Teasmades

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Since no one wants to answer my Geoffrey Pearson question, I will ask about teasmades instead.

Have you ever owned one? I used to hanker after one when I was about 15 for some reason. Do they make nice tea? According to today's Standard, evil EU technocrats have just banned them for being dangerous. Will a black market develop?

I'm sure that in the pub last night Suzy told me her friend's (older) husband invented the teasmade, but the Standard article says they were patented in the 19th Century. Could Suzy be wrong?

― N., Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I may be misremembering what Suzy told me, in which case sorry.

― N., Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I see I wasn't . Warning to everyone: DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD SUZY SAYS.

― N., Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

she'll be telling us she invented gaydar next! sheesh

― chris, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

And I hear that's not even her real name.

― Graham, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Besides being an evil man, now we find out that N. is also a teasmaniac.

Can he sink any lower into depravity and madness?

― Nicole, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Surely, surely the word is Teasmaid - as in a maid that makes your tea (cf CoffeeMate). I could be completely wrong, after all it does make the tea, hence the tea is made - but I have always believed it to be the other. I shall do some research.

ANd not I do not hold the sole licence in the world to lie. I just do it oh so very well (King Rollo - heh heh).

― Pete, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, like we're gonna take the word of someone who shuns hot beverages on this one Pete. Maybe Teasmaid was a clever do-you-see pun for one particular brand?

― Emma, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hmm, that seems awful possible.

― Pete, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I wasn't lying! Jeez! The guy who invented the Teasmaid (or at least holds the initial patent for automatic tea brewing of this type) is Dr. John Wild, the 87-year-old dad of my friend Nellie, and is a former winner of the Japan Prize for Science for his work inventing medical ultrasound (he keeps a cathode ray oscillascope in the dining room and concentrated his ultrasonic work on detecting lumps in breasts). He's ACE. In the early '60s, when doing research at the University of Minnesota, the scientists working on cancer drugs ganged up on him and got his grant cancelled because his work would adversely affect the profit margins of pharmaceutical companies. He sued them and won enough money to get namechecked in the Guinness Book of World Records. So there.

― suzy, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I invented the Soup-Chum!

― mark s, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

of this type

Ah, so he invented a type of Teasmade. Fair enough..

― N., Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The first Goblin Teasmaid went on sale in 1937, though rudimentary (and unsafe) teasmaids were made by Jerry rigging Kettles, Meths and an alarm clock in 1902. Gizmo Highway.

― Pete, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well I invented the Biscuitcrony

― Graham, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Someone's been, ahem, sold a pup.

― Graham, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You'd need the UK patent office, G. He's an Engrish. Moved to the US in 1949.

― suzy, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The most detailed history of Teasmades (appears to be the prefered spelling to those less than safely obsessed): Teasmades mentalists ahoy

― Pete, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bah! As an EU technocrat, may I just point out that this is nothing to do with us. Although the precise diktat from Europe has been hard to pinpoint... Says it all really. "The Standard", my ass/arse! I see it also says Mrs Beckham's up the duff again btw.

― Jeff W, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Was an EU technocrat responsible for that as well?

― N., Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh I get it. It's like a coffee maker except it's all English stylee. Neato.

― Kim, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah but the point it it wakes you up in the morning with the cuppa all ready. Teasmade!

― N., Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Tea? In the MORNING? How very 1976.

― Fiery Scot, Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I always thought it was called a teasmade because that's what your mum shouts when it is. Not that my mother shouted 'teasmade' She rang a bell that could be heard for about a mile, a short time before tea was made, in order to give us time to get back from whichever ditch we were in. It's a funny life.

― alix, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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