So what would be your guess for the worst gadget of all time?  Soap on a rope?  Maybe the Pocket Fisherman or something else by gadget magnate Ron Popeil?

As it turns out, a recent poll of three thousand women by the insurance company Sheila’s Wheels pegged the worst gadget of all time–it’s the shower radio.  Many of them, respondents described, were insufficiently waterproof, allowing water to swamp the batteries.  Reception was poor at best and had a tendency to wander around the dial, and worst of all, the music often could not be heard over the sound of the shower.

I seldom have had good experiences with shower radios myself, though I confess that I haven’t tried one in quite some time, so maybe advances have made them better than they were in my day.  But from what three thousand women just said?  It’s not likely.

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