the same across the board: the cords on the blinds pose a strangulation risk to infants and children.
What's most interesting/damning is that, though there are a couple of undated injury citations, all the injuries and deaths mentioned in the recall notices were reported to the CPSC between 2006 and October 2008. It's almost as if the CPSC had just been sitting there, staring at a growing stack of strangulation-by-window-blind-cord reports for a few years and wondering why no one did anything about it.
Surf through all six window blind/shade recalls in the CPSC's August 2009 recall list [cpsc.gov]
Six companies recall window blinds and shades after deaths and near-strangulations [latimes via dt reader maria]
What about all the cords now tied to computer CD/DVD trays for the purposes of rocking an infant to sleep?
just wait a few years, they'll be recalled, too.