The Cornballer

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The Cornballer is a fictitious device that appears in the critically acclaimed television comedy Arrested Development.

George Sr., the inventor, burning himself while using the Cornballer on his infomercial

The appliance is used to make deep-fried cornballs (essentially hushpuppies), but because of severe structural problems, it burns anyone who tries to use it, either through grease dripping from the cornball holder or from the sheer heat conducted through its all-metal construction.

According to the show's narrator, the Cornballer was invented by George Bluth Sr. sometime in the 1970s. He attempted to market it in the United States by taping an infomercial with fitness guru Richard Simmons, but the infomercial was interrupted when he burned himself using the device, then lost his temper and attacked Simmons. He suffered a further setback when the device was deemed unsafe for anyone and was banned across the globe.

However, despite these setbacks, he was able to market the device illegally in Mexico by redubbing his infomercial saying, "¡Soy loco por los Cornballs!" to make it appear as though George Sr. was not burned, but rather was "crazy for cornballs". This made him into something of a cultural icon in Mexico, and when Mexican officials staged his execution, an editorial cartoon in a Mexican newspaper showed him being dipped into a Cornballer with the caption "Frito Bandito".

Burns from a Cornballer are so serious that they can remove fingerprints, which causes several plot complications on the show involving George Sr's twin brother Oscar.

Some fans believe that the name cornballer is a play on words using the common slang word, cornball: something of a corny, cheesy, or silly nature. In an episode of season one, George Michael, is seen making cornballs and says something sappy to his father, Michael replies, "That's a little cornball." This is a double entendre referring to the size of the cornball, but also meaning "That is a corny thing to say." Additionally, Lucille mistakenly refers to the process of making a cornball as "cornholing," slang for anal sex.

The Cornballer remains a prime example of the various callbacks and "call-forwards" used in the series.