I want to get hold of a thing I read in the New York Times. probably
in the last ten years but maybe earlier, with a list of things to
worry about.

the two that I remember, pretty far down the list, were "faulty
windshield wipers" and "bribeable elevator inspectors"

Hello.

The list appeared in the New York Times on November 8, 1986 on page
31. It was written by Russell Baker. The title of the column is "Depth
of Fashion."

The list includes the "125 most publicized things that could get you."
I can confirm that both "bribe-taking elevator inspector" and
"worn-out windshield wipers" are on the list. For copyright reasons,
it's not possible to reproduce whole article here.

Here is a brief excerpt from the beginning of the article:

" The 125 most publicized things that could get you, listed in
alphabetical order:

Acid rain
Airplane hijacker
Alzheimer's disease
Asbestos
Avalanche
Bald tire
Barracuda
Beirut
Black widow spider
Bottle without safety cap
Botulism
Bribe-taking elevator inspector..."


In order for you to get whole article, you can either visit a library
that has access to a commercial database or you may purchase the
article for a small fee ($3) from a commercial database such as
Lexis-Nexis by Credit Card.

As indicated on the web site of the New York Times, "Lexis-Nexis by
Credit Card service offers unlimited searching of the Times back to
1980 through your Web browser."
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/archsources.html

If you wish to retrieve the article from Lexis-Nexis by Credit Card,
go to the following web page:
http://web.lexis.com/xchange/Forms/uas/NewsMaterial.asp

1) Click on "general news."

2) On the next web page, in the box marked "Subject," enter: 

   bribe-taking elevator inspector

3) From the menu marked "Source," select: 

   "News- All Years"

4) In the box marked "Additional terms," enter: 
   
    russell baker

5) Click on the "search" button.

You will then be given the opportunity to register for the service and
enter your credit card details.

search strategy: lexis-nexis, bribe elevator inspector

I hope this helps.