Bonnie: Bewildered at this week’s FeaturedBite? You are so right. The Body Buddy is not edible and you can’t use it in the kitchen — that is unless that’s where you apply lotion to your back.

The boys laughed at me when I suggested this piece of vinyl strip with handles on each end as a “Just for Fun” FeaturedBite. I had samples sent to them and told them to ask each of their girlfriends to try it.

“Just put a dab of cream in the middle of the strap,” I explained, “making lotion application on your back oh, so easy.”

Neither of their girlfriends was impressed. But I am, and I realized why. They — the girlfriends — have my sons to apply cream to their backs. I use my Body Buddy both after a shower to easily apply lotion to my back and at the beach to apply sunscreen to all the unreachable spots. For the latter, I selected the aqua one in the photo that matches the blue trim on my suit. How stylish is that?

Bryan: I find myself with little to say about the Body Buddy. My “pen” is mostly silent, not because this product lacks charm or use (it has both in spades), but because, what is there really to say? The Body Buddy has two handles and a middle vinyl section that allows a user to apply any lotion (or honey if that’s what you’re in to) to the part of your back you just can’t ever reach. It works. It’s a pretty simple concept that has been constructed and packaged well.

I don’t think I’m being a misogynist in noting that this is more of a women’s product. Guys, think secret Santa gift (under $25) for that female colleague you don’t know very well. My biggest gripe about the Body Buddy is that it has dealt a terrible blow to men’s dreams everywhere. Just imagine walking the beach and coming across a beautiful Playboy Playmate with a bottle of suntan lotion and a severely unprotected back. She looks around for someone to help her, notices you and asks if you “could just put a little on her back?” You’re about to comply when she realizes that she has a Body Buddy. “Thanks, anyway,” she says. “I can do it myself.” Damned innovation; another job lost to the machines.

Eric: I wouldn’t say it’s being a misogynist when reasoning that this product is better used in a woman’s hands than a man’s; it’s just more reasonable to think that a woman would see the use in it, while a man would probably utilize it as an upscale slingshot — a thought that went through my head when I first took it out of the package. On the other hand, “What a waste of expensive lotion!” were the first words out of my girlfriend’s mouth after attempting to use the Body Buddy for the first time. Prior to her outburst, she had called me in to the room to help rub lotion on her back and I reminded her that we had the body buddy to test. A few minutes later, after a completeFB_body_buddy2.jpg letdown, my hands were covered with lotion and I was helping her with her shoulders.

On another occasion when I was vacationing with my girlfriend in the south of Bulgaria, I caught myself laughing, after she pointed out a man bathing in a natural hot spring. He took out his homemade Body Buddy-equivalent and proceeded to clean his lower back.We were nearly rolling on the ground in laughter at the idea that this man probably had the original idea, but unfortunately no agent to get it to market.

Although the Body Buddy is another “Why didn’t I think of that?” product, it is ideal only for the single person. And, it can also double as a stretching device by securing one end around your foot and pulling. After all, I figure you might as well make the most out of it.