Beware Ye Olde Kitchen- Or Why the Pilgrims had it Easy!

As we gather together, let us remember that the hallowed first Thanksgiving dinner may have lasted for 3 days, involved 150 guests and an abundance of roast meat and stewed fish. The Pilgrims brought frying pans, iron pots, kettles, wooden spoons and mortar pestle sets (a great wedding gift) with them on the Mayflower. They, specifically the four surviving wives, used these simple tools and fire to create the feast that we still cherish.

Turns out Miles and friends had it much easier than we do now. I don’t know exactly how much trouble an iron pot could wreak, but as you well know, your kitchen appliances have conspired to thwart your Rockwellian dreams. Oh, you don’t know? I’ll wait while you Google disposal problems on Thanksgiving- 381,000 hits. Get more specific and add kitchen appliances and you will have 1,230,00 posts to consider.

Sometime between midnight the night before and noon on the big holiday, your oven will cease to heat, your dishwasher will leak, and your stove’s back burners will go dark. These appliance problems are frequently described on the internet as Holiday Horror Stories.

But wait, there’s more. Under the headline of Party Poopers, we learn that disposals cause the most mayhem on Thanksgiving, as I said, 381,000 hits worth of problems. As we all know, disposals are placed in your kitchen to create a loud noise when the best part of the TV show comes on or when you finally get the call about your final job interview. Disposals have nothing whatsoever to do with food. Nothing- and they definitely do not play well with mashed potatoes, bread or rice.