My neighbor thought she could save money by cooking beans on the radiator

Last winter I walked into my building's hallway and smelled something burnt. My neighbor had a slow cooker on top of the radiator in her apartment, trying to cook pinto beans with just hot water from the tap. She said her electric bill was too high and she saw a life hack online about using radiator heat. It took me 10 minutes to explain why that doesn't work and that she'd probably get salmonella. Has anyone else run into people trying to save a buck in the weirdest ways?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_morgan8122h ago

My uncle once tried to slow-cook a pot roast on the engine block of his truck during a 6-hour drive. He said it was "road-tender" but I'm pretty sure it was just hot and greasy.

ivangrant1d ago

Actually it kind of makes sense if you think about it. Radiators get pretty hot, not boiling hot but hot enough to warm food over a long time. And salmonella? That's from undercooked chicken or eggs, not beans. Pinto beans are pretty forgiving, you can eat them underdone and they just taste bad.