Magic Bullet (appliance)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Magic Bullet is a compact blender manufactured by Homeland Housewares. It's widely marketed through television commercials and informercials and sold in retail stores under the "As seen on TV" banner.
Contents |
[edit] The Product
The Magic Bullet consists of an electric blender base with a number of attachments. Some of the attachments are included with the product; others must be purchased separately.
[edit] Infomercial
The Magic Bullet is best known for its 30-minute infomercial, which has gained a cult following.[1][2] User created videos of the product and a remixed informercial have even appeared on popular video sharing websites.[3]
[edit] Criticism
- The appliance is criticized for its poor food processing abilities and it stands better as a blender than a food processor. Concluding their review, TheDenverChannel remarked "Save your money and buy a good, cheap blender."[4]
- The appliance has a 2.5/5 rating from Amazon.com, with users most citing problems with the magic bullet, is the poor motoring and that the plasticware breaks easily.[5] A cited flaw is with the gears that connect the blender base with the cup. As the blender is designed to function without being locked in place, friction and wear occur when the gears are still in motion and the cup is lifted from the base. Replacement gears have been offered by individuals online , but their sites and listings have since been taken down. Currently the only recourse for a broken unit is to purchase a new one. The machines motor also rotates in the same direction that is required to unscrew the bladebase from each cup, often resulting in near explosive leakages during operation allowing the liquid contents to dribble down throughout the non-user-accessible electrical mechanics.
- The infomercial exaggerates certain qualities of the Magic Bullet. For example, Mick and Mimi repeatedly comment that they've been able to prepare the things they've made in the machine "without dirtying a single pot or pan", despite the fact that several of the dishes (such as pasta) include components which would have had to have been cooked at some point. (It is also implied that Mimi cooks an omelette during the presentation.) The hosts also repeatedly draw attention to the fact that they haven't had to use knives, despite the fact that the counter is covered with cut-up food (indicating that a knife was used at some point). Ironically, Mick states "...I didn't even use a knife" while actually using a spatula to scoop guacamole out of a Bullet Cup which most, if not all pople would substitute a knife for
- The infomercial also touts the ability to do simple tasks, like chopping onions or garlic in "10 seconds or less." However, it fails to mention the preparation involved with such items as garlic, which must be peeled before it is put into the Bullet Cup, or food that must be cut into pieces small enough to fit into the cup (e.g. avocadoes, chicken breasts. With the utensils involved in making the items able to fit into the cup, the user could replicate the action of the magic bullet. So infact using the magic bullet creates more dishes. When Mick makes salsa, saying that he is using cherry tomatoes because "they're the ones I like because they've got all the flavor," his use of them actually serves only to bolster the "10 seconds or less" claim, as does Mimi's later demonstration of chopping onions by using small Mexican onions in the Bullet Cup. Had Mick and Mimi used regular-sized tomatoes and onions in their preparations, it would have involved cutting up the vegetables and would have taken much longer than the "10 seconds or less" claimed in the infomercial.
[edit] References
- ^ Magic Bullet Infomercial Phenomenon INFOMERCIAL PORTAL
- ^ Magic Bullet Infomercial Google Video
- ^ Video results for 'magic bullet' Youtube
- ^
- ^ The Original Magic Bullet Express AS SEEN ON TV High Speed Blender/ Mixer 17 Piece Set Amazon.com
