The 1970s household gadget boom gave Americans something they never knew they needed: a machine for almost every imaginable problem. Want to grow your own bean sprouts? There’s a gadget for that. Need to cook dinner directly on a heated stone? Naturally. Department stores and television commercials made even the strangest inventions look like essential upgrades for the modern home.
Some of these contraptions were clever, some were spectacularly impractical, and others seemed designed primarily to impress dinner guests. Many worked exactly as advertised, but their novelty often outlasted their usefulness. Looking back at these 15 household gadgets, it’s hard to decide what’s more surprising: that someone invented them or that people actually made room for them.
1. The Ronco Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler
Why scramble an egg in a bowl when you could scramble it without even cracking the shell? Ronco’s unusual egg gadget promised exactly that, spinning an intact egg to mix its contents before cooking. It was the kind of invention that made perfect sense in a television commercial and considerably less sense during an ordinary breakfast.
2. The Popeil Pocket Fisherman
Ron Popeil managed to turn a fishing rod into something that looked like a household appliance. The Pocket Fisherman folded into a compact plastic case and promised spontaneous fishing adventures without carrying traditional equipment. Clever? Absolutely. But the idea of keeping a miniature fishing rod handy at all times was more appealing in commercials than in most people’s daily routines.
3. The Presto Hot Dogger
Somebody looked at a perfectly ordinary hot dog and decided it needed an electrical experiment. The Presto Hot Dogger cooked sausages using electricity passed between metal contacts. It was quick, unusual, and undeniably entertaining, although boiling a hot dog in a pot remained a considerably less theatrical option.
4. The Sunbeam Vista Electric Can Opener
The Sunbeam Vista belonged to an era when a can opener could look like a piece of futuristic equipment. Its sleek design made opening canned soup seem like a technological achievement. Unfortunately, it also turned a task that required a small handheld tool into one that demanded electricity and permanent countertop space.
5. The Rival Crock-Pot Bread ‘n Cake Bake Pan
The slow cooker was already a kitchen staple, but someone decided it should also bake cakes and bread. Rival sold specialized baking inserts for Crock-Pots, promising a whole new world of countertop possibilities. The results required patience, and anyone expecting the convenience of a conventional oven might have found the experiment rather underwhelming.
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6. The Dazey Seal-A-Meal
Before vacuum sealing became a familiar kitchen technique, Seal-A-Meal promised to preserve leftovers in tidy plastic packages. The system could be genuinely useful, but it also introduced special bags, heat sealing, and another machine to operate. For someone simply trying to save half a sandwich, the future suddenly seemed a little complicated.
7. The Ronco Veg-O-Matic
The Veg-O-Matic promised to chop, slice, and dice vegetables with the kind of enthusiasm normally reserved for magic tricks. Its interchangeable cutting components could produce impressive results, but cleaning the blades and assembling everything wasn’t always as effortless as the television demonstrations suggested. Sometimes a knife really was the shorter route to dinner.
8. The Electric Yogurt Maker
Homemade yogurt sounded wonderfully wholesome, especially when a dedicated appliance promised to handle the process. Popular yogurt makers used rows of little glass jars and controlled warmth to encourage fermentation. The catch was that preparing breakfast could now involve hours of waiting, several containers to wash, and another machine occupying the kitchen.
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9. The K-Tel Bottle Cutter
Why throw away an empty wine bottle when you could turn it into a slightly dangerous drinking glass? K-Tel’s Bottle Cutter promised to transform old bottles into homemade cups, vases, and decorative objects. The idea was wonderfully resourceful, although cutting glass and smoothing sharp edges was hardly a relaxing afternoon activity.
10. The Ronco Buttoneer
Sewing a button takes a needle, some thread, and a few minutes. The Buttoneer decided that was entirely too much effort. This handheld gadget attached buttons using tiny plastic fasteners, promising quick clothing repairs without sewing. Convenient in a pinch, perhaps, but replacing traditional stitching with little plastic attachments wasn’t everyone’s idea of progress.
11. The Electric Smokeless Ashtray
When nearly everyone seemed to smoke indoors, the idea of an ashtray that could magically eliminate smoke sounded irresistible. Electric smokeless ashtrays used small fans and filters to pull smoke away from the room. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make cigarettes harmless or completely remove the smell. They mostly added a motor to an already unpleasant habit.
12. The Electric Tie Rack
Apparently, choosing a necktie was such an exhausting morning decision that it required a motor. Electric rotating tie racks displayed an entire collection at the push of a button. They looked wonderfully sophisticated inside a closet, although reaching for a tie by hand was probably the fastest part of getting dressed.
13. The Bonnet Hair Dryer
Getting ready for a night out once meant sitting beneath what looked like a miniature space helmet. Portable bonnet hair dryers circulated warm air around the head while the user waited for rollers to set. They certainly had their purpose, but the elaborate setup made a simple hairstyle feel like a scheduled appointment with a machine.
14. The Electric Donut Maker
Fresh homemade donuts sounded like a dream, especially when a countertop appliance promised to eliminate the mess of deep frying. Electric donut makers cooked small ring-shaped treats in molded plates, but the results weren’t quite the same as traditional fried donuts. For many families, the novelty was more memorable than the pastries.
15. The K-Tel Record Selector
Even organizing a record collection became an opportunity for invention. K-Tel’s Record Selector used a mechanical storage system designed to help music lovers find and retrieve their favorite albums. It was a clever idea for anyone with a growing vinyl collection, but it also turned the simple act of pulling a record off a shelf into a miniature mechanical production.
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