Person A and Person B are in a relationship and live together. Person A typically handles food preparation, while Person B normally picks up or orders food (if A can’t or doesn’t feel like cooking). A and B both like to eat pizza hot, and sometimes delivered pizza comes a bit colder than desired. For this B will often preheat the oven about 10 minutes before the delivery is expected. This way, they can both enjoy the first slices pretty warm, and then put the rest of the pizza into the oven to warm up.
Last night, Person B ordered pizza and then went to the oven to begin heating it to 375 degrees F. About 10 minutes later, A and B noticed a slight burning smell in the house. Since neither A or B put anything in the oven, they assumed that it was just some food that maybe dropped from an earlier use. A bit later the smell became more noticeable, and both proceeded to the oven. Upon opening the oven, they noticed an oven mitt that was baking in the warmed up oven. The stench was terrible, and they turned the oven off and pulled it out.
At that point, Person B assumed that Person A would accept responsibility for leaving something flammable in an oven, which just seemed dangerous. Meanwhile, Person A felt that Person B should have opened the oven door and checked first before turning it on.
The debate didn’t last long since they both stopped speaking to each other a short time after.
So, fellow Dopers, who is more at fault in this scenario? I can assure everyone that the results of this opinion poll will NOT lead to a dissolution of the relationship between A and B, so please be frank and open.
Both are at fault. Oven mitts shouldn’t be left in the oven, and people should check the oven before turning it on.
This is a multiple-failure scenario – a single failure wouldn’t have led to a burning oven mitt. Fix your process – the oven is off limits as storage for anything, and the oven must be checked prior to turning it on.
Person A is more at fault - why would you leave an oven mitt in the oven? I’m not known for putting things in their right place, but that’s bizarre even by my standards
Person A, for leaving an oven mitt in the oven. No one checks the oven before turning it on because nobody leaves things in the oven. (Aside from my shitty kids.)
This scenario could never happen in my house, since you can’t actually turn the oven on without opening the door (gas oven, crappy non-functional lighter). Anyone growing up in a similar environment would never have the opportunity to internalise “check oven” as an extra step of the cooking process - it just happens!
I’d be more concerned why A and B feel they need to place blame. We’re all human and we all make mistakes.
Sometimes shit just happens. And in the case of the OP, comically so. A and B should be laughing this off and accepting the fact that they both screwed up.
ETA: I keep my cast iron skillet in the oven, and I am CONSTANTLY forgetting to take it out before I turn the oven on.
Yes, always look inside when you turn things on but honestly Who Store Oven Mitts In An Oven?
Its like an old Scouting story about a wood burning stove in a cabin on a cold night.
One person got up in the middle of the night because they were cold and put more wood in the wood burning stove. Half asleep, they never noticed that another scout had put rubber gloves next to the flue & out of sight.
(Why those rubber gloves never melted or burned prior I have no idea)
The entire cabin wakes up and is evacuated 20 minutes later when the rubber from the gloves drips onto the top of the hot metal stove and starts to slow-burn into fumes.
After much finger pointing it was obvious both shared some blame, but personally I think more blame lies with the person who stored the gloves in the wrong place initially than the person half asleep and freezing who just shoved
a few more logs into a wood burning stove in the middle of the night.
Definitely Person A. Person B should have checked the oven, no doubt, but you never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever put anything flammable in the oven and leave it there. What kind of stinky retardo-butt does that anyway? That’s like, rule 1, up there with “no running with scissors”.
Person A should accept the blame. It’s unreasonable to expect person B to do a full safety check when they turn the oven on. B has turned the oven on 1000 times before with never having to open the door to check for flammable items inside. It would almost always be a waste of time to check the oven. I would also suspect that A never checks inside the oven when turning it on.
Alternatively, A wasn’t storing the mitt in the oven, but it was accidentally put in there (fell in, brain fart, etc). That’s why B needs to check- accidents happen. Sounds like this is not the first time B has used the oven and I’m assuming the mitt is not usually there, so I assume it was an accident. The person using the tool ultimately has responsibility that it is safe.
Just like you never point a gun at anything you do not intend to shoot, you never put anything in an oven that you do not intend to bake.
If you grow up in a household where nobody ever stores things in the oven, then it makes sense to turn the oven on without first checking it. On the other hand, even if you grow up in a household where everyone always checks the oven before turning it on, it makes no sense to store an oven mitt in the oven.
A was dumb, but B was the last person in the chain of events who could have prevented this problem. If not for B’s actions this wouldn’t have happened. Those who think A is more responsible will think differently if they back up a car without looking and hit someone and find out what happens to them in court.
That’s like, rule 1, up there with “no running with scissors”.