Cell Phone Turns On Stove

A Brooklyn man can't sleep at night knowing that the bizarre inter-gadget relationship between his Sony Erickson PDA and his Maytag Magic Chef stove might leave him burned. Last Monday Andrei Melnikov discovered that his cellphone was turning on his stove when he got a call in the kitchen. The phone had been on the kitchen counter when it rang, and as he answered it and walked away, he recalls hearing a faint beep. Minutes later, he smelled smoke, and discovered that some plastic cookware left in the oven was on fire. The incoming call had somehow turned the broiler on high, a phenomenon which Melnikov demonstrated for his landlord and 1010WINS. They believe this is the first time this has happened in the three years since Melnikov has owned the stove and the phone, but since neither device is talking, nobody really knows how long this hot affair's been going on. Melnikov and his girlfriend have put a stop to it by unplugging the oven, and they're afraid to plug it back in because of their pet chinchillas. Maytag is sending someone to "fix" the problem, but will the lonely old Maytag man really have the heart to stand in the way of such fiery passion?

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By John Del Signore in News on August 17, 2009 10:32 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

But every time he dials his Fleshlight, he gets put on hold...

silver

Waiting for SWAT team raid by FCC because his cellphone is blocking air traffic control radio channel.

molo

This is called RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). In this case, it is probably caused by a poor ground connection on the oven's electrical outlet.

Cell phones are basically low power radio transmitters. Certain types of devices are known to be susceptible to RFI, such as touch-sensitive light switches. This oven might have components like that. Having a bad ground connection would make such susceptibility worse.

-molo

JMH

"Melnikov and his girlfriend have put a stop to it by unplugging the oven, and they're afraid to plug it back in because of their pet chinchillas."

Because their pet chinchillas might sneak into the oven when they're not looking? Because their pet chinchillas might be receiving phone calls that will turn on the oven and melt the cookware? Because their pet chinchillas might be putting other flammable material into the oven? Inquiring minds want to know!

Snoopy

I hear Borden's is opening a cheese factory on the moon.

gothamistgal

So what I wanna know is who puts plastic cookware in their oven?

KiljoyWasHere

I am with you, gothamistgal. Them be some poor decision making skills.

laisla

No one here. He was simply using his oven as storage.

It's all about the storage. Some of us have tiny kitchens and store things wherever we can, gothamistgal.

doppelganger

Maximum Overdrive?

carbonbased

Sony Ericsson*

mrouge

I always wondered what the mysterious sensor on the cable box I had that said "for future use" next to it was. It is clearly a government conspiracy to spy on us with our own technology. Glad I am not paranoid for nothing. Obama, make me a TV dinner!