Posted: July 3rd, 2008 - 11:13pm by Doug Powell

After telling Misti Crane of The Columbus Dispatch that I feel naked without a thermometer – when cooking – she came back for more, and asked if I would ever take a thermometer to, say, a Fourth of July BBQ at someone else’s place.

Here's what Doug Powell does: He whips out the thermometer he's recently taken to carrying with him.

You might wonder how the food-safety expert finesses such a potentially awkward social situation.

"I go into it very academic, professor-ish like," he said.

"I try not to be a jerk."

… But nobody will eat a burger off his grill that hasn't been stabbed in the side with a tip-sensitive digital thermometer and is cooked to a minimum of 160 degrees.

I’ve taken thermometers while tailgating at Kansas State football games, I’ve stuck them in potpies, and I’ve converted at least one French professor into using a thermometer. I know it’s awkward to ask questions, or listen politely while someone gases on about how safe their food is cause it comes from some dude with a RR address, but really, I try not to be a jerk.

Below are two videos, one tailgating, and one on how to cook hamburgers.

Now, can someone explain the American fascination with fireworks and the desire for students – especially males – to  ignite the noisemakers every night, beginning July 1. What are they compensating for?

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