More "snake oil" and/or WTF products

[Catwoman2965]

One thing I'll say about modern society. Nobody ever has to remind me why I hate lawyers so intensely.

Exactly. Most of the products are cookies etc. which, no matter WHAT you put in them, wouldn't be considered "healthy" and if you look at the label, and see something that you don't think is "all natural" just don't BUY it. But STFU and dont go filing lawsuits alleging false advertising about something! Some people clearly have too much time on their hand

[The Hurting]

So share your products and/or snake oil-esque product stories....last thread was 8 or so years ago, so let's share em!

Our biggest WTF? product were Justin Bieber dolls. We actually carried those for some reason. I took a picture of it a long time ago, I'm not sure if I still have it.

[Trixie]

The biggest WTF product we have is The Rabbit. It's a wonderful As See on TV product that lets you watch THOUSANDS of TV channels! Except it's a piece of crap. I don't think I've ever seen as many returns on a product as we've had on this one. When people ask me I tell them to not waste their money. I guess the word got out because I haven't seen any sold for awhile, sadly though we have tons of them. Hopefully we can get rid of them soon.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Pocket hoses.

At one time they were THE hottest item in the store. They just flew off the shelves as fast as we could stock them.

Then they started being returned because of defects. They had a nasty tendency to split.

The biggest WTF product we have is The Rabbit. It's a wonderful As See on TV product that lets you watch THOUSANDS of TV channels! Except it's a piece of crap. I don't think I've ever seen as many returns on a product as we've had on this one. When people ask me I tell them to not waste their money. I guess the word got out because I haven't seen any sold for awhile, sadly though we have tons of them. Hopefully we can get rid of them soon.

Anybody who buys this product is outing themselves as too cheap or too stupid to buy and hook up a Roku. It's the same content. And if my own mother can hook it up and set it up it isn't difficult at all.

[fireheart]

Pocket hoses.

At one time they were THE hottest item in the store. They just flew off the shelves as fast as we could stock them.

Question is: was it mostly females who bought them?

AFter all, I would've thought that men came with them built-in

[Trixie]

Pocket hoses.

At one time they were THE hottest item in the store. They just flew off the shelves as fast as we could stock them.

Then they started being returned because of defects. They had a nasty tendency to split.

Yeah, forgot about those. We had people bring them back but just usually exchanged them for another one. They were well liked enough that people gave it a second chance. We have a new one now. Probably fixed up the splitting and charge people more for it.

[Sapphire Silk]

Not me, but a former college roommate of mine. He decided the best way to lose weight was to buy one of those electric belt thingies you wear around your stomach.

It burned his belly but did not take off any weight.

Well it DID burn fat . . . just not the way he expected.

Ethical flea shampoo for cats 'Not tested on animals'. Then how do you know it kills fleas if you haven't tested it? Or are fleas not animals? I don't know if it works, I didn't buy it, it seemed sketchy.

Hmm. It would be UNethical to use untested chemicals on animals in a product meant for use on animals.

Of course, as has been pointed out, most chemicals for use in commercial products have already been tested, so we already know what they will do.

The thing that really soured me on that whole debacle was when non-fat pretzels came out. Ummm, most pretzels were 1g fat per serving. So, why no fat? What is the point? Oh, and you had to add more sugar, so they won't taste like crap? Brilliant!!

A lot of food products do this. In order to reduce fat, they also reduce flavor. They make up for it by adding sugar.

That's why high fructose corn syrup is in almost everything these days.

And my personal favourite wtf product...the "iPotty." Basically it's a potty with a space for where you can stick an iPad or similar device, which has toilet-training apps loaded onto it.

All I can say is.....WHY?!?!?!?!

"Why? Because I have the money to blow on useless crap, to show off my affluence! That's why!"

I use a hair dye that says it's "vegan". With all the chemicals in it, why would I care if it's vegan. I'm not going to eat it, lol

Vegan is as much a lifestyle and a philosophy as it is a diet. Most people who become totally vegan object to the mistreatment of animals used in food production, which is why the no animal foods part. But it also applies to chemicals tested on animals, furs, leather, and other products they object to. And it's not something new age, either; veganism has been around for over 100 years.

My favorite line on labels is "chemical free". Uh-huh. Everything on earth can be broken down into its chemical component parts. Ugh.

Another favorite was a bag of sugar labeled "carbon free". Sugar. Seriously.

Heh. I won the blue ribbon at the science fair in the 5th grade by demonstrating how sugar turns from one form of carbon to another when you apply heat.

99% FAT FREE

On a bag of marshmallows.

Only marshmallows are usually 100% fat free, and almost 100% sugar.

Lucky my mum always said if you cook the marshmallow over a flame, the calories from the sugar melt away. She's right, isn't she?

