Taking Inventory of What’s New Under the Sun

As Ma-Li Hsu extolled the virtues of her husband’s invention--the world’s smallest clothes dryer--Shirley Tweedy tried to attract the attention of passers-by with what she called a miracle cure for almost everything.

Children swarmed over a sophisticated play complex--a $2,000 back-yard toy with a “castle” clubhouse, swings and slides--and played Zing, a new invention billed as the fastest racket sport in the world.

Hundreds of people wandered Saturday among booths displaying these inventions and about 400 others--old and new, wacky to practical--that are on display at the Fiddle Dee Dee Jamboree & Exposition, a combination trade and crafts fair, which continues through today at Pierce College. The exhibitors were hoping to sell their wares or, even better, find distributors or franchisees.

Fair-goers munched on California Pregels, a new snack that crosses a pretzel with a bagel, and Elephant Ears, a pastry concoction made with homemade dough and various toppings, in addition to the usual hamburgers and hot dogs.

“This was my mother’s recipe,” said Fran Richards of Simi Valley, as she put a pizza topping on some dough she had shaped to resemble an elephant’s ear. Her toppings also included taco fillings and a sugary mixture.

At the world’s smallest clothes dryer exhibit, Hsu held up a red object rolled up in a small, round plastic container.

Unrolled, the object, called the Quickie Dryer, is a vented nylon bag. A portable hair dryer is inserted into the “one size fits all” hole in the bag. Lay a blouse on top of the unfolded bag, turn on the hair dryer, and, presto, you have a clothes dryer. It sells for $14.95.

“You know how you use your hair dryer to dry your stockings in the morning. Well, this works the same way and you can dry anything with it,” Hsu said. “It’s the world’s fastest dryer, too.”

In the next booth, Tweedy told a visitor that Km, the herbal and mineral tonic she was selling for $38 for a one-month supply, would require a doctor’s prescription if all its benefits were made known. “We don’t tell the FDA about them,” she said.

Nearby, Bill Ward of Bakersfield and Paul Kutzin of Woodland Hills showed children how to play Zing with forked paddles, plastic balls and lines strung up, as they would be in a back yard. Ward said his cousin, Craig Daugard of Valencia, invented the game.

“It’s great for teaching kids hand-and-eye coordination,” he said. “We have Zing baseball, too.”

In addition to toys for children, there were toys for adults--portable spas on wheels that can be rolled from room to room inside a house, auto alarms hidden inside teddy bears, and high-tech movie theaters that can be custom-installed in your home, provided you have the space and the money.

There also were survivalist displays, many of which featured newspaper headlines about last week’s tragic earthquake in Iran.

Ed Oliviera, whose Chatsworth company also markets home security products, showed off an earthquake survival kit complete with water, blankets and food. He said he assembled the kit after his 7-year-old granddaughter needed earthquake survival materials to take to school.

“We’re selling it to a lot of PTAs as fund-raisers,” Oliviera said. “It normally retails for $24.95, but we let PTAs have it for $15.”

Mary O’Brien of West Los Angeles displayed her invention--a candle that can burn for 120 hours straight and sells for $9.95. She said her product, called Nuwick, can be used as a survival tool or for camping.

“I’ve always been an environmentalist and I’ve always thought in those directions,” she said. “This is nontoxic and you use all the wax.”

The candle, in a metal container, uses up to six nontoxic, slow-burning wicks. If you want a brighter light or a hotter fire, you just add a wick, O’Brien said.

“You can fry an egg on it in about five minutes,” she said. “You can heat soup in 15 to 20 minutes. Two lit wicks can heat a two-person tent.”

More traditional items, such as jewelry, clothing, furniture, home remodeling ideas, auto accessories and boats also are featured at the exposition.