Terry
and I have a toaster over in our kitchen. It’s a good unit, and
we’ve had the same one for years. Well over a decade. When one
of our boys bought his first home, we were in a store and saw
the same model, so we bought it for him as he was moving in.
A
couple of weeks ago, I was checking some electrical connections
in the kitchen, happened to be near the toaster over, and noticed
something. We had always used it by turning the knob that engaged
a timer. Spun clockwise, always turned on, made sense. Great toaster.
Used it as an extra baking area when making meals. Versatile.
Reliable.
Then,
this discovery. If you turned that dial in the other direction—counterclockwise—the
unit turned on.
(I’m
not sure if this is connecting, so, let’s review.)
Ever
since the first time we plugged it in, we’ve been powering it
up by turning a knob clockwise. That turned it on and engaged
a timer. We had it for years, moved to a new house, used it for
more years. Then, at some random moment in time, I noticed if
you turned that same knob counterclockwise, it turned on.
Just
on.
No
timer.
And,
well, duh.
How
had we never spotted that before?
And
if that wasn’t bad enough, on a visit I found myself in the kitchen
with my son and he was making toast. I watched him start the timer.
“You
know, if you turn that in the other direction the toaster oven
just turns on. No timer.”
“What? You’re kidding.”
Apparently,
a clockwise turn to engage the timer and not seeing the marking
that said “On” was a fairly intuitive way of operating it. (At
least I felt slightly less dumb.)
All
around the house are things that I use while often finding other
uses for them. I think all of us have grabbed a knife to use as
a screwdriver. I would bet a really strong majority have grabbed
a cup to fill with water and headed off to the indoor plants.
Let’s
say that eight years ago I bought a new car. I love it, and I
say that any time you ask. You go for rides in the car, and you
like it. A handful of months later, you need a new vehicle and
know one like mine will perfectly fit all of your needs. So, you
buy one. (Different color. You trust my opinions, not my taste.)
A
few months ago, early on a February morning, you head out to drive
to my house. Temperature is one degree. One degree Fahrenheit.
When you arrive, I’m standing at the stove making hot cocoa from
scratch. I pour it into a mug, turn and place it in front of you,
and say…
“Morning like this, you must love the car’s automatic starter.”
And
you respond: “The who-the-what?” Automatic start? You didn’t know
the car had an automatic starter.
Sound
ridiculous? I suppose. But how ridiculous? More ridiculous than
heading to a toaster with two pieces of bread, coming back with
two pieces of toast, and you never switched the toaster on?
We
find creative uses for many things, using them in ways never intended.
Multitasking can be fabulous. Often there are features, bells
and whistles and extras, that we don’t use. But how many things
am I using completely wrong? How many things do I use all the
time, but don’t understand at all? How often did I hang a picture
on the wall, but after putting in the hook I’m standing there
holding the shoe I used instead of a hammer?
So,
here I am, wondering if I should have tried to set up the fax
on my printer. I still don’t see the need, but then again…