Pepsi is being sued by a Madison County, Illinois man who claims he found a mouse in his Mountain Dew. Ho-hum, right? But wait, Pepsi came up with the greatest defense ever: you'll never know you're drinking mouse! 
 
 A little back story. In 2009, Ronald Ball says he bought a can of Mountain Dew from a vending machine at work. The soda made him violently ill, and he began throwing up he claims. He poured the soda in a styrofoam cup, and, well, there was a mouse. Or so he says. 
 
 And then, purported subterfuge! 
 
 Ball also is claiming that when he called a telephone number on the can of soda to complain about the incident, they sent an adjuster to retrieve the mouse, but the company would not return the mouse until it had decomposed, ruling out additional testing by the plaintiff. 
 
 So that happened. Or didn't. Who really knows? But now the case has made its way to court. And while this might be just another run-of-the-mill vermin in the food story otherwise, a tidbit from trial makes the case worth catching up on. 
 
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 Pepsi has moved to dismiss the case, according to the Madison St. Clair Record. Why, you ask? It cited expert testimony that the mouse would have dissolved in the soda before Ball ever had the chance to drink it. 
 
 Wait, so, is Pepsi's defense basically that you'd never know if there was a mouse in your soda? Kind of. 
 
 Pepsi's expert says the mouse would have become a "jelly like" substance long before Ball ever popped the top. 
 
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 That's not mouse. It's just mouse jelly. Which also sounds delicious! Let's all drink a soda. [Madison St Clair Record via Brendan Koerner] 
 
 Image: Shutterstock / Przemys?aw ||||| The Telegraph 
 
 EDWARDSVILLE - A local man is suing the makers of Mountain Dew soda, claiming he found a mouse in a can of the soft drink he bought from a vending machine in Wood River. 
 
 
 
 Ronald Ball, who is described in the civil lawsuit filed in Madison County Circuit Court as an employee of Marathon Oil in Wood River, said he bought a can of Mountain Dew from a vending machine at his workplace. 
 
 
 
 "After purchasing said can of Mountain Dew, plaintiff opened the can and immediately became violently ill, such that he began to vomit," the suit claims. 
 
 
 
 The suit claims he poured the soda into a Styrofoam cup, "wherein the mouse was found." 
 
 
 
 Ball also is claiming that when he called a telephone number on the can of soda to complain about the incident, they sent an adjuster to retrieve the mouse, but the company would not return the mouse until it had decomposed, ruling out additional testing by the plaintiff. 
 
 
 
 The suit claims the company had a duty to adequately prepare, inspect and package its product but failed to do so. 
 
 
 
 The alleged negligent acts caused Ball injuries, medical bills, disability, lost wages, pain and suffering, the suit claims. 
 
 
 
 Named as defendants in the suit are Mountain Dew maker Pepsico and Supervalu, which supplied the machine. Company officials could not be reached for comment. 
 
 
 
 The seven-count suit is asking for at least $50,000 in damages on each count. Ball is represented by attorney Edward W. Unsell of East Alton. 
 

– An Illinois man is suing PepsiCo after allegedly finding a mouse in his Mountain Dew, and the details just keep getting weirder. In 2009, the man says, he got sick after drinking a can of the soda. After he complained to Pepsi, it sent someone to collect the mouse, and reportedly wouldn't give it back until it had decomposed—thereby apparently preventing the man from using it for "additional testing," as the Alton Telegraph put it back then. But it gets crazier: Pepsi recently called for a dismissal of the case, notes the Madison St. Clair Record. The company pointed to expert testimony that a mouse in a soda would turn into a "jelly-like" material before the soda reached the customer. In other words, Gizmodo notes, Pepsi is essentially saying that "you'd never know if there was a mouse in your soda." Well, that's a relief.