Job has a coffee maker

[conuly]

Now, we don't have a coffee maker. We have a french press, and we have a pourover thinger, and no coffee maker. Electric coffee makers are roach magnets, and I will stand by that statement.

But the job has a coffee maker, a nice new model after the pot on the old one broke, and the lid on top opens to the left, which means you have to hold the coffee pot in your right hand if you want to pour the coffee into the machine. Also, all the measurement numbers on the coffee pot are only visible if you're holding the handle in your right hand.

And you may say this is petty, and it is - well, it's petty for me because I have two hands, I might well be more annoyed, and justifiably, if I was missing one! - but somebody made a choice to hinge the lid on the left instead of on the back, and somebody, maybe that same somebody, made a choice to only put numbers on one side of the handle instead of both. And they didn't have to make those choices, they could've made different choices that didn't screw me over personally, me and all the other lefties as well as approximately half of all people who don't have mobility in their right hand or don't have that hand at all*, and they chose poorly. Probably didn't even think it through even a tiny little bit.

* Wait, is this a valid assumption? Or are people more likely to be disabled on this side or that side?

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Comments

[watervole]

I think trying to pour with a lid at the back would be dangerous. I'd probably prefer to pour with my left hand than do that.

But putting numbers on both sides should be easy.

why do electric kettles attract roaches? (not saying they don't, just wondering why)

[conuly]

The old one hinges on the back. You’re just tipping the pot forwards instead of sideways.

Roaches like warmth and humidity, and if there’s condensation as well, so much the better.

You’ll always find them, if you have them, under and behind the fridge, under the cable box, under the toaster (crumbs make up for the lack of damp), and in the bathroom as you shower. And in the coffee maker.

[watervole]

that's what I thought. I'd be really worried pouring boiling water towards me.

Roaches sound horrid. I guess the warmth from a kettle is attractive to them.

I'm very glad we're fortunate enough not to have any.

[conuly]

Well, when you put the water in the machine, it’s cold. The machine heats it.

[watervole]

But I pour the boiling water from the kettle into my mug...

[conuly]

The lid on the machine is hinged on the left side.

The lid on the pot is hinged with the handle, as expected.

[movingfinger]

(Psst You're talking about an electric kettle that heats water. Our charming hostess is dealing with an automatic coffee maker which brews coffee; a coffee machine heats water and drips it over grounds into a pot on a built-in burner. The water is very coffee-tainted and unsuitable for other uses, except by roaches.)

[rebeccmeister]

LOL

[watervole]

Ah, my mistake.

I never drink coffee...

[conuly]

You're clearly not from my family, where people drink coffee like water. I used to tell my mother that her habit of drinking coffee to fall asleep was in and of itself diagnostic for ADHD.

[the_siobhan]

Oh ugh. Roaches are the ONE insect I have never had to deal with in this place. Gah.

(Actually two, I've never had bedbugs, knock on all the wood in the house to invoke the protection of trees, because they are a big problem in Toronto.)

[conuly]

Bedbugs are a big problem everywhere :(

[the_siobhan]

I've never thought about it before, but I would assume that since most people are right-handed that would be the hand that would most likely get injured in something like a workplace accident. So for somebody who only has the use of one hand due to an injury, it's probably their left hand.

And somebody made the choice to buy that specific coffee maker for shared use.

[conuly]

Didn’t even think this was something to check, I guarantee it.

[cellio]

Yeah, I'm guessing failure to check the specs, not an active decision. Still sucks, though. :-(

[adrian_turtle]

Repetitive stress injuries are FAR more likely to affect the right hand. It's bad design, obvious bad design, to mark the measurements on only one side. I am not visualizing the hinge setup very clearly...would it help if you took a universal marker to the other side?

[conuly]

The hinge on the lid of the machine - not on the lid of the pot!

[topaz_eyes]

It sucks living in a right-handed world. But when 85-90% of the population is right-handed, there's no real corporate incentive to make left-handed items for the rest of us. Which would change if I were ever put in charge.

[conuly]

I’m not so sure that stat is accurate. Even if it is, 10% of the USA is a lot of people! It’s like deciding to leave all of 2 NYC metropolitan areas in the table, just say “nope, no New York”.

[topaz_eyes]

A 2020 meta-analysis seems to support that figure, depending on how "handedness" is defined. (https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/5gjac_v1) Though the study authors readily acknowledge the need for more research. Sure, 10% is a lot of people in the US, yet there's no corresponding general market for left-handed items. Speciality markets sure, but I can't recall seeing left-handed items for sale in mainstream stores like Walmart or Michaels. I've adapted, eg I hold most scissors upside down; I find left-handed scissors awkward to use. Plus I've gotten more proficient with my right hand as i've gotten older. (which i miss now lol, typing one-handed also sucks and that's using my dominant hand)

[conuly]

It's infuriating.

Though I do use lefty scissors and never will go back to righties. It hurts my hand to use right handed scissors for long.

[rebeccmeister]

Speaking as someone who works with insects, YES, cockroaches LOVE small countertop appliances that stay warm. They are a great place to hang out and leave egg cases. We've had them destroy expensive benchtop equipment in lab spaces. Almost all biology lab spaces have roach infestations, just inherently.

One more example to add to the list of obnoxious design decisions!

[conuly]

Just like all zoos have mice? Can't trap them, can't poison them, can't even blame them for wanting to live in a warm, safe spot with plenty of food.

[rebeccmeister]

Yup yup!!

[gatheringrivers]

I'm gonna sound really dumb for asking, but WHY do bio labs end up with roaches?

[rebeccmeister]

As conuly is somewhat alluding to - if you use any means of chemical control in Biology labs, you risk killing all the things that people are studying. And all it takes is that ONE colleague who does ONE experiment with cockroaches, and...

[gatheringrivers]

Ahhhhhhhh, ok, I forgot there might be experiements with roaches.

[conuly]

Quite a lot of them, if only because people want to find better ways to kill them. It's a losing battle, but my goodness, people do keep trying.

[maju]

As another left hander, things like that really bug me.

[conuly]

Nice phrasing!

[thewayne]

My right hand is half the grip strength of my left, and my right arm doesn't articulate as well. I definitely have problems with setups like that. Fortunately our coffee rig at the library doesn't require measuring beyond eyeballing to refill the tank.

[conuly]

Well, I can eyeball it too, but that's not the point!

[ioplokon]

Tbh even as a right-hander, I prefer to have the option. I probably use my left for pouring or kitchen stuff like... 30% of the time, just based on what is convenient.

[conuly]

Mmhm.

[ethelmay]

I misread the headline and thought, "Well, at least poor old Job can have a cup of coffee in between scraping himself with potsherds."

[conuly]

He deserves it.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

> They chose poorly

...just like in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!

[conuly]

They drink much coffee in that movie?

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Dunno. All I recall is the templar knight saying "You chose poorly" and then the guy's face melted off. ...which would probably be a bit of an extreme punishment for poorly designed coffee accoutrement, but if they genuinely ought to have known better, then who's to say.

[conuly]

Well, you don't fuck with people's coffee!

[ionelv]

CBC Ideas did an excellent feature on left handedness. I caught the end of it and I liked the bits about a left-handed surgeon’s residency experience and handedness in other species.

[conuly]

Thank you!