(One woman claimed the slicer was defective after it wouldn’t cut through the banana’s skin.) Commenting on its recent viral Internet fame, Sheffield expressed frustration that it didn’t take off in the same way back in the early ’90s, lamenting that “maybe it was a little bit ahead of its time.” The former judge still uses the device to slice bananas regularly. He laughed heartily, recounting letters he received from frustrated customers in the past. During our phone call, I read him some of the online reviews, including one that claims the banana slicer saved a couple’s marriage. Prophecies have long told of the third life of the fabled banana slicer one of the Internet’s most famous unitaskers. Banana Bill isn’t involved with the production of the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer, and to his knowledge, the proceeds do not support any charitable efforts. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Banana Banana slicer.thanks to you, I see greatness on the horizon. Now 74 years old, Sheffield no longer makes money from the banana slicer, its patent having expired in 1999. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer,193925 at . 7,062 global ratings Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer,193925 Top positive review All positive reviews SW3K No more winning for you, Mr. Thanks in part to Sheffield’s banana slicer, Pathway now serves more than 500 daily and has helped over 22,000 people. In the late 1970s, the orphanage supported about 20 disabled children. More than 60 percent of the proceeds went directly to fund the orphanage in India, now known as Pathway. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush called the invention “special.” Queen Elizabeth II’s personal chef responded, thanking Sheffield for his “great invention.” And Banana Bill’s hard work paid off: Throughout the early 1990s, he sold nearly 1 million slicers. The gregarious inventor sent prototypes to political leaders as well. He formed a partnership with Chiquita by flying to Cincinnati to convince a very skeptical VP of marketing that “a home with a banana slicer would buy more bananas than a home that didn’t have one.” (Sheffield says that the VP initially declined, responding that Chiquita’s “business is bananas, not banana slicers,” but he was soon sold on the product after he saw how much his kids loved it.) Inventions don’t sell themselves. He wrote to CEOs, owners, and managers alike, asking them to stock their shelves with his slicer. (The patent describes the banana slicer as a “tool which has a frame circumscribing an area into which a typical banana readily fits, and a plurality of spaced ribs or blades disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the frame and interconnecting opposite sides of the frame.”) But how would he convince every household to buy one? Sheffield purchased a book with the name and address of every grocery store in America. In 1989 Sheffield met with a plastics manufacturer in Hong Kong, built and tested a prototype, then secured a patent.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |