Safe For Even Tiny Tots

One of the things I love best about thrift store browsing is the discoveries you can make. There are things from my childhood that I'd entirely forgotten, like the kitchen table. There are things I'd like to take home with me, like that portable phonograph. Sometimes there are things I do take home with me. 

And then there are the things I never suspected existed, like the Craft House Amazing New! Electric Styrofoam Cutter. 

I thought I'd seen most of  the weird craft gadgets from Great-Grandma's day, but this one was new to me. I still can't quite figure out what you'd do with it.  I can maybe understand why you'd cut Styrofoam, but a dedicated cutter -- who needs  that? If Great-Grandma didn't have one, it makes me wonder. She seemed to have collected everything over the years.

It's completely assembled, ready to use, and safe for even tiny tots.

Take a look at this thing. As far as I can tell, you plug it in and that wire gets hot and melts through the Styrofoam. I let my tots do all sorts of things when they were tiny, but this wouldn't have been on the list.

So, tell me -- have you ever seen one of these? Did you have one? What were you cutting Styrofoam for and was this thing any better than a kitchen knife? And does anyone else notice that I'm using the same arguments some quilters use against those die cutters I love so much?