"It slices! It dices! It makes julienne carrots! It is easy to clean, and can be yours for the low low price of only twenny-nine-niney-five! But that's not all!! Call within the next half hour, and we'll also throw in this lemon zester, perfect for elegant drinks and delicious desserts!"

Ron Popeil founded the Ronco company to distribute his myriad semi-useful inventions. One of the most memorable being The Pocket Fisherman. His collection of wares include a tiny rotisserie, a vegetable slicer, a food dehydrator, and many others. They were almost exclusively distributed through late night television advertisements, and could be said to be the source of the "As Seen on TV!" phenomenon.

Strangely, according to the Delphion Intellectual Property Network (nee IBM) Patent Database, many of Ron's inventions are actually listed to Alan L. Backus.