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Her Magic Bullet- Infomercials

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I think infomercials are unbearably annoying, but somehow I find myself pausing on the way to my show of the moment to see the latest gadget being hawked.  Sarah Aycock at Louisiana State University has discovered that she is drawn to appliance infomercials.

You flip to your favorite channel, but instead of the familiar lineup, there’s a friendly woman reminiscent of your mother, grandmother or aunt with neatly manicured nails and a kitchen full of the same peculiar appliance.

Suddenly you find yourself sucked in to this infomercial, watching this woman make steak roll-ups, garlic bread and strawberry shortcake with ease in this magical appliance. It’s complete with dual cooking chambers and a sleek, compact design that would fit in any kitchen.

You begin to think, “Hey, I really could use this. The kitchen in my apartment is really small, and this could come in handy. I would make these breakfast sandwiches in the morning, and for dinner it would be so simple to make a stuffed chicken breast.”
 am proud to admit that I get a huge amount of pleasure from watching infomercials. Sometimes, if the infomercial is a really good one, I’ll watch it instead of regular television.

And I’m not alone. Many people share my view that infomercials are the comfort food of the television world.

When I saw that the Magic Bullet – yes, the personal, versatile countertop magician – had come out with a brand new infomercial, I rushed to call two friends, and they were both as excited as I was to find that chain-smoking Hazel and grumpy Berman, two characters from the original infomercial, had returned and were joined by Tina, who may or may not be a recovering alcoholic, and Betty, who loves garlic.

All infomercial fans seem to have their favorite genre. I’ll watch anything hawking a kitchen appliance, but many people prefer beauty products, workout equipment or music compilations.

And these fans can watch the same infomercials again and again, never purchasing a single product. Viewers keep tuning in to see the overzealous hosts, the delicious food or the compelling demonstrations. Something about the infomercials draws them in. But they can’t exactly explain why.

Some viewers eventually succumb to the pleadings of the hosts and invest in the product they’ve been secretly wanting for months. I’ve personally fallen prey twice. I am the proud owner of the Magic Bullet and the Bare Minerals makeup kit.

A Jaunt for the Weekend- A Virtual Trip to the Washing Machine Museum

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If you’re looking for a museum trip without the drive, just click here to visit the Washing Machine Museum. If you want to make the trip a real, not virtual experience, the museum is located in Eaton, Colorado with tours by appointment.

The virtual tour offers glimpses of the forgotten world of early hand, gas and electric powered washers. You can see the washers with wringers that advertise themselves with phrases like “Never Crush” and “Saves Women’s Lives”. Fingers were known to be not only crushed, but severed in wringers. There is also the Horton which claims “A Horton Washer will add many years to your life. It will save your health– keep the wrinkles out of your face–keep you youthful”.horton antique washer

The site includes an article about the invention of the washing machine, options to have your own antique appraised and of course, the virtual tour.

The tour is self guided and includes outdoor views of the rural museum, two buildings filled with vintage washers, a workshop and a barn with what appears to be washers awaiting restoration.

A fun afternoon’s visit, with some history and a great feeling for how much easier laundry is now.

Fun Fridge Lights

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Turn your fridge into a canvas for LED art. Any passerby can place and relocate the magnetic LEDs any way they wish to create illuminated pictures and messages.

It’s great for high traffic kitchens and It’s fun for kids and adults alike.

You can find complete, step-by-step instuction for this fun project at www.instructables.com

Personally, I see this as being perfect for a dorm room or rec room fridge, not my new stainless side-by-side, but it would be a great summer project for a talented teen.

Appliance Odometer

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Here’s more from the great thinkers at halfbakery.com.  I really enjoy these ideas.

Keep track of instances/hours of kitchen appliance use:

I’m using my CostCo rice cooker bought a few months ago for the 3d time right now; it cost $30, so at the moment, I’m right at a $10 surcharge for each 4-cup rice serving, which is pretty expensive. However, in the medium term, I think it will end up saving me money on food, by helping me meet my resolution to spend less money on restaurant meals, and I’d therefore like to keep track of how often I use the cooker. However, I only know how often I’ve used it because that number is so low; I don’t have regular “rice days” either, so I can’t just multiply Mondays to arrive at a usage figure. So: I propose an electronic odometer which clicks forward a notch for every complete cycle (for a rice cooker or other 1-task appliances) or which simply keeps track of “active cycle” times for other items which are used more as-needed (blenders, washing machines, microwaves). Knowing how often particular things are used would be good in increasing household efficiency, and would be more aesthetically pleasing (though less visceral) than carving notches each time …

I have an air popcorn popper that would be a good candidate for this gadget.  I also think it would be fun to see how often the power tools that are so important really get used.

What do you think?