infomercials

• Ken Levine has some thoughts on American Idol.
• Betty Hutton passed away earlier this week.
• Jim Gaffigan talks about muffins and cakes.
• Best Week Ever isn't too happy that Zarf wasn't nominated for a Daytime Emmy.
• Some people in Hollywood use drugs.
• Will the phrase "Fair & Balanced" make it to the Hall of Fame?
• Maxim picks the 10 best infomercial products. Wait, isn't the Chia Pet ad just a commercial and not an infomercial?

We already know that I absolutely HATE infomercials. They drive me nuts. I hate that on a day like today, I flick on the TV and 50% of the stations I surf through are airing a paid programming segment trying to sell me "the world's most amazing can opener!" It bugs me even more that people actually order this stuff. I love when I go to someone's house for the first time and I see one of those "As Seen on TV" items sitting in their kitchen. Makes me giggle. Do they actually find a lot of use for their solar-powered meat thermometer? 'Cause I can think of a couple.

So imagine my excitement when I stumbled on to this blog. Writer Matt Dinniman has taken my sentiments a step further and listed the ten most ridiculous items ever offered to consumers through the magic of television. Who could forget The Flowbee? Or that electroshock ab belt? I think it's a great list but I can't believe he left off that machine that re-seals bags of potato chips or the Oreck vacuum strong enough to pick up bowling balls. What could you possibly be doing to your rugs to require a vacuum with that much suction power? Anyone?