h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My first electric kettle was a traditional kettle-shaped (as opposed to jug-shaped) one that had to be switched off manually once it had boiled. It met its end one day when I'd just filled it and switched it on and the doorbell rang. By the time I got back the kettle had not only boiled, it had managed to build up enough of a head of steam to blow its lid off and spray boiling water everywhere ... including over its own electrical lead, plug and socket, blowing the fuse and killing itself in the process.

My next kettle was a simple jug-type one that switched itself off automatically once it had boiled, using a steam sensor cunningly located just above the electrical cord. It worked perfectly for about a year, until the day water started pouring through the sensor and onto the electrical cord ... see previous paragraph for the rest of the story!

Being the sort of person who learns from their mistakes, I bought a jug kettle with the sensor safely tucked away at the top of the floating ball type water level indicator. All was well for about three months, but then the cute indicator ball got stuck halfway up the tube. I switched the kettle on when it had no water in it and blithely walked away ... several minutes later there was a muffled bang from the kitchen and I arrived in time to see a small cloud of smoke gently dissipating above the kettle.

A persistent soul, I bought a brand-new all-singing all-dancing cordless jug kettle with a water level indicator that didn't involve a floating ball. It lasted slightly over a month before succumbing to the evil influence of the ghosts of kettles past - I was standing next to it putting a teabag in my cup when it blew itself up. Flames, smoke, spitting water - the whole works.

So now I have a cookertop kettle that sits on my gas stove and whistles loudly to tell me it's ready. If it boils dry it gets hot but doesn't blow up!

My sister made hot ribena for herself for the first time...it didn't occur to her that you boil the water than add the hot water to the ribena - she added the ribena to the kettle

Cleaned the limescale off beautifully which is one in the eye for ribena being *toothkind*