THE MIAMI DEVICE

Back in 1986, if you were male and suffered from stubble envy -- a disturbance characterized by a desire to have an always budding beard like TV star Don Johnson -- you may have wanted to pick up an electric razor that went on the market that spring, costing only $29.95 and leaving you with a 5 o'clock shadow 24 hours a day.

It was called the Stubble Device. The Wahl Clipper Corp. of Sterling, Ill. made it expressly to capitalize on the sandpaper-chin look popularized by the Miami Vice sleuth. Rather than suffer the embarrassment of a clean shave, you could keep your beard fashionably semi-trimmed with the machine's handy one-to-five-day growth settings. The razor was originally called The Miami Device. But the company feared a trademark infringement lawsuit by the show's producers and -- even worse -- were afraid that Johnson could up and adopt a razor-clean look at a press agent's notice.