Or, at least, very goddamn difficult to find in my neck of the woods (midwest US).
Item A: A Viable Toaster
Everybody knows that toastables (bread, etc) comes in various thicknesses, densities, etc. About the only way to toast a broad cross-section of toastables was to set to lo heat, run a test cycle, observe the degree of toasting, and re-toast until done.
Maybe 8 years ago I shopped for a toaster and found that the brilliant genii designing toasters had buggered the lot of 'em so the circuitry wouldn't re-toast without waiting for a period, relegating the old strategy impractical.
So I re-conditioned an ancient Toastmaster and it's still in use. Expected to roll over and die any picosecond.
Does anybody know if there are now viable and reasonably-priced toasters with non-mutant circuitry on the US market? :-)
Item B: Inexpensive Men's Slippers
Thisun is a true US/Chinee anomaly. I tried washing slippers when they got stinky and found it didn't work well. So, for years, I bought inexpensive Chinee slippers for $3-6, and just pitched a pair when they got stinky. Now, in an era when the US is swimming in Chinee , I can't find an inexpensive/disposable pair of slippers to save my po' soul.
Item C: A Non-Junk Beard/Mustache Trimmer
Maybe 20 years ago I bought a Norelco rechargable trimmer made in Austria (for *reasonable* $). Pretty solid, but it wasn't even designed for battery replacement. I've dissembled, unsoldered, resoldered, etc several times: it still works, but just barely. I've been on the look-out for a viable replacement literally for 2+ years. All I see is junk and garbage, likely to last a year or less.
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Note that I'm not anti-Chinee. I don't really care who makes a viable product in the context of this query. 'Tis not the forum to discuss the fact that the US now produces nearly nothing save WMD's and Frankensteinian politicians. :-)
Any/all help/info/constructive suggestions much appreciated.
TIA, Puddin'
" ... and the bees made honey in the lion's head." - from "If I Had My Way", Blind Willie Johnson