The Exploding Hair Dryer

Sorry, this isn't a note, but trust me - it's worth reading. This should help you put things into further perspective after reading all of these notes. If there's one thing you've learned by visiting this site, it's that my Mom isn't too good at parting with things or throwing them out. She is very attached to her possessions (see Where Is My Brush? July 11, 2010 post) and is convinced that no new product could ever perform as good as the old one. She will use things until they fall apart, and even when they break she gives them to my Dad to fix! This mentality has been passed down through the generations, and even I have the gene. Some call it hoarding. Or maybe its just a refusal to accept the fact that she might have to take out her pocketbook and actually spend her money on something new when she has a "perfectly good one" at home.

Case in point -- The Exploding Hair Dryer. My Mom was the proud owner of an old brown Vidal Sassoon hairdryer since the early 1980's - you know the ones, with the metal coils that were taken off the shelves because they were catching fire and exploding. This was the 1500 model - if Vidal Sassoon is even still in business, they are probably up to the 5000 by now. Anyway, my Mom has been using this thing for the past 30 years and it is older than I am. It looks the first hair dryer ever invented:


It only has 3 settings: Hot, Warm, Cold and 2 "speeds" - High & Low:


When I asked my Mom why she still uses it and why she doesn't just buy a new one (after all, they have made some AMAZING enhancements to hair dryers since the 80's), she claimed: "Because mine works fine and has the perfect temperature." So, we put her to the test . . .

When my girlfriend and I stayed at the house a few weeks back, my girlfriend asked if she could use said hair dryer. After about 10 minutes of drying her hair, I heard her scream from the bathroom. Sparks flew out of the handle and the damn thing caught fire! The smell of burning hair hit the air. Luckily, my girlfriend escaped with no major burns. When we presented my mother with the charred evidence, she said: "You can't bend it - you have to hold it straight so the cord doesn't bend. Last time it went on fire your Dad had to replace the cord!" I couldn't believe my ears.

However, even after almost setting the house ablaze (twice) & nearly turning my girlfriend into a lump of charcoal, my Mom was holding onto this thing for dear life. She gave it to my Father to see what could be done. He took it down to his workshop & surveyed the damage:

This thing looks even less safe when you open it up! It looks like a science project I made in grade school with an old remote control car motor & some wires. Needless to say, the hair dryer was beyond repair. My Mother had no choice but to throw it away. It was a sad, sad day. But I like to think it had a good run -- over 30 years of drying hair and no fatalities.

Moral of the story: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" are NOT words to live by!