Have some money to throw away? Buy a....

BRUTALITY FACTOR: Medium

Any item you buy nowadays has a manufacturers warranty starting from about 2 seconds to a year. I never pay attention to those details, especially when I am buying something worth less than $50 bucks. All of the items last way beyond the warranty period except, for one. The rice cooker.

The rice cooker I bought seemed to have a 12 month warranty. It lasted less than half of that. The number of times I had used it, was even less. Every rice cooker has this problem. They never last for more than a couple of months.

The main advantage of using it is, it shuts off by itself when the rice is cooked. You know it stops working when it doesn't shut off. Mine had the exact same problem. That night I had black rice for dinner. The only consumers for rice cookers are Indians and Mexicans. Which means the whole state of California.

Compared to all the other products, the rice cooker is the least sophisticated. Its even more simple than a electric tooth brush. So, how hard is it to make a reliable rice cooker? All it has to do is heat for sometime and then, stop heating. Simple.

Now the warranty night mare starts. The store would not take responsibility since its past 30 days. The manufacturer wants a copy of the receipt. Now why would I hold on to a receipt of a bloody rice cooker? Why do they need it again? For proof of purchase, they say. Well, no one would buy a rice cooker from the grey market or, would be crazy enough to steal one. Even if they did, they wouldn't claim warranty on it. They would just steal another one. I think the companies look for a reason, to not replace them.

I have lost count on how many rice cookers I have bought in that past five years. Well, I can go back to the traditional way of cooking rice. On the stove, but I keep forgetting about the rice and burn it, like the rice cooker. The pressure cooker is a hassle. The microwave just makes too much noise. 

So there are only two options left. Either buy a rice cooker which will stop working tomorrow or just quit eating rice. I'll choose the latter.