How to Sell a Kettle(economist.com)
economist.com
How to Sell a Kettle
https://www.economist.com/business/2026/07/16/how-to-sell-a-kettle
8 comments
Incidentally I was reading the other day that in Europe kettles are much faster than USA ones (due to 240v domestic mains as opposed to 120v) and theres a small subculture of USA electricians fitting 240v supplies into their kitchen and then importing European kettles.
A lot of American kitchens have 20A sockets in them so you'd think that there'd be a market for kettles with 20A plugs that'd boil 33% faster than your standard 1500W kettle, but nobody will sell me one.
It's not even difficult; the power comes to our houses in NA and Japan and some other places /as/ 240v and ws just drop it down. Your stove/oven and (many but not all) dryers and heatpumps/central air systems likely are using them as we speak.
I've always been more than a little confused as to why we don't utilise this more and I know the answer but... I'd really like some instant hot water, y'know?
i mean i could... i technically own a house now but the two electricians i've spoken to thus far vehemently insisted it was impossible and then proceeded to get crabby at me when i provided evidence to the contrary and kept saying "ok but who wants that???" as if i had offended them and their ancestors.
Cultural. The reason is cultural and it's ridiculous. At this point I'm going to just do it myself and get someone to drop by and give my insurance company a thumbs up to assure them I'm not about to burn down the house I guess.
I've always been more than a little confused as to why we don't utilise this more and I know the answer but... I'd really like some instant hot water, y'know?
i mean i could... i technically own a house now but the two electricians i've spoken to thus far vehemently insisted it was impossible and then proceeded to get crabby at me when i provided evidence to the contrary and kept saying "ok but who wants that???" as if i had offended them and their ancestors.
Cultural. The reason is cultural and it's ridiculous. At this point I'm going to just do it myself and get someone to drop by and give my insurance company a thumbs up to assure them I'm not about to burn down the house I guess.
> The Ketgpt takes the kettle into the agentic era. At the front door and fancy a cup of tea? Just woken up and desperate for your first coffee? Get out your phone, fire up the Ketgpt app, enter your login details and tell your kettle to start boiling. That’s not all. You can ask your kettle how the boiling process is going in text or voice mode, and it will reply. It will even send a notification to your phone when the boiling process is complete. You set the task. The Ketgpt will take it from there, entirely autonomously. (Token costs not included.)
I have seen funded AI startups that made less sense.
I have seen funded AI startups that made less sense.
Th archive link isn't loading for me (work firewall), and I don't have access to the paywalled version, but are they suggesting that I must log in to the app every single time I want a cuppa? Cuz if so, that's a non-starter right off the bat! (And if so, I hope it's the satire that it sounds like.)
The whole article is satire, parodying the overwrought ad copy designed to sell a simple appliance (electric kettle) to different marketing segments.
I think Dualit targets about half of these market positions.
Step right up, get it while you can, it's one of a kind, beat the rush there's only two to a customer!
Non paywalled link
https://archive.md/VmVco
https://archive.md/VmVco
Oh cool - a bunch of generic marketing copy written by an AI and presented as an article. It's concerning that something this low quality has made it to the front page.
It's hilarious.
The Economist often has satire columns, mostly related to office or biz absurdities.
The Economist often has satire columns, mostly related to office or biz absurdities.
> Populist. If scalding hot water and the risk of a burn do not scare you, buy the Boiler. A kettle for real patriots. Not suitable for herbal teas and other woke beverages. Used by veterans, among others. Made in this country, except for some essential components.
Almost too on the nose
Almost too on the nose
I guess you have not seen: https://shop.fieldethos.com/products/the-everything-mug
It’s impressive, in a certain way
It’s impressive, in a certain way
Brands stopped mattering when companies started buying the exact same XPTLKO kettles you see on aliexpress and amazon and just slapped their own name on it; complete with app.
Just look at air conditioners or microwaves; there's like two companies that do them and yet there's another 500 of them that insist that theirs is "the one" even though they're identical and even use the same app under another name.
How to sell a kettle? How about you write an article about how to /make/ a kettle first.
Just look at air conditioners or microwaves; there's like two companies that do them and yet there's another 500 of them that insist that theirs is "the one" even though they're identical and even use the same app under another name.
How to sell a kettle? How about you write an article about how to /make/ a kettle first.