Getting into snowball fights just got easier in NJ

There's something about guys in a hardware store. If there a new gadget we're like ladies at the mall in the purse section at Macy's. It doesn't matter if we need it or have any use for it. We want it.

Last Christmas while getting replacement Christmas lights for the outside of the house, I spotted a funnel with a long tube attached to water a live Christmas tree. You bet I bought two. One for me and the first person I told about this wondrous invention.

This weekend I was in the same neighborhood True Value Hardware store in Medford and I saw something I have absolutely no use for, but just had to have it. A multiple snowball maker. It makes five perfectly formed snowballs in seconds. I asked the woman behind the counter, Lauren, "is that what I think it is"? She said, "what are you gonna do with that"? Then she rang me up.

There's something about gadgets at hardware stores that most men can't resist. I couldn't wait to get it home and try it out. There are no kids at home. There is no need for a snowball maker, but it's $4.99 well spent. Maybe I'll bring it to work and ambush Bill Doyle when he pulls up in the parking lot.

There it was on the counter begging to be examined

What childish evil genius could come up with such a thing?

The snow was powdery, so I left it in the sun for a few minutes.

Squeeze together tightly.

Works of art.

A little smaller that I like, but perfect for an accurate 30-yard toss.

Where were these when I was a kid?

It's made by a company called Slippery Racer that makes a variety of sleds and some other winter sports toys. Check out their snowball throwing stick.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

You can now listen to Dennis & Judi — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite best friends anytime, anywhere and any day of the week. Download the Dennis & Judi show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now:

Your photos: First blizzard of 2022 in New Jersey

Photos from across New Jersey on Saturday morning. Along the coast, this was New Jersey's first blizzard of 2022.

The Blizzard of '96 Revisited: Snow totals for every NJ county

The Blizzard of '96 shut down the New Jersey Turnpike for the first time in the road's history. Thousands of people were left without power and heat for days. The National Guard even had to be brought in to rescue State Troopers. Anyone in the Northeast who lived through it will never forget it.