The Idiot Home Appliance: The Electric Kettle!
I would like to express my opinion on a topic that has bothered me for a little while now, but has become more of an annoyance to me as my love for tea has grown.
My problem is a simple one but a relevant one and I am sure that many share my frustration.
Invented in 1922 by a dude named Arthur Leslie Large (yup, that’s his real name), the electric kettle has become a critical household appliance in millions of homes the world over.
If you would like a lesson on the history of the kettle check out some of the facts of the electric kettle, but I want to highlight the blatant stupidity of the electric kettle in this article.
Why does the electric kettle not have multiple temperature settings?
It’s a simple feature and is already popular on toasters, so why is it not available on the kettle? How many times have you attempted to make tea, only to find that you have to wait 15 minutes for the water to cool before you can drink it without burning your tongue, throat and everything else between your lips are your hips?
The electric kettle is 88yrs old already and is it genuinely possible that no-one at any of the electric kettle manufacturing companies have not thought of adding this simple feature to the most unintelligent appliance that we all own?
Imagine the convenience of being able to drink a nice cup of tea, when you actually want the cup of tea and not wait 15 minutes after you actually want the tea!
So there ladies and gentlemen, the dumbest home appliance: the electric kettle!



Chris M
January 26, 2010 at 4:44 pmThis is one of those things that people wonder about, but actually never really think about it. It's a super idea and one that I'm amazed hasn't been implemented, I would love to know why!
DChetty
January 26, 2010 at 5:08 pm@ChrisM - I simply can't understand why it hasn't been done before. It's super frustrating having to wait for my tea to cool down!
Tony
January 26, 2010 at 5:12 pmI think it's largely to do with cost. Kettles use a simple steam switch to turn off. When the water boils, steam goes into the handle and turns it off. There is no thermostat in a kettle. Introducing it would increase cost. Secondly, water boils at 100C here in Cape Town but at about 91C in Joburg. So that will cause problems depending on altitude. For coffee drinkers, optimum brewing temperature is 87C so use a filter machine, not a kettle. For tea, you should pour it into a teapot and let the tea draw for 10 minutes or so. Making tea directly in the cup will get u slap by my grandmother. :-) nice post, Dee T
DChetty
January 26, 2010 at 5:17 pm@Tony - Cost? Then justify the feature in a toaster. And I would genuinely pay upto R200 more for a kettle WITH the feature than without it. Further, should my tea making methods be left up to me? Besides, I don't only use the kettle to make tea!
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