Ben Cohen sucks

Ben and Jerry, kings of ice cream. Smart Money magazine asked them to review five different ice cream makers for their "Smart Spending" section. Apparently "Smart Spending" means "Big Spending" because the only two models that seem to pass muster go for $179 and $250.

If you can't tell from my attitude, they did not approve of the Play and Freeze ($29). Jerry made some nice comments, but Ben seems to be a grouch. Here's the relevant section:

We move on to the Uco Ice Cream Ball ($29). Made for L.L.Bean, this unit looks like a neon soccer ball and actually makes the ice cream that way: You fill one end with the ingredients, the other end with rock salt and ice, and toss or roll it around the yard for 20 minutes until the mixture freezes. "I love it," Jerry says at first, punting it across the room. "It looks like a space capsule." But the novelty quickly wears off. In addition to making only a pint, half as much ice cream as the next-smallest models, it has no blades inside to churn the mixture. L.L.Bean product developer Chris Gailey says because it is mixed manually by the shaking, the Ice Cream Ball can't produce the same consistency as other machines. But he points out its travel advantages. "I'd challenge anyone to take one of the traditional ice cream makers on a canoe trip," he says. Ben, the blunter of the duo, doesn't really care about canoeing. "This ice cream sucks," he says.

Not much of a valiant defense by the L.L.Bean guy, huh? A canoe trip? Very lame.

In summary, bite me, Ben.