Even since the beginning of the modern era it was recognized that people needed all the help they could get when it came to procuring a caffeinated beverage. After all, the motor skills needed to make a pot of tea or coffee require some degree of coordination—best left to automation. Back in the day, they might have used an old-timey appliance such as this alarm clock tea maker contraption.
Like a Rube Goldberg machine, the tea maker progressed through a series of complex events to achieve a seemingly simple goal—except remember that this is the making of caffeine we’re talking about here; not quite so simple. At the appointed time, the alarm clock would trigger a match against sandpaper, lighting a solid fuel canister that heated the water. When the steam pressure built up, the kettle would tilt filling a conveniently-placed teapot under the spout. It even had its own version of an automatic shut-off as when the kettle lifted, a plate swung out over the lit fuel thereby extinguishing its flame. Somewhere in here there is probably a joke about an old-timey equivalent of a blinking 12:00 or an inability to “program†the contraption, but you see, I haven’t had my caffeine yet this morning.
(Via Daily Mail)