the underwear drawer

living in a godless universe

The last time I was home post-call, I decided to nuke up some Chef Boyardee canned ravioli for brunch. (Oh, like you only eat the finest in organic produce all the time.) It had been a bad night, so I was pretty tired, and plus, I was juggling the kid, so that may explain why I stuck the bowl of ravioli in the microwave with the METAL FORK still sticking out of it, and without a moment of awareness, pushed "COOK."

Now we all know that putting metal in the microwave is strictly forbidden. I never knew what exactly is supposed to happen if you, for instance, tried to microwave tinfoil, but I assumed like everyone else that microwaving metal would probably cause the world to end, or at the very least, cause the microwave oven to explode. I mean, EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT. They might as well teach it in school, along with STRANGER = DANGER and CROSS ON THE GREEN, NOT IN BETWEEN. I just never actually tested this postulate, because, you know, who wants to cause the end of the world?

I didn't notice that I was microwaving the fork until a good minute into the cook cycle, when I walked by and saw that metal handle laaaaazily spinning around and around in the bubbling cauldron of ravioli. At which point, of course, I screeched, stopped the microwave, and removed the offending cutlery.

And you know what? Nothing happened. No sparks. No explosions. And this happened almost a week ago, so clearly, the world didn't end. The fork wasn't even really warm. I MICROWAVED METAL AND NOTHING HAPPENED.

I...I just don't know what to believe anymore.

Currently reading: "Brokeback Mountain," the short story on which the movie was obviously based. I can see how this was fairly easily adapted to the screen, though it's a pretty short story, even as short stories go--they probably had to pad it a little. It's a good read, though.