Sat 6 May 2006
This week, we sound more serious and responsible than usual as we finish the discussion on stereotypes of Americans. There are voicemails from Tvindy and Jared, Zan concludes that MySpace is actually quite good, and we have a discussion of slang terms, many of which feature dog testicles.
Then it’s time for a Things that are Dumb about products which solve imaginary problems. We wanted to have a Smut Report, but couldn’t get it up - sorry to be teases. You’ll have to wait until next week.
In the meantime, you can leave us a message, and add yourself to our MySpace page and listener map.
May 7th, 2006 at 3:48 am
Great show. Hey, I almost got one of those hair trimming comb things once. The guy who cut my hair at the time used one but I figured I wouldn’t have the precision of a pro so I decided against it.
And for those of you with shower trouble there’s always soap on a rope.
Every country has those catalogs full of useless things. The name’s different but the crap’s the same.
May 8th, 2006 at 4:53 am
“A filing system for your Kraft singles”. Best. line. ever.
I haven’t laughed this hard in a while. Keep up the eff’in great shows!
Andy V.
May 8th, 2006 at 6:20 am
Here is the US we also have individually wrapped peanut butter slices.
May 8th, 2006 at 10:03 am
up here in canada we have canned eskimos and individually wrapped ice!..houses
May 8th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
tvindy. I just vomited in my mouth a bit.
May 9th, 2006 at 1:53 am
Awesome Things That Are Dumb segment! I’m always on the lookout for those kinds of gadgets. The newest thing here is the Pasta Express, a tube you pour hot water in and put the pasta into. How this is any easier than cooking it normally on a stovetop is beyond me. In the infomercial, they show people trying to put pasta in a pot and splashing boiling water all over themselves.
I have a collection of ads on my fridge for what I call This Hectic World sized foods. People are under the impression that they can no longer cook for themselves anymore, lack of time or something, so food comes in readymade, serving appropriate sized pouches which you can eat in the car. They usually have names like Munch ‘Ems or Eat-Em’s or Go-gurt (yogurt in a tube). I don’t even want to know how they got yogurt to stay edible at room temperature. Also, I never thought making a bowl of cereal was that difficult, but now they have cereal bars with milk (?) in the middle so you don’t have to hassle with a bowl. Go figure.
I’ve seen the peanut butter slices, and also peanut butter & jelly mixed on one jar, but I guess that still takes some effort to spread the stuff out.
May 9th, 2006 at 3:13 am
Having seen the movie “Envy” with Ben Stiller and Jack Black, I can’t help but be reminded of “Vay-Poo-Rize” and “Pocket Flan” at this point…
Oh, Ryan said, “I don’t even want to know how they got yogurt to stay edible at room temperature.” Sure you do, Ry! What’s wrong with a couple more chemicals to add to the industrial soup we each carry for life? C’mon, jump in, the sodium benzoate’s fine!
I’m reminded of a TV documentary where a venerable US journalist (Bill Moyers?) was tested for environmental toxins. He had about 80 in his system. What to do? “Nothing, that’s pretty typical of a man your age.” He was 65-70 years old. Where did they come from? Eating, breathing, driving–normal living. Scary.
-V
May 9th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
I just looked at the site for the peanut butter slices, and I like the way it says. ‘Creating P.B. Slicesâ„¢ took Kennedy, president of Kennedy Foods, more than four years, thousands of feet of plastic cling wrap, etc.’. Like spending four years trying to slice peanut butter is something to be proud of. And this guy is the president of the company, too; what, did he have to hire someone else to run the company while he was busy sticking peanut butter to pieces of cling wrap?
May 10th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Hi Zan and Jana
I’m a new Aussie listener (found you via the Australia/Oceania section on Podcast Pickle).
Your rant about the Penny Miller catalogue had me laughing REALLY hard on my walk home from work tonight. There’s something called the Innovations catalogue that gets delivered to my front porch every now and again which sounds like it is full of the same king of useless garbage. The last one had a plastic container for eggs…in which each egg has it’s own place to rest…EXACTLY like the carton you buy them in. I was bored and wrote to the Innovations folks and asked them why I would pay $9.95 for a container which had exactly the same form and function as the container which comes free with the eggs in the first place.
They never wrote back
Anyway…great show…it’s nice to hear a familiar accent among all the great American and English shows I love. Keep up the great work.
Cheers, BSquared
May 11th, 2006 at 6:12 am
Speaking of toxins in the food, I’ve also heard that people’s corpses take longer to decay now because of all the preservatives in the food. Sounds good to me! Maybe if I eat enough of those peanut butter slices I can be preserved forever on display in a glass case like Lenin.
