My ridiculously expensive Breville toaster-oven began beeping at random last Thursday. The frequency of the beeping increased gradually until this morning, when it didn’t stop until I unplugged it. When I came back from church, I toted it downstairs to the basement.
A very, very long time ago — possibly in 1958 or ‘59 — my parents acquired our first toaster. I think Mum got it with Gold Bond stamps. It’s the flip-flop kind that must be tended, with no controls and no moving parts except the hinged doors. With its exposed heat source it was dangerous In a household with small children, but no one got hurt and the house did not burn down.