Gadget inventor and TV pitchman Ron Popeil—who sold hordes of Americans on the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, the Hav-a-Maid Mop, and other household items—has died at the age of 86 in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given, according to the Associated Press. The self-effacing Popeil was instantly recognizable from late-night ads in which he exhorted viewers to buy the Showtime Rotisserie and “set it and forget it.” Other products in the Ronco stable included a microphone that worked with an AM radio, a device that scrambled an egg without breaking the shell, and a spray better known as “hair in a can.”
