As Seen on T.V.

There's a little boy in 4th grade at Samuel's and Avery's school, who did his Science experiment this year on 2 different "As Seen on T.V." items. The Super Target store in our suburb has an entire aisle devoted to these types of items (items you see on t.v. infomercials). The little boy wanted to find out if 2 of these products actually performed as well as they claimed they would. He tested the Shamwow product, as well as the Debbie Meyer Green Bags. Here's what he found out.

The Shamwow product sells for $19.99 and comes with 8 towels. They claim to be super absorbent all-purpose towels that you can use for any type of liquid pick-up. They also claim to hold 20 times their weight in water, and they won’t drip when you take it to the sink or when it's drying. This boy found that the towels did a good job of absorbing liquids, but they didn't always pick up everything, and the more he used them, the less absorbent they became over time. He also said that he never could prove that the towel could actually hold 20 times its weight in water, and that it didn't necessarily mean the towel couldn't hold that much, just that he never could prove it.

Next, the boy tested Debbie Meyer Green Bags. This item comes with 20 re-usable bags and sells for $9.99. They claim to keep fresh fruits and vegetables fresher, longer. They also claim to help save you money by eliminating waste. The product packaging states that most fresh fruits and vegetables release ethylene gases during the natural ripening process. Exposure of the products to these gases accelerates aging and deterioration. These bags contain a natural mineral called 'Oya, which is supposed to extend the life of produce by absorbing and removing the ethylene gases. Overall, the boy found that these bags worked just as good as they claimed they would, sometimes even better. And he even figured out how much money his parents could save over the course of a year, by simply using these bags.

So, I decided to go out and get these bags. After all, my 3 kids eat tons of fresh fruit, and 2 out of my 3 kids eat tons of fresh vegetables. :-) We never can seem to buy enough fresh produce to last all week long because it starts to ripen and spoil before the end of the week. My hope is that if these bags really do work, it will not only save us money from produce going bad, but it will also save us a trip mid-week to the grocery store to buy more fresh produce. I put a bunch of bananas in 1 of the bags yesterday, and I left 1 of the bananas from the bunch out, sitting in the fruit bowl like I would normally have my produce. After just 1 day, here's what the bananas looked like:

I can tell that the banana on the left that was not put in the bag is already showing signs of ripening faster than the bananas on the right that were put in the bag. I can't wait to see how it goes for the rest of the week. I'll keep you all updated!