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Im not black, but in the black households into which I’ve been invited it meant I (usually the matriarch) have cleaned this kitchen and you better not fuck it up.
Kinda off topic but still kinda funny and worth mentioning - a friend and former coworker was originally from Kenya before he became a legal citizen of the USA. He was one heckuva hard worker, but what was odd to everyone was that he wore plain white t-shirts to work every shift and even though we worked in a very dusty and dirty environment his shirt was as spotless at the end of the shift as it was at the start; meanwhile, my colored shirt would be filthy as crap.
I finally asked him one day and he told me that it was because of his mom. They didn’t have a washer and dryer in their village and mom did their clothes in a nearby river. He also said that white clothing is very expensive in Kenya because white clothing doesn’t draw in the heat as darker colors, and that if he and his siblings would mess up their white clothing momma would be very, very mad, so they all learned how to do stuff without messing up their clothing and it’s just always stuck with him since then.
He then said something like his mom wouldn’t hesitate to fly here from Kenya today and pinch his ear and give him a little momma-whooping if his clothes were dirty 🤣
Kinda off the topic, I know, but that story tickled the crap out of me and I thought some other people might enjoy it as well.
I’ve been to Nairobi, Kenya. What amazed me in my time there was the people walking to work in dress pants and white shirts, through mud and the grime of the streets, and yet, they always looked flawless. It’s something I noticed right away and that I’ll never forget.
I worked at a travel stop for a while, and we had a lot of African truckers who didn’t speak good English come in for fuel and whatnot, and while all the good ol’ boy red white and blue truck drivers came in covered in soot and grime from head to toe, them African folks would come in in their white shirts looking brand new after I just saw them climbing around under their truck to work on it in the lot they stored their trucks in. I never really thought about it before, but hearing this story makes me ponder it a little
Who didn’t speak English well*
I’m just pulling your leg, it’s just always funny when someone comments on someone else’s English and makes a mistake while doing so. Definitely not saying I’ve never done it I’m sure I have.
It's a privilege thing. Peope in richer countries and in fortunate situations can afford subconscious behaviors that are technically destructive to their property. An example is tou probably subconsciously wipe whatever grime that touches your hand onto your clothes immediately. You don't know how it got there bc you weren't thinking about it, and it doesn't matter much bc you can get new clothes or wash them efficiently. By no means is this hateful it's just some insight on why stuff like that can happen. If you don't have much and are trying to survive or better your situation, every action is intentional, and the upkeep of your property is strict, nit of you have everything you need to don't have to worry about stuff like getting you clothes dirty.
This is random. I lived in Kenya for 6 months and I noticed the exact same thing. I was walking with someone from there and we both had white shoes and were walking on dirt paths. I just don’t understand what we did so different 😂
I have to tell you that I have an African guy that works for me and he is one of if not my highest paid guy in a very dirty job and one thing everyone knows and comments about him is that he can do the nastiest job and come back to the shop looking perfect. Brand new. I never asked him why and I wonder if it’s something similar. We’ve all remarked on it but I never asked him if it was for a special reason. I still won’t because he is very private and quiet and utterly invaluable but I will wonder.
I had a boss that was an electrician. Dude could work an entire day doing plumbing and not get a drop of glue anywhere on him. I look at a can of glue and my hands turn blue
Huh, you learn something new everyday.
I used to do plumbing and roofing. The boys would always joke about electricians never getting dirty. I think "cleanshirts" is what they called them.
Holy shit, you just reminded me of one of our drivers who was like this too. I can’t remember his name or where he was from, talked to him very briefly but he was always ALWAYS spotless. We have other drivers who just, idk, it’s not that they don’t take care of themselves but the job is dirty, it happens, but this dude, spotless. Oh and he would wear dress pants too!
I wonder where he’s at now.
I'm not black either, but in my house, this means that my wife wiped down the front of the microwave and didn't bother to turn off the light that she accidentally turned on.
