Original Commentary
Our clock/radio/cd-player isn't much better.

Modern Commentary
We don't have that clock/radio/cd-player any more.
Why Italian? Because I didn't like the idea of the island nation of Hippedown (which is where this comic takes place) taking place on a definable spot on the map. If I said it was French or Spanish or such, then you'd expect it to be in the general vicinity of places that speak those languages. Italian is a widepread language in fewer places so I figured that would make it more difficult to pin down.
Turns out there's a sizeable Italian-speaking community off the coast of Brazil; I was not aware of that at the time. - Terrence