Mostly it is users who dont use the Windows "Unplug or Eject Hardware" and just pull them out.
Ouch! As a bit of a computer geek, that's painful. It's like saying, "My dentist doesn't prepare his patients for tooth extraction. Mostly he just pulls them out." <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Anyway, pulling out your USB without ejecting--big no-no. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
PS After a quick shower, I realized there are two meanings to my joke--dentist doesn't give anasthetic, or dentist doesn't give patient any notification that he's going to pull a tooth. Both are painful. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />