I was in the middle of something in another room and it occurred to me that this familiar expression could be adapted for ADHD: A watched pot never catches fire. Good reminder to exercise a little extra caution in the everyday tasks that get boring but are still dangerous if you get complacent. Driving, cooking, poking around in a running computer with screwdriver even though you know you should shut it off, that sort of thing.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to cooking breakfast before the “food is done” alarms start going off throughout the building.

  • HikingVet@lemmy.caEnglish
    164·
    9 months ago

    “A watched pot never boils … over”. Everyone omits the last word. Because if you have the pot on sufficient heat, it doesn’t matter if you watch it, physics gonna physics.

    • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      5·
      9 months ago

      I see some results for that and, as it turns out, a similar version that I’ve probably heard before but forgotten: “A watched pot never boils but an unwatched pot boils over”.

    • SwearingRobin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      51·
      9 months ago

      I don’t think “A watched pot never boils” was ever meant to be taken literally. The way I see it its more in the sense that if you just stand there looking at it the time it takes to boil will feel like forever.

  • doo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    91·
    9 months ago

    I don’t know. I was making rice today and the moment I left kitchen (for a nano second, of course) it burned.

    Here’s my today’s rice recipe:

    • put some oil in the pot
    • put a cup of rice and set the heat to max
    • add salt, a clove of garlic and a couple of cardamom seeds
    • mix until rice changes colour
    • think how well you have everything under control
    • blink (I swear the new avatar has nothing to do with it!), take the burnt rice off the stove and throw it away
    • realise I forgot my medication
    • take another pot and repeat the steps, but avoid blinking
    • when drive changed colour, add 1.5 cups of water
    • reduce the heat and cover the pot
    • realise that the pot is too small
    • pour everything into a bigger pot
    • add heat
    • blink and realise the water is boiling out
    • move it from the heat, reduce the heat
    • wait
    • wait some more
    • move the pot back but turn the heat off
    • wait 15 minutes
    • rice is done!
    • realise it’s not salted but take the win and feed your child
    • frogfruit@slrpnk.netEnglish
      3·
      9 months ago

      If you have an instant pot, you can make rice in that. I’ve ignored it for like 40 minutes before, and the worst thing that happens is that it gets a little dry, which you can then fix by microwaving it in a bowl with a splash of water.

  • grrgyle@slrpnk.netEnglish
    6·
    9 months ago

    .> Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to cooking breakfast before the “food is done” alarms start going off throughout the building.

    We jokingly refer to this as the “dinner bell” in my house.

    Good observation.