The Flip took off originally because of its sublime simplicity: it was a one-button machine that did one thing and had one port for both recharging and sharing data.

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Verhoeven points to the home button on the machine.

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Mr. Poxley leaned over and pressed the Clear button on his adding machine.

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The actual operation of the machine, handled by a simple four-button LCD display, was both logical and intuitive.

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And to add complexity, a second button can disable the outer screen altogether, turning the expensive machine into a non-touch, standard notebook.

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If by the end of it you feel your comedy button has not been pushed, head to Doug Fishbone's Joke Machine.

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