Kettles in US movies.

B

Byakuya

New member
Mind-numbingly trivial but strangely fascinating: why does no one ever use an electric kettle in US movies?
Even in the most hi-tech settings, whenever a kettle is required it's always a whistling kettle on an open gas ring. I'll concede that occasionally there's a cut from the whistle to a scream but not always. Do the yanks not have electric kettles?
:confused:
 
Perhaps this is a little insight:

"More importantly, though, the US's puny, puny power supply effectively rules out the use of an electric kettle.

Let me tell you, if you've grown up with electric kettles all your life, their absence is a body-blow. Using a stove is so much slower, whether you're heating water to boil potatoes, or making a cup of tea (not that Americans, as previously noted, are big into tea).

I'm surprised, nevertheless, that someone somewhere in this vast semi-continent of a nation hasn't managed to build an efficient mains-powered kettle, given the plethora of ridiculous "labor-saving devices" which are marketed via 5-minute TV infomercials."

http://hitherto.net/5371/archives/2005/01/electricity.html
 
You are quite correct, I noticed this a while back. Confirmed it while on holiday over there a few times. Practically all kettles are the type you sit on a stove. They also use electric cookers much more than gas, rarely see a gas ring. No idea why.
 
I grew up in America, and had a gas ring cooker throughout my childhood, although other peoples' houses were around 50/50 whether they were gas/electric...

I've seen electric kettles for sale in shops, but usually only one or maybe two models, and only in the larger stores with loaRAB of shelf space. The same store will have 15 or 20 kettles to sit on the hob (the whistling kind).

I think rcman's quote makes a point--110 volts on the mains power means it should be about half as efficient to boil water as the 220 used over here. To bring a given amount of water to boil, it might take 1 minute in a UK mains kettle, but would take 2 minutes in a US mains kettle. I'd imagine the same water would boil in 1:30 on a gas ring, so that's what's used over there.

I just went to walmart's website and searched for kettle. The first two hits are electric kettles, and "Rapid Boil 1500 watts" at that. Considering the UK's rapid boil kettles are 3000 watts, it makes sense.
 
That's not right. It depenRAB on the part of the country you are in, how old the home is, and ultimately individual preference. Effectively most homes tend to have gas and electric. The gas heats the water and can drive the heater portion of the A/C unit. Stoves can be set up for gas or electric as well as for the clothes dryer.

Fancy kettles are not seen because Americans are not really into tea in comparison to the British. To heat up water they simply use the microwave or a small pot.

Also, I believe the quoted material about stoves taking longer to heat up is incorrect. I'm not electrician but the time to heat up is dependent on other factors besides voltage.
 
Thanks for your answers: the truth is probably a combination of all of them.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed this and that I'm not going mad.
In fairness I must say that whilst on holiday in the US I noticed that hotels have electric kettles.
Now if someone can answer my earlier post about the vanishing characters in John Carpenter movies I'll be a happy man! :)
 
As the USA is so vast, it is probably far harder to pipe gas as widely as we do in the UK.

Electricity can easily be generated at multiple and widespread power plants, but gas neeRAB to be piped from gas and oil wells.

I am just surmising here, I do not know for certain.

Our electric kettle failed a few weeks ago so we now boil water on the gas hob. It takes a lot longer. :(
 
Back
Top