Way Back Wednesday: You’ll Twist Your Wrist Off!
Posted by Nicci | Posted in Tools, Way Back Wednesday | Posted on 04-08-2010
Tags: As Seen On TV, Dual Power Saw Plus, Infomercials, Tool Bandit, Tools, Way Back Wednesday
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Some of us here at SeenOnTV Express are quite handy (not me). In fact, one of us (not me) is a terrific carpenter and can build actual furniture–furniture that stands up straight and everything.
(Note: I made a cookbook shelf in shop class in seventh grade. For some reason, my mother never hung it on the wall with cookbooks proudly displayed. I can’t imagine why not.)
Today’s Way Back Wednesday retro infomercial product looks like it actually worked pretty well. I’ll have to save all my mockery and snarky comments for the commercial script itself. The Powerdriver is a power screwdriver that was sold on television in 1984. The Powerdriver had an adjustable head and even adjustable depth to keep you from drilling your screw all the way through the other side.
The Powerdriver infomercial is a veritable gold mine of “But Wait, There’s More!” With Powerdriver, you also got a 7-piece “nut driver” set (these look like socket wrenches to me, but I’m no carpenter) and a nail driver (which seems impossible, but if it really works, I want one). In 1986, the Powerdriver set was sold along with the Power Wheel, a sander/saw contraption, an unstoppable tool combination if ever there was one.
Behold the Powerdriver:
Now, I may be lacking in mad skills when it comes to carpentry, but I can promise you this: I have never tried to hammer a screw, nor have I amputated a thumb with a “fancy” screwdriver.
I love it when the pitchman calls the long screw a “monster that would twist your wrist off the old way.” Quite dramatic, no? Another catchy phrase is the reference to a regular screwdriver as a “blister buster.” And did you notice the paneling? It nearly caves in with the force of the Powerdriver! Go back and watch it. I’ll wait.
The original Powerdriver does not seem to be available today. A keyword search for “powerdriver” turns up computer drivers and wrestling moves (did you notice the YouTube comment that says that “Powerdriver” sounds like a heavy metal band?). However, if today’s Way Back Wednesday has left you with a hankering for power tools, check out the Dual Power Saw Plus. If you are stuck with your old blister busters, though, try organizing them and keeping them handy with the Tool Bandit.
Now quit reading this and go build something already.