Back in the late ’90s, Black & Decker introduced a revolutionary line of kitchen appliances called KitchenTools.  It failed miserably (in part, because the very expensive ad campaign arrived months before the products appeared in stores), but the legacy of functional design lives on at Black & Decker.  While many manufacturers are selling appealing to upscale consumers with fancy appliances to do mundane tasks — witness the $1,000 vaccuum or $250 toaster — good performance always trumps status in my home.  This Black & Decker Iron has few bells and whistles other than a digital display and an audible temperature signal, but it does what an iron should do, better than many irons twice its price. Just under $50 from drugstore.com

or amazon.com.