“So,” begins a popular if now ancient (at least, in internet years) meme. “Apparently the numbers on the toaster are minutes? I’ve thought for years it was degree of toasty-ness.” The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

It’s immediately clear why the quip took off. It’s funny, sure – after all, what kind of measure is “toastiness” anyway? What scale would we even measure that on? – but it’s also kind of familiar. We hate to admit it so quickly after acknowledging the apparent absurdity of the whole “degrees of toastiness” concept, but whomst among us did not, deep down, assume the same thing?

Of course, nobody likes feeling stupid – so, for those disinclined to admit to their own folly, the obvious rejoinder is this: that “min

See Full Page