{"id":473,"date":"2010-06-16T15:31:07","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T13:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fascinating-america.com\/blog\/?p=473"},"modified":"2015-04-03T15:33:32","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T13:33:32","slug":"dont-try-this-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fascinating-america.com\/blog\/dont-try-this-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t try this at home!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, the iPad’s been on sale \u2014 depending on where you live \u2014 for a couple of weeks now. Much has been made of the things it can do (such as be operated by cats<\/a> and two-year-olds<\/a>) and the things it can’t (such as multitask<\/a> and display countless websites<\/a> that use Flash). But only now are we hearing the question that matters most: “Will it blend?”<\/b><\/p>\n

The person asking it is Tom Dickson, head of Blendtec. Since the 1970s, this company in Utah has been making the most powerful kitchen blenders<\/span> known to man. However, to get people to buy a household appliance<\/span> that costs $400 to $1,000 and that far exceeds<\/span> everyday needs, Dickson had to think of a clever marketing strategy. And boy, has he found one.<\/p>\n

To most Americans, seeing is believing<\/b>. So Dickson dresses up as<\/span> a mad scientist to demonstrate exactly what his Total Blender is capable of. In nearly 70 videos<\/a>, Dickson blends mobile phones, light bulbs<\/span>, running shoes, glow sticks<\/span>, a makeup kit<\/span>, half a chicken (bones and all) and a German-English dictionary on CD-ROM. All come out as powder, though in different colors.<\/p>\n