Posted August 3, 2006
When I was a kid, my mom bought a clunky electric can opener—which, of course, quickly ended up joining her impressive collection of never-used, dust-magnet kitchen appliances (e.g., an electric hot dog maker, a juicer, and the Daisy Seal-a-Meal). The real problem with the can opener (other than the fact that it was loud) was that it always right there, hogging counter space along with the other stuff clustered near the wall outlet. Now, The Sharper Image has reinvented this humble appliance as a lightweight (7 oz.), ergonomically designed hand-held gadget that tucks into a drawer and never needs to be plugged in (it takes two AA batteries). The No-Hands Deluxe Auto Can Opener locks onto any size can lid and travels around it without you touching it. This is obviously a nice gift for anyone with hand-strength issues (e.g., moms everywhere), but what’s really cool about it is that it smoothly cuts just under the rim on the side of the can (instead of within the rim), which not only makes it impossible for the lid to fall in, but allows you to reuse it to re-cover the can if you want to put the rest in the fridge—so no more wasting aluminum foil. By the way, there’s a copycat version of this baby being advertised on TV; avoid that one, which looks and feels cheaper. The No-Hands is a Sharper Image exclusive.
$25 at The Shaper Image, multiple locations; sharperimage.com.