How many of us haven't been burned by an iron? If you haven't, consider yourself among the lucky ones.

A recent study of more than 1,000 people, conducted by Greenfield Online, showed that 67 percent of respondents had burned themselves ironing, 2 percent seriously. Not only this, 10 percent reported a child or a pet had been burned.

Perhaps even more disturbing is how the burns occur — it has to do with the way old-fashioned irons are placed on the board.

"An underlying design flaw of a traditional iron is that it sits vertically on its heel in an upright position, exposing the scorching hot metal soleplate," said Ehsan Alipour, CEO of Oliso.

"Place it on a padded and sometimes unsteady ironing board, and it's often an accident waiting to happen. And, when you have an animal or small child nearby, the combination can be even more dangerous," said Alipour.

Finding a solution to ironing safety is Oliso. This iron sits horizontally, thus avoiding those nasty half-moon burns should you accidentally run into the iron or tip it over and try to catch it.

The Oliso has an automatic lift that raises the iron away from the garment the instant you release the handle; it rests on its own integrated base. Then simply touch the handle to get back to ironing — the lift mechanism automatically retracts, lowering the iron back to the cloth.

And the Oliso's advantages are not going unnoticed. The Home Safety Council, the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing home-related injuries, awarded Oliso's line of steam irons its 2008 Product Innovation for Consumer Safety commendation.

"This is the first true innovation in iron design in 60 years, and it's one that has squarely addressed consumers' most pressing concern: safety," said Alipour.

Alipour is obviously worried about safety, but he is also concerned with a great ironing experience.

The Oliso features include:

— Reduces ironing time by 30 percent since you don't have to lift the iron up and down.

— Reduces the amount of motion, easing the amount of stress on wrists and elbows.

— Electronic sensors constantly monitor and adjust the iron's temperature to ensure that fabric settings are correct.

— A steam-on-demand feature delivers just the right amount and shuts off when the handle is released, helping to eliminate those pesky water spots.

— A unique detailer that makes it easier to snuggle up to those buttons for crisper collars and cuffs.

Oliso is a privately held, San Francisco-based company devoted to surprising and delighting people with unique designs.

For more information, visit www.oliso.com.

FOOGO TO GO

Thermos has long been known for the coldest, hottest and freshest insulated products. The Foogo line is now redefining the product category for kids.

"Because of our superior insulating technology, parents can trust that Foogo products will help protect their children from spoiled food and beverages," said Rick Dias, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Thermos.

The Foogo line features cutting-edge stainless steel, vacuum-insulated products for children ages 6 and older. The included products are two sippy cups, a hydration bottle and a food jar.

The 7-ounce sippy cups, available with or without handles, have a soft spout to make sipping easy; they help drinks stay cold for up to six hours. The 12-ounce hydration bottle keeps drinks fresh and cold for up to 12 hours. The 10-ounce food jar helps food remain cold for seven hours and hot for five hours.

A Cornell University study of children's food and beverage containers showed that only Foogo products had the ability to keep milk and other beverages lower than room temperature (70 degrees) for 16 hours — more than four and a half times longer than leading competitor brands.

When tested, the milk samples in the competitor brands contained up to 5,000 times more bacteria than the milk in Foogo products.

"The Fogoo products are comparable to keeping your child's sippy cup in a refrigerator. It's just a good, safe food handling practice," said Randy W. Worobo, Ph.D, an associate professor of food microbiology in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Cornell University.

Foogo products retail for $15. For more information, visit www.thermos.com.

Maggie Reed may be reach at trocar2000@hotmail.com. To find out more about Maggie Reed and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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