What Are The Numbers On A Toaster For

It s taken us this long to realise that the numbers on a toaster are in fact minutes and not levels of toastyness.

As demonstrated in this youtube video by tom scott the numbers on a toaster dial only correlated with minutes for one of the four toasters tested. In this toaster the dial controls how considerably energy goes by this swap. That would make sense. The number five for five minutes.

I have literally just discovered that the numbers on the toaster dial are for minutes and not how toasty the bread will be 12 08 am 29 jan 15 reply retweet favorite people tom scott had your. An internet rumor a year or two back suggested that the numbers directly related to the time a piece of bread was in the machine. That s because some toasters typically the more expensive brands operate on a timer mechanism whereas others the cheaper brands operate on a circuit that times based on heat. It s what is known as browning control and the obvious system is 1 barely toast while the highest variable setting will give you a lump of charcoal.

Instead they rely upon a metal strip that curves when heated and the numerical setting simply tells the toaster how. Which toaster do you have. As demonstrated in this youtube video by tom scott the numbers on a toaster dial only correlated with minutes for one of the four toasters tested.