May 20th, 2006 at 7:24 am
Arsenic is also good for keeping your body from decaying. Napoleon was supposedly poisoned by it, and his corpse just would not rot.
August 12th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
Hi, I live in Australia too and just have to laugh at the ads such as the Swivel Sweeper, where she falls down those stairs, ads just go beyond the point sometimes, but the good ones are all made in Australia, the really funny but crazy over board ads are always made in America.
The Innovations catalogue does have some good things and some bad things and the Homecare Direct Shopping is a company with homewares and more but their service is crap and I used to work with them and their absolutely not nice.
I suggest Penny Miller, there are some good products to choose from as even I know, I work for them now, but im not just saying this because im with them but because I believe in them and their products, especially with a 12 month guarantee, Penny Miller was by the name of Betterware but changed its name over because they had to pay UK royalties back to the Uk company head office.
Its up to you what you like and what you don’t but most people are satisfied with Penny Miller, as there are some great gadgets to choose from, such as the collar that flashes, now I can see where my pet is in the dark times.
Thanks, www.freewebs.com/pennymiller
AUSSIE WOMEN
January 30th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Penny Miller/Betterware a good company,lets see ummm i dont think so.You said they changed there name because of roayalities dont know about that but i do know they ripped a whole pile of people of and they changed there name to avoid legal action.Also did i mention they ripped people off, oh i did you say ,well let me say it again they ripped people off ,No not just one ,no not just 10, no not just 50 ,not just 300 lets say about 500 to a thousand and thats just the ones I know of.They got into big trouble and went to court but lee saved himself, i wonder who he sent to the gallows to save his own ass.Betterware in Australia under lee was a disgrace and he and his company ripped the people who where area managers and distributors off big time and git away with it for the most part but there are towns that wont touch his shit ever again.
You are a thief Lee and changing your name from Betterware to Penny Miller aint going to change that you fraudualnt arrogant prick.Oneday you will get yours and I can only hope that the law will change so ripp off merchants like yourself will be sent to prison for improper practices.
Betterware/Penny miller nice just ask those who suffered because of them whether there a good company or not,whether their ethical or not.
As for their products they do have some good shit but i dont think giving up your hard earned for a lovely guy like Lee is worth it.I rather guve my money away to the salvos than to that Theif.
February 3rd, 2007 at 3:21 pm
What Ya (see above) you seem to have a very strong opinion but no factual evidence to support your claims. Generally when one is slandering a companies name they would at least have some court cases to refer to (actual numbers, dates, the magistrate etc).
You don’t even specify who you are, nor your position within the Penny Miller/Betterware company. Perhaps learning to spell may also help your convictions reach more people??? Sorry mate but you sound like a dickhead.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I’m also a distributor of Penny Miller catalogues, and all I can say is my customers never get ripped off. The best thing about distributing is us Distributors get the opportunity to ensure our customers from our local areas, get the best service in town. We achieve this by delivering an awesome. Penny Miller customers are able to order from home. There products arrive to them by a local Distributor within 14 days or a time arranged to suit both the Customer and Distributor. If my customers are unhappy with their products, I provide them with a refund within 1 week, or I replace their product within 14 days. All our Distributors within our team, fully support the 90 Day Moneyback Guarantee and 12 Month replacement Guarantee.
I too questioned the usefulness of some products. At the end of the day, though I may find a plastic container for eggs a waste of money, someone may see storing eggs this way a great idea. You can’t wash a cardboard egg container if an egg cracks and seeps onto it - but you can wash a plastic one! I’ve seen products in the catalogue that I could buy much cheaper from the $2 shop. But, when I look at the cost it would cost me to travel into town and get a refund or replacement when a product craps out, the value of buying products through Penny Miller ring through loud and clear. How many times have you bought a $2 Shop item that carried a 90 Day Money back Guarantee and 12 month replacement Guarantee?
Companies grow with time and success and failure affects the best and worse companies. The one’s that survive, are the companies who care enough to learn from their mistakes and are vigilant in improving their services or products. As for Lee, I have no idea who you are, but if you truly are a rip off, fraudulent and arrogant prick, it’s time to change your tune. The catalogues are a great product so look after those Area Managers and Distributors, because you’re foolish to think they can’t hit top sales selling for other companies. It takes a little bit more than a great catalogue to stay on top.
August 16th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I have just discovered the business opportunity with Penny Miller. On their web site they offer 20% commision plus bonuses. Is this worth while? Does it actually add up considering the time you have to spend dropping off catalogues, picking up catalogues then dropping off any orders after that? If I worked 20 hours a week including everything I mentioned would I make a good profit? Around about how much? Could distributors only reply please, thank you. Kind Regards.