Ron Popeil, inventor of The Pocket Fisherman, the Amazing Smokeless Ashtray, and the Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler, was (satirically) awarded an Ignoble Award for Consumer Engineering on 7th November, 1993.

But the ‘Infomercial King’ had spun an enviable career from his talent for selling; from humble beginnings shilling vegetable choppers on the shop floor of Woolworth’s to establishing Ronco, a $55 million ‘As Seen On TV’ company that eventually went bankrupt. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Popeil’s pathological hatred of runny egg whites and reveal an award-winning way to collect samples of whale snot. But wait, there’s more! They also talk about the magic price point for Popeil’s inventions. It’s just $19.99, so ACT QUICKLY...

Further Reading:

• Popeil interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning (2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdLyKjKH_II

• ‘All Ronco Product Commercials (Internal Reel)’ (1970s-1980s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfcIPuvZE9I

• Homepage of the Ignoble Awards: https://www.improbable.com/

This episode first aired in 2021

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

… Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. 

Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices