# Where have all the liquid crystal thermometers gone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346 "2013-01-16T02:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346/21 "2013-01-17T02:07:35Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yes, common, even. I’ve been had! ☹ > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > They were always meant for things like fish tanks or snake aquariums etc. They were briefly marketed as a very cheap, seemingly ‘high-tech’ (because of its faux-digital readout) fever thermometer in places like the impulse-buy sections of drug stores. But as others have said they are useless for reading human body temp. They aren’t accurate to much more than five or ten degrees and a fever temp needs to be accurate to around half a degree to be of much use. > > [Here’s exactly what you need on Amazon,](http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Shower-Thermometer-Temperature-Display/dp/B004T34LW2) though it’s thirty dollars… Wow, they make something specifically for shower water? It’s a bit too expensive, though. I just wanted to measure the temperature for fun. I think for $30 I’d rather get one that can measure my fridge temperature as well… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346/22 "2013-01-17T03:56:03Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > ♪Long time passing♪ I wish I could “like”. This was exactly what I thought when I read the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![romusz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@romusz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romusz)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346/23 "2013-01-17T06:18:18Z")
Go to a pet store and youll find a wall of em in the fish/aquarium section. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346/24 "2013-01-17T09:49:39Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I wish I could “like”. This was exactly what I thought when I read the thread title. I’ll admit I was thinking of that song while writing that, but “liquid crystal thermometers” doesn’t quite fit the tune. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346/25 "2013-01-17T14:06:32Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > I’ll admit I was thinking of that song while writing that, but “liquid crystal thermometers” doesn’t quite fit the tune. Eh. Parodies don’t have to scan perfectly. And if you do it as [del]Lily von St-[/del] Marlene Dietrich… o/` Whew have aw de wiquid cwystaw thewmometews gone? Wong time passing... o/` ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346/26 "2013-01-17T17:52:17Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > That’s not accurate at all. Humans are good at sensing changes in temperature, but humans suck at measuring absolute temperature. That’s not necessarily the case. At a job I used to do, there were several tests that required the water temperature to be 25 ± 1 degree C. With my right index finger I could get it every time precisely to specification. I wouldn’t bother to use the thermometer until I had it right, and only used it to verify the temperature. Used to amaze the people I worked with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-have-all-the-liquid-crystal-thermometers-gone/647346.md?page=1)