That Macdonald's Coffee Lawsuit Urban Legend

Yes, a woman was scalded by hot coffee from Macdonald's and was awarded a lot of money in compensation, but No, the version passed around by email is generally wrong. FACT SHEET: MCDONALD'S SCALDING COFFEE CASE explains what happened and the eventual outcomes of the lawsuit. (Link courtesy of Making Light, Teresa Nielsen Hayden's wonderful blog.)

Also, Snopes.com is a useful site for investigating those dubious claims people send you in email (You know, the "Bill Gates will give you ten thousand dollars for spamming your addressbook" nonsense (which is debunked here).