Who came up with this useless product?

[Pippen]

Totally with you on the 5-bladed razors, how does that help? Surely any more than 3 isn't adding any benefit.

We have a product here in Australia that was launched with a big ad campaign last year. Its a fancy automatic dispenser for antibacterial soap that has one of those sensors so you don't have to touch a pump, just put your hand under the spout. It was adverstised as being great for families etc and preventing the spread of bacteria as you won't be picking up bugs left on the soap dispenser by other people.

They seem to be completely ignoring the fact that the very first thing you do after dispensing the soap is use it to wash your hands, thereby removing said bacteria.  They managed to convince a lot of people to buy it, but at $20 each, what a rip off!

That ad drives me nuts! Like the poor darling precious child must be protected from germs at all cost. To heck with building an immune system. What next. Dettol bringing out a disposable hyperbolic chamber for kids to sleep in? A spray you disinfect them with before they can set foot in the house?

[Mental Magpie]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

[Pippen]

I'd like to complain about the new "eco friendly" sinks and dryers that are popping up everywhere. You know, the sinks with motion detectors/automated handles that you push once so they dispense a measured amount of water? I don't know who came up with those, but I need more than 4 seconds to actually wash my hands. In some cases I have to pull back and convince the machine that I'm a different person so it will give me more water.  And while the idea of paperless hand dryers is a good idea, there's usually only 2 in a bathroom, and they aren't efficient enough (the Dyson Airblades in Europe are awesome, the dryers in America are not) to dry my hands. And I can't spend a large amount of time drying my hands, because there's a queue forming up behind me. Argh.

Sorry but I love those. I get so mad when I go into a bathroom and some fool has left the tap running because they are too lazy or disinclined to turn it off. Women in some parts of the world spend half their lives carrying water from filthy water sources and would be weeping at the thought of beautiful clean water being treated with such disrespect.

[Minmom3]

There are two products that immediately spring to mind, and I apologize if they were mentioned before and I missed it while skimming through posts.  Both of these were advertised on TV, and both of these were bought by gullible little me at our local Walmart.

The "Quick Chop", the "fast easy way to chop mince slice and dice with just a tap".  I bought this out of curiosity and with no real expectations, and it's a good thing that I wasn't expecting much.  It worked all right the first time, but it was a pain to clean and it marked up the cutting board.  After that, the blades went dull, and there is no way to sharpen them.

"Smooth Away", a buffer for unwanted face/body hair.  It worked, yes.  It buffed away the hair...after being used long enough to make the skin red-raw.  So, it didn't work very well, and it wasn't really worth it.  Again, no expectations, just curiosity.

The "as seen on TV" aisle is a source of amusement these days.    "The "Pasta Boat"?  Really?  Yeah, I think I'll just stick with our good pot and a colander, thanks."

Don't give up on the "Quick Chop"!  I, too, bought one from Wal-Mart after having used my mother's since I was about 8.  My aunt got her one from Pampered Chef way back then (hehheh that was only 16 years ago...) and it still works perfectly today!  The Pampered Chef one is so easy to clean; it even comes apart around the blades so you can get those clean, too.  It's just that the Wal-Mart brand one is cheap and chintzy.  Spend a little bit more money for a higher quality one and you'll be happy.  I can't promise that, but I just used my mom's yesterday to make salad and it worked just like knew; I threw out mine about a week after having it.

We have one, not Oxo or Slap Chop, and not bought at WalMart - ours also comes apart and goes on the top shelf of the dishwasher - it is Very Nice for chopping up a small amounts of nuts - for sundaes and other deserts.  Not for baking cookies, because the amount is too small, but for small things, it's really nice. 

[Minmom3]

I'd like to complain about the new "eco friendly" sinks and dryers that are popping up everywhere. You know, the sinks with motion detectors/automated handles that you push once so they dispense a measured amount of water? I don't know who came up with those, but I need more than 4 seconds to actually wash my hands. In some cases I have to pull back and convince the machine that I'm a different person so it will give me more water.  And while the idea of paperless hand dryers is a good idea, there's usually only 2 in a bathroom, and they aren't efficient enough (the Dyson Airblades in Europe are awesome, the dryers in America are not) to dry my hands. And I can't spend a large amount of time drying my hands, because there's a queue forming up behind me. Argh.

