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Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
Sorry, this post is about my electric frying pan. I say that so you can move on if you're uninterested.
Goodbye to most of you. I've had a West Bend electric frying pan in our family that I've personally used since the 1970s. This thing was probably 40 years old. It was always faithful, it just sat in the cupboard until I needed the extra pan for something. Back when we got it it was a novelty, I used it for making lots of grilled cheese sandwiches and french toast as a kid. When I moved on from my folks my mom eventually gave it to me and I've had it ever since. This was a sentimental workhorse, a real legend in the kitchen. Other appliances would gasp when I pulled it out to fry some bacon. They would see the battle scars and whisper amongst themselves as the master sat patiently, cooking pork to perfection. I was thinking about how old it was tonight as I was cooking some bacon with it while other things took up the stove burners. I heard a strange sound. I smelled electrical burn from the probe. And that was it. No more General West Bend. Please join me in a moment of silence for this culinary legend. They really built stuff to last back then. My mom had a TV we bought in the 70s that worked until the early 2000s, I couldn't believe it when I saw it still working at her house. On the plus side- I'm buying a "new" used probe off eBay. I can't let go.
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
I owned an old International Harvester refrigerator from the forties that happened to be in a house I bought in 1975. I kept it as a spare fridge for beer in the garage. It moved all over with us and finally gave up the ghost around 1997 in our basement in Pennsylvania. It had to be fifty years old. Nope, they don't make 'em like they used to. Broke my heart to have to get rid of it. I figure eight to ten years is the average life span of appliances today....by design.
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
International Harvester refrigerator. That's just too cool! Those old fridges are awesome.
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
Coincidentally, our electric skillet bit the dust on Saturday.
In our case, we flew to Arcata, CA to visit my sister and her family, and my mom. Marlana cooked the dinners on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so she took her portable kitchen along. The clumsy (or simply mean) baggage handlers apparently threw the suitcase around, and one of the handles on our electric skillet was shattered. |
EsnRedshirt Special user Newark, CA 895 Posts |
I've got some cast iron skillets, one of which came from my parents, who never fully appreciated it. I'll probably be willing them to my son.
Self-proclaimed Jack-of-all-trades and google expert*.
* = Take any advice from this person with a grain of salt. |
Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 25, 2015, S2000magician wrote: I liked the coincidence part, not the skillet's demise. There are replacement parts available if it's not obsolete. Sentiment can be a strong, weird thing.
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
They made things to last in the old days. The oldest things we have in this line are the family silver and glass. We don’t seem to have any old electric stuff here though, apart from an old lamp.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
foolsnobody Special user Buffalo, NY 843 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 25, 2015, Theodore Lawton wrote: In the house I grew up in for the first nine years of my life there was a hallway from the kitchen to the outside world in which reposed a wooden icebox and I believe an "iceman" still delivered a large block of ice with tongs, at least early on. (There's a blues song about the ice man.) Well anyway, before the "fridge" there was the "icebox" and we had one in our house. "Let me tell you baby Gonna move you way way from here Don't want no iceman Gonna buy you a frigidaire When we move Way out on the outskirts of town 'Cause I don't want nobody Who's always hangin' around!" |
Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
I just hope it wasn't the Stooges trying to deliver your ice!
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Daryl -the other brother Special user Chicago 594 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 25, 2015, EsnRedshirt wrote: Back in the 60's, when I was a kid, my mother had a heavy-duty pressure cooker. It weighed 1,000 pounds (to me anyway)and I swear an armor piercing shell wouldn't have made a dent in it. It made the best popcorn I've ever tasted! When my mother passed away, her sisters practically cleaned out all of her pots (for the memories ) and the cooker was gone. |
Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
That's funny, I used to use the bottom part of a heavy old pressure cooker for a pot as well.
I'm actually interested in getting one of the newer ones for making beans and things. I've heard they're a great kitchen tool and are somehow safer than the older ones.
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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Daryl -the other brother Special user Chicago 594 Posts |
I was never sure if the big difference came from cooking the popcorn under pressure or simply from the thick heavy cast iron cooker that was used. If you end up getting one pop a batch of corn and let me know how it turns out.
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Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
I got the "new" probe! The legend continues. Here's to another 40 years!
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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