But wait, there's more! Ronco of (of Veg-o-matic fame) going bankrupt

[Robin Garr]

A cultural icon created by "it's a slicer, it's a dicer" Ron Popeil a couple of years after its sale, Ronco has filed for bankruptcy.

Reminds me of a misty morning somewhere in the far north of Piemonte, many years ago, when I woke up from a restless sleep on the train from Dijon to Genoa and discovered that we were stopped briefly in a village named ... Ronco!

Without missing a beat, my warped mind said, "So <i>this</i> is where they make the salad shooters!"

[Jenise]

Bankrupt? There's a "set it and forget it" joke in here somewhere....

So now the Veg-o-matic boxes will have to say, "As seen on Court TV"??

Ron Popeil used to sell his gadgets under one of two labels: Ronco, or Popeil. So you had the Ronco Veg-O-Matic (it slices, it dices), but the Popeil Pocket Fisherman. I still wonder what made some things "Ronco" products and other things "Popeil" products.

Despite the cheezy commercials, I like my Popeil Pasta Maker, and it's a very well put together machine.

It looks to me like the guys who bought the company didn't have their financial ducks in order when they made the deal.

-Paul W.