# Infomercials **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376 "2020-02-02T08:02:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/1 "2020-02-02T08:02:29Z")
Ahhh. I love infomercials! They are a riot to watch! I’m so glad I don’t do things the old fashioned way anymore!!! ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/2 "2020-02-02T11:22:15Z")
When my mom was 90, I walked in the room and she was glued to a station that runs only infomercials. I asked her why she watches them. “Because they never break for those darn commercials.” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/3 "2020-02-03T06:32:57Z")
Phil Swift here for Flex Seal! Love that guy. Cut a boat in half and tape it together? No problem. Assemble an entire off road vehicle using tape and glue instead of welds? Watch this! Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/4 "2020-02-03T06:53:00Z")
Don’t order the copper pans. Trust me. Junk! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/5 "2020-02-03T08:50:05Z")
When my son was like five or six, he would get up at three or four in the morning just so he could watch that old man with the vacuums (I forget his name). My son used to have a weird obsession with vacuums. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/6 "2020-02-03T19:58:57Z")
I like how infomercials (commercials, essentially) always have commercials for the same product as the infomercial itself. Does anyone remember the balding, English guy that used to sell woks? Back in the mid-eighties, as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/7 "2020-02-04T16:45:26Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > When my son was like five or six, he would get up at three or four in the morning just so he could watch that old man with the vacuums (I forget his name). > > My son used to have a weird obsession with vacuums. That must be a boy thing! This is the 3rd time I’ve heard of a little boy being obsessed with vacuum cleaners! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/8 "2020-02-06T04:41:06Z")
The aforementioned son calls stupid people “The Idiots from the Black and White Part of Infomercials”. And I’ve got to admit… [they are amusing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpBrfKB_AgQ)! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2020, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/9 "2020-02-06T04:48:04Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Does anyone remember the balding, English guy that used to sell woks? Back in the mid-eighties, as I remember. Sure do. I also remember the 30-minute infomercials for Nad’s, the Australian hair removal gel, which I use to this day, mostly on my upper lip and interestingly, my big toes because they’re very hairy and pull on socks. Those commercials used “real people”, not professional models, which was also part of the appeal for me. They aired around 2000, and as for the thing in the story about her tasting it on the air, it does have a vague lime taste. > **[Throwback Thursday: Remembering the very strange Nad’s infomercials](https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/04-07-2019/throwback-thursday-remembering-the-very-strange-nads-infomercials)** > > Lucy Zee looks back on the late-nineties, early-aughts infomercial craze that was... Nad's It wasn't wax, it wasn't cream, so what the hell was it? Their current website: > **[Home | Unwanted Hair: Nad's Hair Removal](https://nads.com/)** > > Nad’s hair removal products are expertly formulated to help you remove unwanted hair with confidence, and achieve the best hair removal results at home. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2020, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/10 "2020-02-06T08:18:28Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > When my mom was 90, I walked in the room and she was glued to a station that runs only infomercials. I asked her why she watches them. “Because they never break for those darn commercials.” My cable used to have a TV station that just aired actual TV commercials all day. I have no idea what it was called or why it existed but it was funny to trick guests into switching to the channel because “A really good movie is going to come on after the commercials” and just watching to see how long they would wait until they realized the movie would never come. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/11 "2020-02-09T07:03:17Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > My cable used to have a TV station that just aired actual TV commercials all day. I have no idea what it was called or why it existed but it was funny to trick guests into switching to the channel because “A really good movie is going to come on after the commercials” and just watching to see how long they would wait until they realized the movie would never come. It probably got high enough ratings because of people who kept it on for background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/12 "2020-02-09T07:05:55Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > It probably got high enough ratings because of people who kept it on for background noise. I don’t think that’s how that works. The cable company doesn’t know which channel you’re tuned to. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/13 "2020-02-09T23:30:52Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t think that’s how that works. The cable company doesn’t know which channel you’re tuned to. Unless you’re a Nielsen family. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/14 "2020-02-09T23:40:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Unless you’re a Nielsen family. Neilsen families have an additional box. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infomercials/847376/15 "2020-02-10T03:01:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I’ve got some bad news for you about James Garner and Mariette Hartley… > > 😃 Noooo!