When I was young we had forced hot air heat. My grandmother always put pans of water on some of the heat ducts to help humidify the room. We also had a woodburning stove in the kitchen with a teakettle always on the back of the stove for the same reason. In the house we owned with steam radiators there was a container that hung on the back of the radiator that was meant to be filled with water for humidity. Given all that I would say your wife is correct. Ruth At 7:16 AM -0500 3/5/06, [log in to unmask] wrote: My wife says putting a 9" wide kettle on the radiator will noticeably humidify the room. I say (without thinking of the effort she went to to purchase this attractive, red enamel kettle with a basket weave top) that it's ridiculous (yes, guys, I really used that word - stupid, huh?) Of course, my wife is always right but ... who's right? Christopher -- Ruth Barton [log in to unmask] Dummerston, VT -- To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>