Vault: Are These TV Items Worth Purchasing?

Summary

The Bert Show – Vault: Are These TV Items Worth Purchasing?

Date: March 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and humorous episode, The Bert Show hosts dive into the world of "As Seen on TV" products, infomercial inventions, and TV-touted gadgets. They ask listeners to call in and share their successes and disappointments: Did these infomercial buys live up to the commercial hype or end up gathering dust in a closet? The cast and callers trade anecdotes and honest product reviews, sparking laughter and nostalgia over gadgets like the Snuggie, Ped Egg, Aqua Globes, and many more.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Irresistible Lure of Infomercials

• Snuggie Commercial Recap (00:17)
  • The show opens by playing the famous Snuggie ad, setting the tone for a discussion on the persuasive power of infomercials.
• “As Seen on TV” Store Experiences (01:48)
  • Multiple hosts and callers admit to being drawn in by the aisles of unique gadgets at “As Seen on TV” stores, sometimes to their delight, other times with regret.

Product Reviews: Hits and Misses

Laundry Gadgets

• Shirt-Folding Board (01:54)
  • One caller admits buying the folding board but finds it cumbersome:

    "After a while you're like, I'd rather just have the wrinkled shirt than deal with this." – Caller (02:25)

• Retail Skill vs. Gadgets
  • The group jokes that those who worked retail have no need for such products.

Language Learning Promises

• One-Hour Spanish Infomercial (02:39)
  • Co-host Melissa is skeptical but tempted by a commercial promising to teach Spanish in one hour.
    • "How the hell is that possible? But they're selling it so well that I'm like, maybe I should get my hands on this thing." – Melissa (03:12)
  • Discussion ensues on Rosetta Stone’s higher cost and required commitment.

Kitchen & Food Gadgets

• Slider Maker (04:02)
  • The hosts express suspicion, joking about infomercial tricks:

    "What you don't see is the intern going to Ted's Montana Grill... then they sliding them in... It's a secret oven." – Host Birch (04:11)

  • Later, a review:

    "The slider maker people were calling saying, absolutely sucks." – Co-host Melissa (11:09)

Classic Gags and Gifts

• Snuggie (00:22 and throughout)
  • Universally recognized, the Snuggie inspires both teasing and genuine praise.
    • "They're actually sold out everywhere." – Caller (04:40)
• Chia Pet (04:58)
  • The classic is recalled fondly but with a healthy dose of skepticism.

    "Every year, I almost get it, and then I don't. I'm like, I don't want to be the dork." – Caller (05:07)

• Pet-Grass Cat Chia
  • Birch jokes about buying one for his cat to encourage indoor vomiting. (05:14)

Foot Care & Home Utility

• Ped Egg
  • Multiple listeners love it; one hilariously recounts a bad etiquette moment at a white elephant gift exchange:

    "Another woman at the party opened up the ped egg and began using it. So you're scraping it on your foot...and then announced that it works really well and gave it back to the rightful owner." – Host Birch (06:38)

• Ove Glove
  • Widely praised as a genuinely handy product:

    "The Ove Glove is great." – Host Birch (06:26)
    "It's an oven mitt with fingers." – Host Birch (06:33)

Cleaning Gadgets

• Shark Super Steamer
  • One caller vents disappointment:

    "That thing sucks. You have to get so up on it to do it. And it's more time trying to get, like, one spot than it would take you to clean it with, like, a toothbrush." – Caller Kai (07:32)

• Aqua Globes
  • Mixed reviews, but a store employee/tester shares:

    "They're like the cool thing. We could not keep them in stock at my work." – Caller Chris (09:16)

Fitness Fads

• Vibrating Ab Belt (07:56)
  • Both hosts and listeners call it a waste of money:

    "Pretty much getting yourself hot for no reason." – Caller (08:18)

Beauty Products

• Miracle Tanning Cream
  • Turns one caller's dad purple:

    "He applies the tanning cream all over his body, and instead, it turned him purple." – Caller Lee (10:26)

  • The group jokes about needing an antidote product.

