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
    1·
    8 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.

    • SwearingRobin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      8 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.

    • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      8 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”.

  • doo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    8 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