2. Methodology
The first part of the study examined domestic agents. In order
to try to standardise results, experiments were carried out in
one of the authors’ kitchen to simulate the environment
where scald injuries frequently occur. The ambient temperature
was maintained as close to 23 8C as possible and doorsand windows were closed to exclude a draft. Thermo-tech
digital cooking thermometers (Kitchen Craft1) were used
(Fig. 1). The thermometer was deliberately chosen as it can
reliably measure the temperature within the centre of the
liquid (see Section 4). The thermometers were tested to ensure
a constant reading of 100 8C in boiling water