Sorry but I love those. I get so mad when I go into a bathroom and some fool has left the tap running because they are too lazy or disinclined to turn it off. Women in some parts of the world spend half their lives carrying water from filthy water sources and would be weeping at the thought of beautiful clean water being treated with such disrespect.

Fiskars makes a really swell hand dryer too.  It doesn't have the tube of air that points down and you 'scrub' your hands under.  THIS one has two sides, and both flow out some fierce wind you put your hand between.  Like a double sided version hand sized thing of the Big jumbo air blowers than blow most of the water off your car at the car wash.  I know I'm explaining it horribly, but it really does work well on your hands.  I've only seen it at the Valley Faire Food Court in San Jose, and I like it lots.  It's pretty loud though, which is obnoxious.

[Mental Magpie]

I'd like to complain about the new "eco friendly" sinks and dryers that are popping up everywhere. You know, the sinks with motion detectors/automated handles that you push once so they dispense a measured amount of water? I don't know who came up with those, but I need more than 4 seconds to actually wash my hands. In some cases I have to pull back and convince the machine that I'm a different person so it will give me more water.  And while the idea of paperless hand dryers is a good idea, there's usually only 2 in a bathroom, and they aren't efficient enough (the Dyson Airblades in Europe are awesome, the dryers in America are not) to dry my hands. And I can't spend a large amount of time drying my hands, because there's a queue forming up behind me. Argh.

Sorry but I love those. I get so mad when I go into a bathroom and some fool has left the tap running because they are too lazy or disinclined to turn it off. Women in some parts of the world spend half their lives carrying water from filthy water sources and would be weeping at the thought of beautiful clean water being treated with such disrespect.

Fiskars makes a really swell hand dryer too.  It doesn't have the tube of air that points down and you 'scrub' your hands under.  THIS one has two sides, and both flow out some fierce wind you put your hand between.  Like a double sided version hand sized thing of the Big jumbo air blowers than blow most of the water off your car at the car wash.  I know I'm explaining it horribly, but it really does work well on your hands.  I've only seen it at the Valley Faire Food Court in San Jose, and I like it lots.  It's pretty loud though, which is obnoxious.

Hands go in the gap while the air comes from either side to, basically, squeegee your hand.

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[Luci45]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Actually, It takes less time and fewer steps to make it without the teamaker for me. As well as less mess and less counter space.

[Mental Magpie]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Actually, It takes less time and fewer steps to make it without the teamaker for me. As well as less mess and less counter space.

I have a pouch and water plus the machine.  Pouch goes in, water goes in, and done.  I don't have to stand around and watch things boil or stir things or any other such thing.  Pouch goes in, water goes in, and I walk away.  I like that.

[snowdragon]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Loved my Ice Tea Maker....used it til it broke and still morn the loss of it.

[RingTailedLemur]

I'd like to complain about the new "eco friendly" sinks and dryers that are popping up everywhere. You know, the sinks with motion detectors/automated handles that you push once so they dispense a measured amount of water? I don't know who came up with those, but I need more than 4 seconds to actually wash my hands. In some cases I have to pull back and convince the machine that I'm a different person so it will give me more water.  And while the idea of paperless hand dryers is a good idea, there's usually only 2 in a bathroom, and they aren't efficient enough (the Dyson Airblades in Europe are awesome, the dryers in America are not) to dry my hands. And I can't spend a large amount of time drying my hands, because there's a queue forming up behind me. Argh.

Sorry but I love those. I get so mad when I go into a bathroom and some fool has left the tap running because they are too lazy or disinclined to turn it off. Women in some parts of the world spend half their lives carrying water from filthy water sources and would be weeping at the thought of beautiful clean water being treated with such disrespect.

Fiskars makes a really swell hand dryer too.  It doesn't have the tube of air that points down and you 'scrub' your hands under.  THIS one has two sides, and both flow out some fierce wind you put your hand between.  Like a double sided version hand sized thing of the Big jumbo air blowers than blow most of the water off your car at the car wash.  I know I'm explaining it horribly, but it really does work well on your hands.  I've only seen it at the Valley Faire Food Court in San Jose, and I like it lots.  It's pretty loud though, which is obnoxious.

