Inventor of Gadgets That We Didn't Know We Needed Ron Popeil died this past week at the age of 86. You can see some of those items in the picture above. Who doesn't need an in the shell egg scrambler? Oh, and you might also say that in addition to all of these gadgets, he also invented television infomercials. If he didn't, he certainly perfected the model.
His death brought to mind a personal story.
Back in 1987, I found myself unemployed for a four month period. Naturally, it was an upsetting time, and many nights I found that I was unable to sleep because of it. So I would toddle on downstairs to watch television. Now back in 1987, there were no streaming services on which to watch movies and limited series, and all ESPN was showing was week old college football games. What was on television in the wee smalls, though, were infomercials, many of them featuring Ron "Set It and Forget It" Popeil. I was fascinated by them and always said that it was a good thing that my wallet with the credit cards in it was upstairs and out of my reach.
One item with which I became particularly obsessed was a food storage "system" called Popeet.
Popeet consisted of accordion-type plastic containers. Easy to store when not in use, but expandable to accommodate ANY KIND OF LEFTOVERS. Soup, vegetables, desserts. You could store candy, snacks, and cereal in them. They were leak proof. They were unbelievably amazing, and, as I said, I obsessed over them. And if you called within the next twenty minutes, you could get a second set of Popeets for free, paying only the additional shipping and handling!
My "obsession" became a bit of schtick that I would talk about with friends, and it was good for a laugh or two. Finally, when I did find employment, friends of ours celebrated the occasion by giving me.....a set of Popeets!!!!!
The story doesn't have a happy ending. Popeet was not all that Mr. Popeil claimed it to be, and they were probably consigned to the trash bin within a year.
RIP Ron Popeil.
Now how much would you pay for this story that the schlock schtick provided?
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