Miscellaneous

• Smooth Away Hair Remover
  • Mixed at best:

    "Basically sand away your hair and it kind of sucks." – Caller Chris (09:28)

• Oreck Vacuum
  • Dismissed as ineffective:

    "The Oreck vacuum sucks." – Co-host Melissa (11:04)

  • Birch jokes, asking if it can pick up a bowling ball like the ad shows. (11:04)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On gift etiquette:

  "Another woman at the party opened up the Ped Egg and began using it... and then announced that it works really well and gave it back to the rightful owner." – Host Birch (06:38)

• On infomercial translation programs:

  "How the hell is that possible? But they're selling it so well that I'm like, maybe I should get my hands on this thing. One hour, you can learn Spanish?" – Melissa (03:12)

• On cleaning gadget disappointment:

  "That thing sucks. You have to get so up on it to do it. And it's more time trying to get, like, one spot than it would take you to clean it with, like, a toothbrush." – Caller Kai (07:32)

• On miracle tanning mishap:

  "He applies the tanning cream all over his body, and instead, it turned him purple." – Caller Lee (10:26)

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Notable Products Mentioned & Reviews

| Product | Verdict / Comments | Timestamp | |-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Snuggie | Popular, hard to find, often gifted, fun commercial | 00:22–04:46| | Shirt Folding Board | Works, but too much hassle | 01:54 | | Rosetta Stone | Legit but expensive; unused by hosts | 03:22 | | Slider Maker | Looks cool, but not worth it | 04:02, 11:09| | Ped Egg | Works well, but sanitation issues at parties | 05:32, 06:38| | Ove Glove | Highly recommended for all-purpose kitchen use | 06:25 | | Shark Super Steamer | Disappointing; ineffective for deep cleaning | 07:19 | | Ab Vibrating Belt | Doesn’t work, just heats you | 07:56, 08:18| | Aqua Globes | Good for plants, but mixed reviews | 08:30–09:16| | Smooth Away Hair Remover| Doesn’t work well; “sands” skin | 09:28 | | Miracle Tanning Cream | Disaster—turned user purple | 09:54–10:36| | Oreck Vacuum | Dismissed as ineffective | 11:04 |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:17–01:11: Snuggie commercial aired and discussion
• 01:48–02:39: Anecdotes about laundry gadgets
• 02:39–03:44: Language learning products (infomercial Spanish, Rosetta Stone)
• 04:02–04:27: Kitchen gadgets (slider maker)
• 04:28–05:16: Chia Pet, pet grass, Snuggie demand
• 05:32–06:33: Ped Egg, Ove Glove gifting story
• 07:19–07:49: Shark Super Steamer review
• 07:56–08:28: Ab Belt stories
• 08:30–09:42: Aqua Globes, Smooth Away, bulk shopping
• 09:54–10:42: Tanning cream gone wrong
• 11:04–11:16: Quick fire reviews: Total Gym, Oreck Vacuum, Slider Maker

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Tone & Style

The conversation is authentic, quick-witted, and playfully self-deprecating—true to The Bert Show's morning radio vibe. Hosts and callers bond over the shared follies and small victories of buying “too good to be true” products, adding sincere and outrageous anecdotes that keep the tone light and relatable.

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Bottom Line

If you’ve ever wondered about the real stories behind those late-night TV pitch products, this episode of The Bert Show delivers with laughter, honesty, and a little collective commiseration. Whether you’re a gadget enthusiast or an infomercial skeptic, you'll relate to the wins, fails, and memorable moments brought to the air by both hosts and listeners.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

With its two juicy beef patties and three slices of melted cheese topped with tangy Big Arch sauce. The Big Arch is what happens when you start making a McDonald's burger and never stop. The Big Arch, the most McDonald's McDonald's burger yet for a limited time.

[Host Birch]

The Birch Show.

[Co-host Melissa]

Here is the commercial I think you were talking about here, Melissa, the Snuggie commercial.

[Snuggie Commercial Narrator]

You want to keep warm when you're feeling chilled, but you don't want to raise your heating bill. Blankets are okay, but they can slip and slide. And when you need to reach for something, your hands, hands are trapped inside. Now there's the Snuggie, the blanket that has sleeves. The Snuggie keeps you totally warm and gives you the freedom to use your hands. So now you can work the remote or read a book in total warmth and comfort, use your laptop without being cold, or enjoy a snack while staying snuggly warm. Snuggie is made of ultra soft, thick, luxurious fleece with oversized sleeves. So you can move your arms and use your hands and still be wrapped and warm. Super large, one size fits all. So you can stay warm from head

[Caller or Guest 1]

to toe, even if you are obese.

[Snuggie Commercial Narrator]

And with Snuggie, you can get up and still stay warm.

