Lazy People

Just seen an advert for a self-stirring mug in the paper. This is a mug, that stirs itself. I mean I can see how it would be quite handy and have it's purpose in life, but it just got me asking one simple question (which I'm not too proud to admit I find myself asking a little too often in life)- Why? Where does the line get drawn between a labour-saving device, and just sheer bloody bone-idleness? I fear that within this modern fast food culture where everything is becoming on demand and is all about making life easier for ourselves, we are getting to a stage where we are losing basic skills that have been so vital in the past: cooking, cleaning, washing up are but a few rudimentary arts that so many of us just don't really have to deal with so directly anymore. One of my friends the other night asked me if he could make some beans on toast for himself, and being the hugely generous chap I am I obliged. However, I will never forget the sheer look of bewilderment on his face when he realised that he would have to open the tin manually, and without the use of an electric tin opener. We all found it hilarious at the time watching him wrestle with my rather crap tin opener, but it does highlight the fact that we really take for granted a lot of the technology we have around us. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must've been for Captain Cook to find his way back to Hawaii all those times without his GPS tracking system; and how Heathcliff and Catherine managed to meet up without mobile phones is beyond me. I think it is important to remember how many luxuries we have around us these days, and we can function by doing things for ourselves if we really want to. . . there was civilisation before Facebook!