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“The microwave is a baffling contradiction: a universal, time-saving appliance that also seems trapped in time,” Jacob Sweet wrote this week. The appliance isn’t very user-friendly—consider the “Popcorn” setting that some microwave-popcorn instructions explicitly say not to use, as Sweet notes—yet it seems to never change.

“You can now easily find plenty of sleek and technologically advanced dynamic precision cookers, stand mixers, and coffee machines, among many other appliances,” Sweet writes. “But somehow, the microwave, a device used in nearly every American home, has responded with a resigned shrug.”

Today’s newsletter explores our appliances: those that feel stuck in time, those that time has been unkind to, and those that never need to change at all.

On Appliances

The Microwave Makes No Sense

By Jacob Sweet

Every kitchen appliance is getting smart—except one.

Too Many Americans Are Missing Out on the Best Kitchen Gadget

By Matteo Wong

The rice cooker has been perfect since 1955.

The Instant Pot Failed Because It Was a Good Product

By Amanda Mull

A one-hit wonder is never enough.

Still Curious?

Why people name their things: When we christen cars, instruments, and the other important possessions in our lives, we interact with them differently, Kathryn Hymes wrote last year. Kill your gas stove: It’s bad for you, and the environment. If you can afford to avoid it, you probably should, Sabrina Imbler wrote in 2020.

Other Diversions

Millennials have lost their grip on fashion. A period film from … 2021? Marriage isn’t hard work; it’s serious play.

P.S.

In 2014, my colleague Adrienne LaFrance explored why we humans name our machines—and introduced us to a generator nicknamed “Big Bertha.”

— Isabel