Free Republic

He told you to “Set it and forget it,” but the world will never forget Ron Popeil. Popeil, an inventor and the face of infomercials for “as-seen-on-TV” products like Showtime Rotisserie and Pocket Fisherman, has died. He was 86. His family told TMZ that Popeil had a medical emergency on Tuesday and died Wednesday morning surrounded by family at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Popeil was best known for the “Set it and forget it” catchphrase used to sell Showtime Rotisserie in late-night infomercials. Long before air fryers became the kitchen appliance du jour, the countertop rotisserie appliance took the...

An award-winning engineer has developed a new technology that could draw deadly infections such as malaria and sepsis from the body using magnets. ================================================================ George Frodsham designed the blood filtering system whilst studying how magnetic nanoparticles can bind to cells to make them detectable during imaging. He realized that if the nanoparticles can be made to magnetize cells so that they show up on scanners, it should also be possible to use them to draw cells from the blood. “In theory, you can go after almost anything” Theoretically, any bacteria, virus, or blood cancer, such as leukemia, could be bound...

LOS ANGELES — Veg-O-Matic king Ron Popeil used to love to say, "But wait, there's more!" But only barely, it turns out, at least in regard to the company he founded. Ronco Corp., based in Simi Valley has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, declaring it has $32.7 million in debts and $13.9 million in assets. Popeil, 72, an irrepressible pitchman who used infomercials to sell products such as the Pocket Fisherman, Showtime Rotisserie and GLH spray-on hair, is the largest creditor. Two years ago, he sold Ronco, the company he founded in 1958. The price was about $55 million...