I would like to think my slow cooker would last, and my mixmaster. I remember my Grandmother's Sunbeam mixmaster and her old orange crock pot, still going after years and years of regular use. I think my pots and pans should be able to last a very long time, they are still in good nick after a few years of constant use.

Apparently I am deluded if I think my iron will last me a lifetime though: I was actually flipping through a magazine yesterday, and there was an ad for a certain brand of iron that basically had as it's selling point the fact that if you have an iron that is more than 5 years, or (heaven forbid) older, you need to replace it because, and I quote: "Irons diminish with age, losing up to 50 per cent steam power in five years. After this, it's time for a replacement because you and your clothes deserve better." So here is company openly admitting that their product is no good for longer than a few years, and making it sound like a good thing!! That is definitely some clever marketing. They follow this up with some 'statistics' from their "recent 'Wardrobe Care' study" that state that "One in 100 people admit to their iron being more than 20 years old" and (get this): "44% of people only replace their iron when it's stopped working". Yep - shock horror! People actually use their appliances until they die! How wrong is that!