@ellisjrosen
You know what they say, a watched pot only boils twice a day.
this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2025
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and i won't hatch unless you spin it in a bowl of water
No, no, it's a broken pot never boils.
I think its actually the pot calling the kettle boiled.
I think it's a chicken or pot kind of situation.
A car in every pot and a chicken in every garage
All's chicken that ends chicken.
Whoever made up that saying, "A watched pot never boils," must have a very different brain from me.
I have no illusions that I'm capable of multitasking with my conscious attention, and if I'm watching a pot of water being heated to a boil, then that's all I'm watching, so it inevitably boils while I'm watching it.
The meaning isn't literal, it is saying that waiting feels longer when you are focused on the thing.
The meaning has been lost, it means that you won’t ruin your soup if you tend it.
I've heard that before and it sounds plausible, but the anticipation making things take longer is clever instead of literal.
The meaning can also be literal if you interpret it using quantum physics. Observing the quantum state of a molecule will collapse its wavefunction in the most likely state, which is the same state it was in if you observed it mere instants ago.
I grew up just following my mum around the kitchen. I remember literally watching pots of water boil. When the bubbles form and they look like eyes and stuff. When I heard the saying, I was always a bit confused until I realized I'm a weirdo.
The meaning of the saying is actually the opposite: as soon as you look away it starts doing the thing you were watching it for. Applies to many situations in life; maybe not foremost actual pots with cooking in it.
Yes, they probably did...
It just means that when "distracted", perception of time changes. For example, doing something you hate tends to feel like it took more time than something you enjoy.
This is the kind of ~~maddening~~ magical experience you lose when you get an induction stove.
Two minutes and bam. Around a minute for small pots. I barely have time to piss and wash my hands.
So just piss on your hands. Problem solved.
Life hates this one hack!
Or an electric kettle. No idea why they’re so rarely used in the US.
Different mains voltage. ~~Europe~~ Most of the world uses 240v and the US 120v.
The formula for power dissipation is P = V²/R where V is voltage and R is resistance. So electrical kettles take more time to boil water in the US.
There are tales of pots that have been watched, and it is said amongst the people that they do not boil.
The problem is that Newtons theory of relativity states that when things approach the speed of light they slow down, your eyes use light to see so if you look at the pot it nears the speed of light, that being the light emited from your eyes of course. fun fact this is also how super man shoots Lazer beams.