As age takes its toll, I am less able to curl my arm around and scratch those hard-to-reach areas between the shoulder blades. Also, as my significant other becomes less spry, he is less willing to jump out of his chair to scratch my back for me--or at least, that's his excuse. Indeed he was the one who found the MaxScratch, to relieve himself of the chore.

I realize that this sounds a bit frivolous, but for $10 I now possess a simple tool that really does work better than hastily improvised scratching devices such as an 18-inch steel ruler (which was what I tended to use in the past, with sometimes painful results). The MaxScratch terminates in a pad of rounded spikes fabricated from some clever kind of flexible plastic, just right for relieving an inch without causing dermal abrasions. Also it comes in its own little carry bag. You may laugh, but I think it's neat.

-- Helen Briggs

MaxScratch
$10
Available from MaxScratch