Actually, it would reduce the calories. The burnt outer shell would not be digestible, hence no caloric intake. However, the amount of calorie reduction would not be statistically significant, especially if you ate a whole bag of toasted marshmellows.

And did you know that there's no regulation for any labels in the organic category? None whatsoever. So that "organic" tomato you just bought? It could be no different than the "non-organic" one in the next box over. (It's probably from that box anyways, but that's beside the point) And don't get me started on the whole "vine ripened" nonsense.

Here the word organic is a bit misappropriated. What organic really means is the chemical structure contains carbon. All living things are carbon based in nature, on Earth at least (scientists have long speculated other molecules might be the base of life on worlds too harsh for carbon based life to survive).

The organic farming movement appropriated the word to imply more "natural" farming methods. Which is really just a bait and switch because no matter what you do you disturb nature and use compounds and methods that can damage the soil or the environment. Plus, "organic" farming methods can actually involve the use of more energy to grow foods out of season than is used to import foods grown in season in other countries (say in the Southern Hemisphere) then transported to the US for sale. If you buy an organic tomato out of season, you've bought greenhouse grown food, and it takes more energy to grow that tomato than to grow one in season.

"Vine ripened" means it was ripe when picked - limited shelf life, and very fragile in handling.<snip> They also don't have the full flavour, but to the industrial farms that's not important.

Which must explain why I like the tomatoes I grow in my backyard better than those I buy in the store

My favorite has been a certain cold remedy's (and I use that term loosely) term "pre-cold".

Andi Osho, who happens to be an English stand-up, was on Craig Ferguson last week and was wondering about some of the strange things we have here in the US. Like what a "pre-cold" is? Why it wasn't just called "healthy"?

According to the product's info, a "pre-cold" is when your throat gets tacky or you start sneezing. Hate to break it to them, but it's already too late by then. You either have a cold or you don't.

Actually, there is something to the term "pre cold," though. People who about to get a full blown cold (or other infection) will have prodromal symptoms. These are vague symptoms like malaise (icky, tired, cranky) that come before the stuffed nose, sore throat, or cough of a cold. Problem is, most people don't recognize the symptoms before the full on cold hits, and even if you did, there still is no cure for the common cold.

Although I do find that hitting the Vitamin C and other vitamins and drinking more fluids early if I suspect I'm coming down with a cold minimizes the symptoms, the fact is I still have a cold.

[Kagato]

The segment I'm thinking of? Toilet training.

Four pages since this post and NO ONE has linked the old BBC Peter Serafinowicz Show iToilet skit?!?

http://youtu.be/Ph79vPIiWbM

[fireheart]

A couple of new ones from the latest "Guilty Mum" segment.

-Amber teething necklaces. Aside from them being a choking hazard, they've been proven repeatedly to have no overall benefit.
-Sterling silver teething ring. Yeah....I got nothing. Although it was somewhat hilarious to see the baby in the clip drooling on mummy's bangle only to be told "no, don't have that, have this (gets handed almost exactly the same thing except on a chain)"

[wolfie]

I can see a reason for the silver teething ring. After all, silver inhibits bacterial growth, so it's not going to become a germ warehouse. Still, it would be cheaper (and just as effective) to buy a couple regular teething rings, swapping them out daily with the "old" one going in the dishwasher when you run the dinner dishes.

[Catwoman2965]

My favorite has been a certain cold remedy's (and I use that term loosely) term "pre-cold".

Andi Osho, who happens to be an English stand-up, was on Craig Ferguson last week and was wondering about some of the strange things we have here in the US. Like what a "pre-cold" is? Why it wasn't just called "healthy"?

According to the product's info, a "pre-cold" is when your throat gets tacky or you start sneezing. Hate to break it to them, but it's already too late by then. You either have a cold or you don't.

Thank you for pointing this out! that commercial bugs the snot out of me. LIke you say, you either have one, or you don't. kind of like being a "little bit" pregnant

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Question is: was it mostly females who bought them?

AFter all, I would've thought that men came with them built-in

Must've been the same women who bought The Rabbit expecting Good Vibrations.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Okay, question for y'all.

My Pillow. The $50 (or so) pillow with the vaguely creepy-looking guy on the box. Is it any good?

It's a reasonably good seller at the swamp, and I'm always looking for better pillows so I don't wake up with headaches and neck aches all the time.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Okay, question for y'all.

My Pillow. The $50 (or so) pillow with the vaguely creepy-looking guy on the box. Is it any good?

I don't know but I just visited the official site and I'll be damned if I'm paying 90 bucks for one pillow for my bed when I can get pillows at Anna's on sale for less than $25/4 of 'em.

Besides, I can't get over that creepy guy . . . when did they bring Mr. Belvedere back from the grave?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

90 bucks? Ain't nowhere near that expensive at the swamp, and it's always on sale.

I'd totally buy the My Pillow if Bob Uecker were on the box instead.