Tom Scott

Do The Numbers On Toaster Dials Mean Minutes? (2014x93)

: 09, 2014

There's been a "Life Pro Tip" going around the internet lately saying that the numbers on toaster dials are actually minutes. I was so sure it was false. Oh, I was so sure. I got four toasters set to "2", and I had one take to film it all in a back room at my office. This is that one take. Thanks to Dan W (@iamdanw) on camera and Jonty (@jonty) on toaster-wrangling! UPDATE: An error pointed out by a couple of folks in the comments: modern toasters likely don't use bi-metallic strips. They either use a capacitor charged through a variable resistor, or specialised silicon. See this great Technology Connections video.