Halfway down this thread I was eager to tell people that if they have static problems they should put a little moisture in the air through the simple expedient of a teakettle on the stove, which they could even leave on overnight and it wouldn’t boil dry! Aren’t I clever! And totally devoid of any safety-oriented common sense! Come on, now, I have a perfectly good modern gas stove! The burners don’t go out!

Well, the burner did go out, sometime last night, and the house slowly filled up with gas. Mercifully, it was slowly since the burner was set to the lowest simmer setting and therefore wasn’t putting out much gas, but it was enough that I could smell it when I got up this morning. Now both my front and back doors are open, windows upstairs that provide a clear cross-channel through the house are open, and I’m wondering how long I have to wait before turning on the stove flame.

So if you’re like me and occasionally unable to process that something bad might happen even though you don’t think it will (and for anybody concerned, most of the time I foresee future problems and take all precautions up front; only occasionally do I have a brain leak this egregious), here’s a tip: Don’t leave a burner on all night even if you have a good stove. Eventually it will, har har, burn you.