Somewhere on the internets recently I saw a tip for coffee drinkers: I’m not sure (or don’t remember) what the reasoning was, but supposedly if you filled the tank of your coffee maker with already-boiling water, the coffee would dispense more quickly and would be… better. I’m almost certain that last bit was part of the promise.

Long story short: this is an excellent tip for getting your cut-rate plastic Mr. Coffee to rev up with alarming, angry groans and gurgles and hemorrhage a full batch of coffee into the decanter in two minutes flat. Of course, the coffee will taste like stale cigarette butts steeped in tar, but if you’re short on time and have no tastebuds or sense of smell it works out all right.