By William I. Lengeman III
If you’re like me – or the majority of the people on Earth – you probably don’t give a lot of thought to tea kettle whistles. All that really matters is that they work when the water starts to boil. Not so long ago, while writing an article for this site on the science of tea kettle whistles (yes, there is a science of tea kettle whistles), I got to wondering about the origins of this device. Was there a time when people using tea kettles had to make do without whistles, or did they always exist? And who was the first person to come up with this simple yet effective device?
Well, let’s see. It’s obvious that a trip to the patent office is called for...
