Dumbass Sayings: “A Watched Pot Never Boils”

There’s a very classic old saying that goes “A watched pot never boils.” This is one of those sayings that’s completely wrong, yet people still continue to use it. Of course everyone knows a watched pot will boil eventually, as long as it’s over a hot enough flame. Now if you’re just staring at a pot sitting on the counter top then this is true. It won’t boil unless you’re Superman, but we’re assuming the pot of water is on a stove with fire underneath it. The main reason I don’t like this saying is it encourages people to leave boiling water unattended. That can be very dangerous. You shouldn’t get into the habit of turning on the stove and leaving the room for extended periods of time. That’s how people lose their homes. You might be wondering how a boiling pot of water can cause a fire. Well once all the water evaporates you’re basically going to have a superheated piece of metal on the stove. At that point with that much heat energy sitting on the stove almost anything can happen. Boiling an average pot of water should generally only take around five to ten minutes. You can stare at a pot for that long and it will still boil. It’s not like your eyes have cold beams coming out of them that keep the water from hitting its boiling point. Saying a “watched pot never boils” is like saying “watched paint never dries.” Obviously it does, but I think if you had to choose between those two sayings “watched paint never dries” would be better because it doesn’t involve the potential for house fires.

It's called patience. Live long enough in the woods and you'll learn how important it is.