Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. (1892)
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 9:14PM 
The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, the defendant, advertised that they would pay £100 to anyone who contracted influenza after using their smoke ball (a form of medical vaporizer or inhaler) for a specified period. Mrs Carlill, the claimant, contracted influenza after having purchased and used as directed and ergo claimed the reward. One of the arguments of put forward by the defendant, among other things, was that it was impossible to contract the whole world. This argument was rejected by court, the court held that an offer could be made to the world at large, and that any person hearing the offer could accept it: it just had to have been communicated to the individual claiming to have accepted it. Mrs Carlill won the case. Above is a video by Philip Taylor on the case.
