Originally published March 4, 2008, thehive.modbee.com  

From the files of  “tell me again why I need this:

Amana’s new Jot Fridge — 17.6 cubic feet of storage wrapped in a Dry Erase board.

I supposed the capacity is acceptable, though 17.6 cubic feet is starting to look skimpy now that the guys are downing almost a gallon of milk a weekend. And its suggested price — $549 – is the same as a non-white board model that’s less than a foot bigger.

Still, as I look at the guys’ marker-marred kiddy table and the pencil streaks down Little Guy’s door,  I wonder if any parents in their right minds would deliberately make the world’s largest temptation the centerpiece of their kitchen.

What’s even funnier than the notion that this is a good idea is the publicity photo Amana sent Bee homes writer Donna Birch – also the mother of two young boys. It shows a girl tall enough to reach the Jot Fridge top freezer scrawling “I will not write on the walls” repeatedly.

Folks, if they’re still a Picasso sans paper once they’re tall enough to reach the freezer, you have a problem that goes way beyond writing on walls, and  Jot Fridge is not going to solve it.

Donna’s reaction to Jot Fridge was about the same as mine: You’re trying to teach them to not write on anything but paper, so why would you want an appliance that it’s OK to write on? We’re talking about beings who say “no” when they mean “yes” half the time, and Amana expects them to understand, “refrigerator OK. Stove not.”

I’m bitter about whiteboards of late anyway. “Santa” bought the guys one for Christmas – a two-sided easel, chalk on one, magnetic Dry Erase on the other. I thought it was a brilliant gift – two sides, two kids, the perfectly solution. Plenty of magnetic letters to share. Two erasers, even!

I’m so stupid sometimes. Why was I even mildly shocked that both wanted to use the same side at the same time? At least they got plenty of mileage out of the letters – turns out they’re perfect for sticking to the sides of big metal dump trucks.

Two months later, the Dry Erase feuds have about run their course, largely because the markers have dried out. Seems they last about 3.6 seconds uncapped, and it’s too much to expect a person who can’t remember to go to the bathroom to remember to cap a marker.

Apparently the whiteboard fridge concept is nothing new. Officially, GE has sold models in Brazil for almost a year. Unofficially, at least one person commenting on a blog at thisoldhouse.com has been using a standard fridge as a Dry Erase board for years and says the markers clean off easily. Which will be good to know if I ever replace the guys’ Dry Erase markers.

As for Amana’s “innovation,” I think I’ll pass. Even if I were in the market, Jot Fridge still has a huge down side: No in-door water and ice. What fun is a fridge if the guys can’t flood the floor? 

Copyright 2008 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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