Hands go in the gap while the air comes from either side to, basically, squeegee your hand.

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Like the Dyson Airblade!  I like those, they work so much better in public loos than the regular hand dryers.

...

I'm excited about a device in a public loo.  I am my mother.   

[Wulfie]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Loved my Ice Tea Maker....used it til it broke and still morn the loss of it.

Same here. I never had to worry about someone not rinsing out the coffee grounds out of the basket or not rinsing out the coffee caraf before making tea. Coffee is a migrane trigger for me and clean pure ice tea is worth the hassel for me (before I started making Fridge Tea)

[LadyJaneinMD]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Actually, It takes less time and fewer steps to make it without the teamaker for me. As well as less mess and less counter space.

I have a pouch and water plus the machine.  Pouch goes in, water goes in, and done.  I don't have to stand around and watch things boil or stir things or any other such thing.  Pouch goes in, water goes in, and I walk away.  I like that.

Boil?  Counter space??   To make ice tea, I fill a pitcher with water.  Put in teabags, and put the pitcher in the fridge.  Next morning, I have iced tea!   There's nothing to boil, nothing to take up counter space.
Been doing it this way for YEARS.

[Mental Magpie]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Actually, It takes less time and fewer steps to make it without the teamaker for me. As well as less mess and less counter space.

I have a pouch and water plus the machine.  Pouch goes in, water goes in, and done.  I don't have to stand around and watch things boil or stir things or any other such thing.  Pouch goes in, water goes in, and I walk away.  I like that.

Boil?  Counter space??   To make ice tea, I fill a pitcher with water.  Put in teabags, and put the pitcher in the fridge.  Next morning, I have iced tea!   There's nothing to boil, nothing to take up counter space.
Been doing it this way for YEARS.

Dark Boyfriend doesn't like it like that, unfortunately; doesn't think it gets the right taste out of the tea bags.  I guess it's only useless if you make tea a certain way and only helpful if you make tea a different way.

[Elfmama]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Loved my Ice Tea Maker....used it til it broke and still morn the loss of it.

Same here. I never had to worry about someone not rinsing out the coffee grounds out of the basket or not rinsing out the coffee caraf before making tea. Coffee is a migrane trigger for me and clean pure ice tea is worth the hassel for me (before I started making Fridge Tea)

Just rinsing out a carafe or machine innards won't work, anyway. Those oils that give coffee its flavor are very penetrating, and have to be scrubbed hard to get them out.  Even bleached, sometimes.  I think it was Dark Magdalena who says she doesn't like it?  Do you dislike tea because you think it tastes like very weak coffee? It is not supposed to taste ANYTHING like coffee!  Tea has flavors all of its own.  And you certainly don't have to stand around and wait while it boils!  Pour boiling water over the tea bag.  Done. 

[Mental Magpie]

That  ranks right up there with the iced tea maker in degree of useless.

I have to disagree.  The less time I have to spend making something I don't like (I make it for Dark Boyfriend), the happier I am.

Loved my Ice Tea Maker....used it til it broke and still morn the loss of it.

Same here. I never had to worry about someone not rinsing out the coffee grounds out of the basket or not rinsing out the coffee caraf before making tea. Coffee is a migrane trigger for me and clean pure ice tea is worth the hassel for me (before I started making Fridge Tea)

Just rinsing out a carafe or machine innards won't work, anyway. Those oils that give coffee its flavor are very penetrating, and have to be scrubbed hard to get them out.  Even bleached, sometimes.  I think it was Dark Magdalena who says she doesn't like it?  Do you dislike tea because you think it tastes like very weak coffee? It is not supposed to taste ANYTHING like coffee!  Tea has flavors all of its own.  And you certainly don't have to stand around and wait while it boils!  Pour boiling water over the tea bag.  Done.

I don't like coffee either 

If I'm to pour boiling water over the tea bag...then I have to wait for the boiling water.  No, I don't stand there and wait, but I have to keep checking.  I don't like that though it is minimal effort; I want even more minimal effort.  It's just easier for me with a machine.