Homedics Infrared Ear and Forehead Thermometer
- Gives readings in literally one second
- Has an attachment for in-ear readings
- Very easy-to-read results
- Does it come in Georgia Red: only if you have a serious fever
Temp, Quickly
I know we’ve shared this tidbit from the medical thermometer Wikipedia entry before, but it’s hard not to think about it every time we sell one of these, so here it is again:
By the mid 19th century, the medical thermometer was still a foot long (30.28 cm) and took as long as twenty minutes to take an accurate temperature reading. Between 1866 and 1867, Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt (1836–1925) designed a medical thermometer that was much more portable, measuring only six inches long and taking only five minutes to record a patient’s temperature.
Now, compare that to what our product today promises:
Easy-to-read results in 1 second
In other words, you could take your temperature 250,000 times in as long as that old thermometer took to give you just one reading. No, don’t check that math. It’s correct. Or, at least, it feels correct.
But our question here is actually one we don’t see posed often: Is that a good thing?
Think about this experience from childhood: you wake up on a school day and you don’t feel right so you tell your parents. They touch your head (very warm) and say, “Okay, let’s take your temperature.” So they give you the thermometer and you put it under your tongue. And then, you wait. And wait. And wait. Only, the waiting was so exciting, so suspenseful! Sometimes, you could tell by how quickly the mercury rose or the digital reading ticked up that you had something. But then maybe it would lag a little bit at 98.9. Maybe it would slow down as it approached triple digits, and you’d think it was all for naught, that you’d have to go to school today after all, only to see it finally cross that line.
Kids these days? It’s point at the head or in the ear, press the button, give them the good or bad news. Don’t they deserve a little drama?
No. Because we’re talking body temperature here, not Netflix.
Anyway, get one of these if you don’t already have one.
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