What this is

The Lifetime List is a documentary series about American durable goods: washing machines, hand tools, cookware, the things that used to outlive the person who bought them. One brand per episode. We work out who owns it now, what changed on the factory floor, and whether the current version is worth your money.

How we work

Every figure and every proper name in an episode has a source in a register, and the source appears on screen while the figure is read. The numbered list is printed at the bottom of each episode page. We do not publish prices or star ratings: prices move and ratings are gamed.

Archive photographs are used under licence and credited on the page. Where no photograph of a thing exists, an illustration is used and labelled as one, on screen and in the credits.

If we are wrong

Tell us in the comments under the episode. A wrong number gets corrected on the page, and the correction stays visible.

How this is paid for

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. The product links on this page are affiliate links. It costs you nothing and it does not decide what goes in an episode: several of our recommendations are things you cannot buy from Amazon at all. The full disclosure is here.