I can't claim to remember my first outfit, but I bet it was essentially a blanket with holes for my arms and head. Apparently, America remembers, and longs to return to those days of comfort. How else can we account for the amazing sales of the Snuggie, a 'blanket with sleeves'?

The sales are in part attributed to Ellen DeGeneres, who featured the Snuggie on her daytime television show. Fox News also made repeated note of a woman in a Snuggie waiting for Obama's coronation.

The product is another success for the direct sales industry's adoption of some of the prime advertising slots abandoned by big business. The company has also enjoyed huge word-of-mouth exposure for its 'oddvertising', ads that are so over the top that one can only laugh (and forward the YouTube link). Check out the one below-- Carl Orff must be spinning in his grave to hear Carmina Burana so abused.

With the success of Snuggies, expect a host of imitators and other items that offer old-time comfort. I'm thinking adult pacifiers, lullabies, and a great big rocking cradle, with built-in remote controls and a lap tray for beer and chips.