Sunday, October 4, 2009

Switch to Bambi!

Before RCA jacks and S-Video and Component video and HDMI came along, some people had a videogame, a VCR, AND that newfangled cable TV, and suddenly there were way too many gadgets competing for the TV's lone antenna connector.  Enter a hot 80's babe with a talented box:



She's assembled and wired with six inputs and three outputs, all in an attractive package. And the electronic gadget looks pretty good too. (Yes, I am counting her ears. And, uh, one of her nostrils.)

Why exactly the switch was called Bambi™ is hard to say, except that it gave Simple Simon Electronic Kits, Inc., based in Las Vegas, an excuse to push utilitarian electronic gear using sex appeal. But what exactly were prospective buyers supposed to be switching away from, in order to switch to Bambi electronically?

Why not "Turn Bambi on!" or something equally period-appropriate and marginally more sensible?

We may never know.  But there she is, just waiting for us to switch to her. Electronically. Maybe she just gets all hot and bothered thinking about ohms and decibels and radio frequency interference.

And if we're dissatisfied, maybe calling the company complaint line will get us connected to Swambi.

No comments:

Post a Comment