Sample from an instant read thermometer article I wrote:
The routine is painfully similar. Your entire genealogy is settled on the porch, the resplendent sun gazes down in approval, the barbeque grill seems to be working in some miraculous turn of events. But even as you proceed, in a bout of fortuitous feeling, to remove the steak of honour from the grill and serve it to the eager diners, a distant aunt declares your meat to be 'undercooked'. In an attempt to save your dignity, you decide to start over, only for the grim judgement to be that the food is 'over-cooked'. The net result is that the steak is no longer at stake; and your family has been denied the promised summer grill.
Instant read thermometers have been bought and thrown. Digital thermometers have damaged the juiciness of the meat, some cooking thermometers have declared incorrect temperatures (resulting in heated domestic debates), your child has poked herself with their needles in an attempt to fiddle with them. Asides from these disasters include other issues in the actual maintenance of the deranged device; one particular barbecue thermometer has ceased to work in the face of steam and water - and to top it all, the stains left on them require the effort of a lifetime to get off. The assurances you received at the store about 'instant reading' have been found as deceptions - the probe takes at least five minutes of impatient waiting to pronounce its judgement - which is of questionable accuracy.