[Co-host Melissa]

You know, Jeff mentioned this, that this is the time of year where you start seeing all these infomercials and they were bombarding you with them a couple of weeks ago, right before Christmas, right? So it seems like we do this at least once a year where we ask you guys if you bought into the infomercial and you bought one of these products, give us a call right now and let us know. Did it meet the hype of the commercial or does it just totally suck? Like it was a total waste of time because all the commercials, they all make all these products look like they are so state of the art. And they do what commercials do? They sell them. Then you get them to your house and they absolutely suck half the time. So which ones did you guys buy? And give us a review. 404-741-Q100.

[Caller or Guest 1]

I love as Seen on TV store because that is the one.

[Caller or Guest 2]

It has a full store of it, right?

[Caller or Guest 1]

Oh, absolutely. Because it wasn't this year but a couple years ago. Do you remember the commercial for the. The It'll help you fold your laundry thing where it's like flap, flap, flap. Like it's this plastic thing I sort of do. Yeah, I got that. This will help with my laundry. Because I never worked retail. You can tell the people that worked retail and those that didn't, because the ones that work retail can fold those clothes and towels like that. And I just. I botch it every time. And so I bought one of those things and it works. But it's one of. But the thing is, though, you're taking this big, huge. It's the size of a. I don't know what, like two serving trays. And then you're having to fold each shirt with that. And after a while you're like, I'd rather just have the wrinkled shirt than deal with this. But I did. I got the fold, fold a shirt thing.

[Co-host Melissa]

There's one infomercial that I keep seeing that is really attractive to me, but I just don't know how it's possible because I go down to South America quite a bit. I love it down there, but my Spanish sucks. So every time I travel down there, it's always a struggle. Always a struggle. I'm ordering food. I probably had cow's tongue three times last week and didn't even know it.

[Host Birch]

So you bought a Spanish speaking person off the television?

[Co-host Melissa]

Yes.

[Host Birch]

That's cool.

[Co-host Melissa]

Actually. Right off of Beaufort Highway. So I'm gonna get right into the car and there's an infomercial of how you can learn Spanish in one hour.

[Host Birch]

Right.

[Co-host Melissa]

How the hell is that possible? But they're selling it so well that I'm like, maybe I should get my hands on this thing. One hour. You can learn Spanish.

[Caller or Guest 2]

No way.

[Co-host Melissa]

I don't know either.

[Host Birch]

You should buy it and try it.

[Caller or Guest 2]

I have heard the Rosetta Stone works and they sell that on tv, but that's not one of those, like, asthma seen on TV. But Rosetta Stone's expensive.

[Caller or Guest 1]

It's real expensive.

[Caller or Guest 2]

It's like 300 bucks or something. I mean it. I was like, whoa. We have speak another language.

[Host Birch]

We've got the Rosetta Stone one for Spanish if anyone wants to borrow it.

[Caller or Guest 2]

Oh, yeah.

[Co-host Melissa]

Oh, really?

[Caller or Guest 1]

Did it work?

[Host Birch]

We haven't even used it.

[Caller or Guest 2]

See, that's the thing is you have to be diligent to, like, stick with it even after spending the money on it.

[Host Birch]

Yeah.

[Co-host Melissa]

So this can be about any item that you bought. Not the Snuggie. It doesn't have to be the Snuggie or whatever. But anything you bought off an infomercial could be that George Foreman Grill. I know some people love that thing. Others think it just absolutely sucks.

[Caller or Guest 2]

I want to know about that mini burger thing we mentioned earlier, because that

[Host Birch]

thing was the slider maker.

[Caller or Guest 2]

Awesome. Yes.

[Host Birch]

I'll tell you what they're doing with

[Caller or Guest 1]

that thing they do that's yelling at you.

[Host Birch]

They're putting all the stuff in there for the sliders, then they're putting it in the oven. What you don't see is the intern going to Ted's Montana Grill, buying a platter, sliders, bringing it back in, then they sliding them in. It's a secret oven. They take out the thing, and they put in the professionally made ones.

[Caller or Guest 2]

I'm telling you, it looks cool.

[Co-host Melissa]

Hey, Meg. Hey.

[Caller or Guest 3]

I was just gonna tell you that my friends and I have been watching the Snuggie infomercials for, like, the past month, and they are hilarious. And they're actually sold out everywhere.

[Caller or Guest 2]

No way.

[Co-host Melissa]

They're.

[Caller or Guest 3]

That's where we tried to call, like, as a joke a couple weeks ago, and they're sold out.

[Co-host Melissa]

Okay.

