Turn off any boob tube without getting caught. (LiveScienceStore.com)

[eppur_se_muova]

Actual product! I like the humor in their ad copy.

TV-B-Gone
Let them read books! Turn off any boob tube without getting caught.
• Never has a product been so perfectly named-this universal remote turns almost any television off
• Also turns any television on, but this operation is not recommended for maximum mental health
• Small and easily concealed for undetected operation in environments where shutting off the TV is a no-no
• Great party gag since it not only creates a big mystery, but also enables humans to converse
• Create moments of peace in social situations where an intrusive television program is dominating the conversation

We call this section of the product page the "Learn More" section, and here this is particularly appropriate. You are guaranteed to learn more if you use TV-B-Gone to turn off the TV. We don't need to make up academic studies to give you statistics showing that every time you turn off the TV, your IQ goes up. You know this instinctively. Use this product twice a day so that you and everyone in your general vicinity can become smarter and more adept at conversations with other humans who are actually able to respond. Think back on all the times that you thought you might lose your mind if someone didn't turn off the TV. You may still have your sanity, but now you can guarantee that sanity with TV-B-Gone. We used it to turn off the TV while we wrote this very smart copy! What will you do when you turn off the TV?

Additional Information

Specifications:

Requires 3v Li coin cells (included)
Battery Life 3-12 months, depending on use, so aim for the 3 month mark
IR Beam: High power 940mm Infrared
Beam Angle: 30 Degrees
Beam Me Up Right Now: Suggested but optional
Weight: 28 grams with batteries

http://livesciencestore.com/51609.html

[Pithlet]

1. This has to be a joke.

Surely you can't really buy something like this.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Tenderfoot cop: "What's that"? Grizzled vet:"An off switch. He'll get life for that."

Damn, wish I could remember where I read/heard that. Probably a Phillip K. Dick story ...

[gizmonic]

3. No joke -- I've seen it in action

Works like a charm.

[Pithlet]

4. I guess my question really was, why?

<grumble>People watch television. People who don't like television need to deal. Just seems like a device that makes it easier to be an asshole who thinks the world revolves around him/her. If this had just been a joke ad for a non-existent product, that would be one thing. I wonder if the ones who ordered it off the internet would like it if someone had a device to zap their computer and turn it off. </grumble>.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. It would sure be nice to have in an airport lounge. There are often NO seats available

far enough away from the TV. (Especially in Atlanta, home of CNN.) I'd like to go to a restaurant and find there are no TV's away from the bar (getting harder to find all the time--often TV's in each corner of the room). And I'd like to go to the doctor's office without finding a TV blaring away at full volume. If some of these started shutting down now and then maybe the people who mindlessly set these noisemakers up would get the idea. Nothing wrong with putting the TV in a corner, or separate room, where people have the OPTION of NOT watching while they're forced to wait.

[Book Lover]

6. Or the supermarket checkout line

Though I believe those are monitors and not TV sets per se.

[gizmonic]

8. What eppur_se_muova said...nt

[trof]

9. Bar/restaurant TV tuned to Faux News.

Love it.

[blondeatlast]

7. Would it work on my across the street neighbor's car stereos

(she asked hopefully)?

[conscious evolution]

10. A friend does same thing with

a universal remote.He memorized the codes for most tv and reprograms them to hs remote.
Now,when I am in a public place and the channels change I automaticaly look around for him.