this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2025
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Asklemmy

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[โ€“] Hackworth@sh.itjust.works 99 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[โ€“] tisktisk@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago (3 children)

why do we do this? Is it an american thing?

[โ€“] hansolo@lemmy.today 13 points 1 day ago

Yes, from a general misunderstanding of how microwave ovens work, and what "radiation" was during the 1960s and 70s.

https://kitchenpearls.com/why-do-we-say-nuke-for-microwave/

[โ€“] drbluefall@toast.ooo 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think it's because microwaves use, well, microwave radiation

[โ€“] tisktisk@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

radiation exists in like everything to some small degree tho right?

[โ€“] Fermion@feddit.nl 7 points 1 day ago

The issue is the ambuguity in what someone intends when they just say radiation. It is valid to call any electromagnetic wave radiation. However, as for health concerns, what matters is "ionizing radiation." Microwaves are too low energy to be ionizing, so they don't match what most people think of when they say radiation with the implication of ionizing.

[โ€“] gruvn@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

Canadian here. I also "nuke it".

[โ€“] MxRemy@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago

That's what my house says too lol