Veg-O-Matic

Veg-O-Matic was the name of one of the first food-processing appliances to gain widespread use in the United States. It was invented by Samuel J. Popeil and later sold by his son, Ron Popeil, and Ronco, making its début in 1963 at the International Housewares Show in Chicago, Illinois.

Made famous by saturation television advertising in the mid- and late 1960s, Veg-O-Matic was a manually-operated slicer, primarily made of injection-molded plastic, which held two sets of parallel cutting blades. The Veg-O-Matic was shaped approximately like a capital letter "H" and had an integral operating handle. The item to be cut, such as a potato, was placed on the top set of blades, and then would be pushed vertically down through the blades by the handle, while the user's hands were kept safely away from the cutter by the shape of the handle.

The steel cutting blades were contained in a circular, cast-metal holder several inches in diameter. By rotating the top holder, the blades could cut flat slices or square strips, such as for French fries. By putting the slices through the machine a second time, they would be diced into small cubes. In the ads, Popeil would rapidly demonstrate this, while boasting "It slices! It dices!"

Sales were nearly exclusively via direct marketing, and Veg-O-Matic was one of the first products (if not the first) to bear the red-and-white "As Seen On TV" logo on the box.

The ads for Veg-O-Matic inspired comedian Gallagher to create his trademark "Sledge-O-Matic" act, as well as Dan Aykroyd as a fast talking commercial pitchman in sketches on Saturday Night Live, especially the famous "Super Bass-O-Matic 76" during the 1970s. Jonathan Richman also recorded a song, "Dodge Veg-O-Matic," in the 1970s.