[Caller or Guest 1]

That's hilarious.

[Caller or Guest 4]

That's the greatest invention ever made. I love to stay warm, and I've been looking for that for the longest time.

[Caller or Guest 2]

I've just seen it with a Falcons logo on it.

[Co-host Melissa]

Yeah, that's probably next. They're probably working on tray wipes right now.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Absolutely. Has anyone ever owned a Chia Pet? I mean, they're around. They've been around for 50 years, or it seems like.

[Co-host Melissa]

Yeah, we got them for Hayden, I think, a couple of years ago.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Every year, I almost get it, and then I don't. I'm like, I don't want to be the door. We almost bought that one Simpson head Chia.

[Caller or Guest 4]

Like, the Scooby Doo.

[Host Birch]

We almost bought the one that the cat that grows the pet grass that the cat can eat, because we were really thinking, Goo Goo doesn't vomit enough in our own home. So if we could, you know, have her puke even without going outside to eat the lawn, it'd be cool.

[Co-host Melissa]

Hey, Gina. Good morning. You're part of the Birch Show. Hi. Hi.

[Host Birch]

Hey.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Who'd you buy?

[Caller or Guest 3]

I bought. Actually, my husband kind of got it for me as a joke for Christmas, but it was the pet egg.

[Co-host Melissa]

The pet egg.

[Caller or Guest 3]

The pet egg is like a foot thing.

[Co-host Melissa]

Say again?

[Caller or Guest 3]

It's like a foot thing that kind of helps you manicure your feet.

[Caller or Guest 1]

That's right. Takes the dry skin off.

[Co-host Melissa]

Okay.

[Caller or Guest 2]

You have that, too? I have that and the Snuggie.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Oh, my gosh.

[Co-host Melissa]

No wonder why you don't have any money.

[Caller or Guest 4]

Well, the Ped Egg was really inexpensive. Yeah, I didn't. I used it once, and that was it.

[Co-host Melissa]

How about you, Gina? Did you love it? Would you recommend it?

[Caller or Guest 3]

I absolutely love it. It worked we got it at the as seen on TV store.

[Caller or Guest 2]

I love that.

[Host Birch]

I got, I gotta say, an etiquette thing with the pet egg, which seems so obvious. It will seem so obvious to everyone in this room, but we went to Jessica and I went to a white elephant Christmas party, and my gift was the pet egg combined with the OV glove, which, by the way, the almost

[Caller or Guest 1]

bought the OV glove too.

[Host Birch]

The OV glove is great.

[Caller or Guest 2]

I love an OV glove.

[Host Birch]

It's awesome.

[Caller or Guest 2]

You and Jessica gave it to me.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Does it work?

[Host Birch]

It does. It does.

[Caller or Guest 2]

It works. It's pretty good.

[Host Birch]

It's an oven mitt with fingers.

[Co-host Melissa]

Oh, it makes perfect sense. That's one of those things. Like, why did I think of that?

[Host Birch]

So anyways, we gave somebody, as the white elephant gift the pet egg in the elf glove, and he decided to keep it because it was such a cool thing. But another woman at the party opened up the pet egg and began using it.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Oh, no.

[Host Birch]

So you're scraping it on your foot and the dead skin shavings fall inside there. And then announced that it works really well and gave it back to the rightful owner.

[Co-host Melissa]

You can't do that.

[Caller or Guest 1]

She peed on it. Basically.

[Co-host Melissa]

She got her dead skin, but she

[Caller or Guest 2]

didn't pe take it home.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Did he not give it back to.

[Host Birch]

He tried to. And she's like, no, you can keep it. Of course you can't use someone else's. Give him a shaving device.

[Co-host Melissa]

Hey, Kai. Good morning. You're part of the birch show violation.

[Caller or Guest 3]

Hey, how are you? I got that shark super steamer. You know, like, that thing is supposed to work on the water and the steam and you can blow all the dirt off and. Yeah, that's a big fraud.

[Co-host Melissa]

I don't know that.

[Caller or Guest 1]

I know that one.

[Caller or Guest 3]

Wasted all my time. I bought it thinking I could clean my kitchen floors with it real good and get the crevices in the bathroom. That thing sucks. You have to get so up on it to do it. And it's more time trying to get, like, one spot than it would take you to clean it with, like, a toothbrush.

[Co-host Melissa]

So the super steamer. Don't get that. There was the one a couple of years ago. That little vibrating belt that you put around your waist.

