thankfulness: for hot water heaters...

... probably not at the top of your list of current 'blessings'. But think about what your life would be like without? Can you even begin to imagine how much manual, physical labor you would have to put into getting the water to get your dishes clean enough to re-use? Pots and pans - even with the miracle of Dawn dish-detergent, without hot water to begin to loosen, melt, dissolve the gunk, you could not get rid of the stuck on food to be able to use the frying pan again. 

And what about washing clothes? Detergent, that I have a stockpile of several jugs in reserve, will only do so much.  With that handy, dandy appliance in your laundry room, you will eventually have to move the dial to change the setting to 'warm', if not all the way over to 'hot', to get some of the dirty out. What if you had to start a fire in the yard to heat up the water in a big black, three-legged pot? First you need wood, logs to burn when you start the fire. Then you have to round up the kindling to get it started. Oh, and what are you planning to use for the 'spark', to ignite your tender, and get it going before you can actually add the logs?

Now you need to put the water in the pot. You might even have to walk to the river or creek to get the water, and haul it back to the place you are starting your fire. Wait for the water to get hot. Put the clothing in, and stir it with a stick, hoping the dirt, grease, filth will magically dissolve in the water. Now you need more water to rinse with. So you have to trek back to the lake or stream with your bucket to get enough to rinse the dirt and grime out of the clothing, before you hang it up to dry. Are you dreaming about washers and dryers yet?

Now: after all that back-breaking work, you would like to take a bath. Or the modern, civilized equivalent: a hot shower. Can you see that instant hot water is something we take for granted, fail to be thankful for every day? Plus the gas or electricity to run the appliance, so it is always there, ready for use when all you have to do is turn the faucet on?  Amazing. Almost as remarkable as the Thermos! How Do It Know?