Lesson plan

Ronco

HD Schulman International Trading LLC, doing business as Ronco, is an American company that manufactures and sells kitchen appliances. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials for the company's products quickly made Ronco a household name. Popeil became known as the “father of the infomercial” and helped to establish the phrase, “Set it and forget it!” in reference to Ronco’s signature product: the rotisserie oven. The names "Ronco" and "Popeil" and the suffix "-O-Matic" (used in many early product names) became icons of American popular culture and were often referred to by comedians introducing fictional gadgets and As-Seen-On-TV parodies.

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Article summary

HD Schulman International Trading LLC, doing business as Ronco, is an American company that manufactures and sells kitchen appliances. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials for the company's products quickly made Ronco a household name. Popeil became known as the “father of the infomercial” and helped to establish the phrase, “Set it and forget it!” in reference to Ronco’s signature product: the rotisserie oven. The names "Ronco" and "Popeil" and the suffix "-O-Matic" (used in many early product names) became icons of American popular culture and were often referred to by comedians introducing fictional gadgets and As-Seen-On-TV parodies.

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1964 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. release date: 1972 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. release date: 1982 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1964". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the release date is "1972". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the release date is "1982". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1359691123

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.