[Host Birch]

I had that.

[Co-host Melissa]

You had that one also?

[Caller or Guest 4]

I did have that in the shirt. It came from that store credit card.

[Co-host Melissa]

You're supposed to contract your abs, like, and you're supposed to get these sculpted abs without ever doing a sit up at all. And I thought, 12 times.

[Host Birch]

I gotta go get that thing.

[Caller or Guest 4]

Didn't work.

[Co-host Melissa]

But we talked about it on the air and everybody called up and said, that thing sucks.

[Caller or Guest 4]

What a waste of time for that ab heating belt. You're supposed to, like, sweat off the pounds. I had that too. Didn't work. You're just pretty much getting yourself hot for no reason.

[Co-host Melissa]

Hey, Chris. Good morning. You're part of the bird show. What's up?

[Caller or Guest 5]

What's up, guys? I actually buy, like everything off tv. I have the aqua globes. I bought a bunch of those for gifts, and I actually have some in the house. And I have a little smooth away hair thing. And I have a snuggie, and I have a pet egg.

[Host Birch]

What's an aqua glove?

[Caller or Guest 5]

Yeah, it's actually what you do is you. You fill it with water and you put it in your plants. So when your plant breathes, the oxygen actually goes up in it and releases water into the plant. So it waters your plant for you, Dude.

[Co-host Melissa]

Okay.

[Caller or Guest 5]

And they're actually really cool. I actually work at a store. We sell all this stuff and I get like 30% off of it. So it's. I get all of it, like, really, really dirt cheap. And it's all cool as crap.

[Host Birch]

Are you hiring? Because Wendy needs that part time job.

[Co-host Melissa]

Forget about five faces. This is the place you need to be. Right here.

[Caller or Guest 4]

I know that plant thing he's talking about.

[Caller or Guest 2]

It's really cool.

[Caller or Guest 4]

You don't have to water your plants.

[Caller or Guest 1]

You just stick them.

[Caller or Guest 5]

They're like the cool thing. We could not keep them in stock at my work. And then actually bought a chia pet too, just this Christmas, because right after Christmas, they're like eight bucks now.

[Co-host Melissa]

So the aqua glove you highly recommend,

[Caller or Guest 5]

the aqua glove's awesome. The pedag's awesome. The snuggie, the sleeves are so huge. The only thing I don't really like is a little smooth away thing. I bought it for my roommate. You, like, basically sand away your hair and it kind of sucks.

[Caller or Guest 1]

Okay.

[Co-host Melissa]

Yeah, it doesn't say. That's not a ring at all.

[Host Birch]

I just think that tagline kind of sucks sand away your hair and.

[Co-host Melissa]

Lee, good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller or Guest 6]

Hey, good morning.

[Co-host Melissa]

How y' all doing? All right, what's up?

[Caller or Guest 6]

Yeah, the story I thought of is my dad, he purchased this. It's like a miracle tanning cream. And what was so funny about it is, you know, he locked his way in the bathroom and, you know, made sure no one could use it. Because when you see the commercial, you see these models and they rub the tanning cream on, and they're, you know, instantly tan. Well, it just so happened we were going on vacation, and so he's like, yeah, you know, I'm gonna save this cream for my vacation. Well, we get down there, you know, we've had flights and everything booked already. He applies the tanning cream all over his body, and instead, it turned him purple.

[Host Birch]

Oh, no.

[Caller or Guest 2]

You're kidding.

[Co-host Melissa]

So the dude had to go on the beach Purple.

[Caller or Guest 6]

Not what he did. He actually had to go to the bathroom and, like, more or less break off his skin.

[Co-host Melissa]

Oh, no.

[Host Birch]

Well, he had to use that thing that sands away the hair off your skin. See, that's how you get it.

[Co-host Melissa]

Right?

[Caller or Guest 2]

There you go.

[Host Birch]

That's right.

[Co-host Melissa]

See, that's the smart thing about the company, is they would sell you some tanning stuff that makes you purple and then sell the antidote, also get you back to your regular skin color. And that's the miracle tanning cream. So unless you want to be purple, you're going for that look. I think I'd stay away from that one. The Total Gym. The review on that one liked it. The Oreck vacuum sucks.

[Host Birch]

But what if you have to pick up a bowling ball with your vacuum cleaner?

[Co-host Melissa]

The slider maker people were calling saying, absolutely sucks. Also, oh, no.

[Host Birch]

The Bircho.