Hilarious immersion blender story and comment thread in the NYTimes. [View all]

[GoneOffShore]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/dining/immersion-blenders-can-be-a-danger-in-disguise.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&smid=tw-share&

OF the many primal noises to emanate from the modern kitchen — crackle, sizzle, “mmm” and so forth — “AAAGGGHHH!” is not one anybody wants to hear. But that’s what shattered the uneasy peace last July 4 at the white clapboard house my in-laws rent every year in Annisquam, Mass.

The sound was coming from my mouth. And the blood was seeping from my left index and middle fingers, which seconds earlier had been trying, with some absence of mind, to pry stiff clumps of butter intended for chocolate-chip cookies from the blades of an immersion blender. The countertop beneath looked like the set of Dan Aykroyd’s famous and gory Julia Child parody on “Saturday Night Live” in 1978.

“I’ll never play the viola again,” was the first thought to flash through my mind. (I haven’t touched the instrument in 20 years.)

Creaming butter? With an immersion blender? Really?

Okay.
I'll admit that I've used a mandolin without a guard and have the scars to prove it. I've also sliced my fingers with a knife or three. I've burnt myself with hot fat, hot water, hot pans, hot spoons and boiling sugar. I've burnt my cuts and cut my burns working in kitchens. I've even sliced the top of my finger open when trying to "bouquet" Champagne coups and broke one (that exploit entailed a visit to the emergency room and stitches - my bad).
But when I'm using appliances in the kitchen I use them for their intended purpose and unplug them when they clog or jam and when it's time to clean them.

5 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I've sliced myself on the mandolin because I didn't use the guard.
	2 (40%)
	I've cut a bagel in half and my palm at the same time.
	0 (0%)
	Once I lost a batch of pesto in a fight with the blender and a bamboo chopstick or similar.
	0 (0%)
	I always unplug my mixer/blender/immersion blender/Cuisinart when cleaning it.
	3 (60%)
	I've never done any of the above.
	0 (0%)
	I've done 1, 2, 3 plus other dumb stuff in the kitchen.
	0 (0%)
	I've done 1, 2, 3 and 4.
	0 (0%)
	These things don't happen to me because I only make reservations for dinner.
	0 (0%)
	Other.
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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