Let's say your grandson just loves Superman. He can't get enough of him -- he spends half the day in his Superman pajamas, socks stuffed under the sleeves to make "muscles."

He has slews of toys, a big Superman poster in his room -- you know exactly what theme to follow when you do your Christmas shopping.

You might be planning to stop by the Warner Bros. Studios store at the mall, where there are shelves of drinking glasses emblazoned with his hero.

But before you add to his collection, you need to read this.

The Associated Press recently commissioned a study in which a lab tested drinking glasses decorated with childhood favorites like Superman, Wonder Woman, and characters from The Wizard of Oz.

They bought the glasses from a Warner Bros. Studio store in California. And what they found is pretty disturbing.

The enamel on the glasses contained anywhere between 16 and 30.2 percent lead. The federal limit for children's products is...well, a lot lower than that -- it's 0.03 percent.

Superman was 617 times over the federal limit. Among the glasses tested, the Tin Man was the worst -- he came in at over 1,000 times over the limit.

The enamel used on all of the glasses also contained high levels of cadmium, which is even more dangerous than lead (and was the subject of a McDonald's recall last summer -- seems their Shrek tie-in wasn't so successful).

Lead and cadmium can be shed from the enamel. Consider that you're often eating when you're drinking, and you can see where the problems begin. Then there's the possibility of cross-contaminating other dishes when you pop a load into the dishwasher.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission will be looking at these types of glasses to determine whether or not they're "children's products" and therefore subject to the limitations, and Warner Bros. is saying the glasses are primarily for collectors.

Come on! Goodness knows the appeal is there -- and whether or not something is labeled as a "children's product" isn't really going to affect a parent's decision to buy it for a superhero-loving child. If they're not labeled as being for children, these glasses will be considered just fine lead-wise.

Incidentally, Coca-Cola just pulled 22,000 sets of drinking glasses (made to look like Coke cans) from the shelves. The enamel on those glasses contained cadmium, but they're saying that's not why they're pulling them. Instead, they're using the vague excuse that the glasses didn't meet their expectations for quality. Well, what a coincidence!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission can sort things out however they like, but I know one thing is true -- these glasses aren't going anywhere near my Christmas shopping list. And I have a feeling they won't be on yours, either.

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