Atheist Forum

Tastes like llama.

Everybody I know uses the stovetop to boil water and it's gotta be the best example of Maslow's hammer I know of. (over-reliance on a familiar tool instead of thinking outside the box and using a more appropriate tool)

The electric kettle is by far the superior option - speed, convenience, even safety. There's literally no reason to do things the difficult, slow way. It's like using a black and white TV instead of a color one.

I've put this argument to a family member and their retort is that I must microwave all my food. Strawman! Microwaves are convenient but there's a very different finished product. They both heat stuff up, but there's a huge difference in how heat is applied and retained. If there was no difference, I absolutely would microwave everything, but that's not the case. If your goal is to boil water to drink, the electric kettle is hands-down better for that by every metric.

There is an advantage of gas stoves, though. If you do not have electricity, whether due to a natural disaster or some other source of blackout, you can simply turn on the gas and use a lighter to get fire. You can't do that with an electric kettle.

Gas stoves have some pretty glaring safety risks, and recently found out, also health risks. While I wouldn't say that the asthma link is a slam dunk case against it, it's pretty hard to argue that inhaling nitrogen dioxide on the regular in your own home isn't a worrying form of indoor air pollution.

But yes, in the very specific case of no longer having access to electricity, a gas stove is better than the alternative of nothing.