05-11-2019, 09:56 PM
15549
Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)
Whatever happened to hot water bottles? Has central heating done away with them? But then nobody leaves the heating on all night, do they?
Back in the 1950’s every house had at least two hot water bottles, although they weren’t really bottles they were rectangular rubber things, the real bottles were brown earthenware heavy things left over from the Victorian era.
Electric blankets never caught on in my area or with anyone I knew, couldn’t afford them, besides folks couldn’t bear the thought of being electrocuted in their beds, no matter how safe they said they were they still had to be plugged into a 250V. socket to work, there were no 24V. or 18V. adapters back then to reduce the voltage and 250Vs are lethal, and I remember reading about some of them catching fire and a few lucky escapes. So it was the old reliable rubber bottle every cold night.
They worked grand, except when they leaked or your older brother hugged it to his chest all night and then in the morning when the water in it got cold it always ended up on your chest and you just flung it out on the floor in disgust, you couldn’t do that with a ceramic bottle, maybe that’s why they changed to rubber.
I really don’t know who use either bottle or blanket these days because I’ve honestly never used any heating aids in bed since I got married, and I’ve never been in anyone else’s bed with them to find out, faithful gentleman that I am, but then the wife always said I was a hot thing, not only do I generate my own heat but she was also a beneficiary
.
Some shops still have the bottles and the blankets, I notice the blankets are powered by 70V now, the bottles are priced from €12 and the blankets from €15 upwards in Argos, €12 is a far cry from the two bob me mother paid for hers.
Anyway seems neither are safe according to these two quick clips I googled, good God what IS safe these days.
“Is an electric blanket bad for you?
First and foremost is because they are bad for your health. ... In addition to these health risks, electric blankets can also be dangerous for diabetics and others who may have decreased sensitivity to heat, leading to the possibility of dangerous and painful burns.. Jul 28, 2017”
“Are hot water bottles dangerous?
Every year, around 200 people are admitted to hospital with serious burns related to hot water bottles. These are not just superficial burns. Some burns can even require skin grafts and weeks of hospitalisation. ... Hot water bottles seem like such a harmless thing but the dangers are very real…Jul 8, 2015”
Best thing to do to keep warm in bed this Winter in my opinion is to get a warm partner, if that’s not possible then go to bed with your dog or cat, ah but then you might catch fleas, but like I said nothing is safe.