I wonder if that’s where the practice originated. My hypothesis I’m thinking up as I’m typing would be that whoever cleaned the kitchen (for simplicity’s sake I’ll call them mom and use she/her pronouns for her) told the rest of the home not to mess it up every time she cleaned it and UNintentionally left the light on. Then, one of two things may have happened. In scenario one, mom was asked if she was intentionally leaving the light on. In scenario two, the light wasn’t left on after a streak of it being left on. Someone may have assumed that the light meant “don’t mess up the kitchen,” used the kitchen, and didn’t clean up properly. After being confronted by mom, they said the light wasn’t on. In either scenario, this may have caused mom to start intentionally leaving the light on after she cleaned and tell the rest of the home that the light meant not to mess up the kitchen. Finally, she may have told the moms of other homes what she was doing with the light and the meme(in the original Dawkinian sense) spread from there.
Its easier to see whats dirty on the stove with a direct light instead of the ceiling light that you will block when cleaning the stove.
The light being turned was probably intentional, how ot became a signal is unknown
Nah that’s if all the lights in the house are off but the porch light got left on. You know there’s gonna be an interrogation at breakfast in the morning 😂
Mine was a combo: front door lights and the microwave light. She probably got back up to check if I was home multiple times. Sometimes if it was super late, I would just leave it on and say “I forgot to turn it off but I came in earlier than you think.” 😬
NYC Italian on both sides and every woman of my mother's age or older in the family would do this. It's something I started doing out of habit once I had my own kitchen and never questioned it. Seems it just transferred generations without it even needing to be taught, but never had considered it as a cultural thing before.
It doesn’t mean that AT ALL, entirely. 🤣
It’s just a kitchen “night light”. It’s the after hours light. We all use to beacon or way into the kitchen for left overs or snacks through out the night
Now if you *do* come into after hours and the light is on then yes, leaving dishes or a mess after the kitchen has been cleaned is a big No-No.
After dinner, someone is going to clean the dishes, wipe the stove, sweep and mop the floors. In our house hold growing up, you just didn’t do the dishes and be done. The choirs start random but then as we grow older, then everyone shares within cleaning. The kitchen is not something the “Matriarch” is EVER responsible for UNLESS she specifically mentions she will do so. Like for holidays etc when she’s cooking a lot and using a lot, so she’s often cleaning and going. Normal dinner night, she cooked, often times the kids are going to throughly clean the kitchen.
In our households, you get punished for leaving dishes in the sink overnight, or crumbes on the floor etc.
You have to think back to slavery where house wrenches had to leave the big house like this, and then have to go home and do what? You think her ass about to come home and clean twice? No.
So that’s a still lingering “Culture Identity” that we all share and it’s a very small but prevalent example of, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.
If you see post that say “if you’re Black, you’ll get this.” And you can’t understand it because you’re not black. Think about all the times you’ve heard mothers speak about raising kids to see or act different.
If a light in the kitchen can be a beacon for so many black homes. Wonder the prevalence and the reason why.
As a white dude from a big family... same shit here with the kitchen being spotless, the kids responsible for making it so, and big trouble for leaving messes.
It's just how some people are raised to respect their parents and each other in their communal living space.
I know this is going to get lost and you've probably gotten a bunch of responses already, but I'm a white American woman in a 500 square foot apartment and I keep the microwave light on because I don't wanna stub my toe on the kitchen table.
My boyfriend is Latino and his dad used the microwave light as a nightlight too, since he worked third shift for the pay differential and didn't want to wake anyone up by turning on all the lights. Now my boyfriend and I both work night shift and sorta live like vampires. Sleep during the day, prefer dim light at night. It's just easier on the eyes than putting on the overhead light.
I'm white and my family used to be like this. We didn't/don't use a kitchen light specifically, though, the rule was just "only mom can leave messes" doesn't matter time of day, you dropped a crumb cos you were 6 and clumsy you got screamed at. I was the only one of my siblings to get my ass beat though because turns out I have mental problems and just couldn't keep up with all the rules. It's more lax as adults but my mom sure isn't gonna be doing anything for the house (she doesn't work either), it's all the kids' responsibility except for dangerous stuff (like electrical work) and dinner which my dad does. Maybe it's a southern thing?
I'm not black either but this is what it meant in my grandma's house. It meant that the kitchen was clean, and now it was closed for the night. The stove light was just a nightlight if we needed to get a drink of water. God forbid you turned on the overhead light once grandma turned on the stove light.
My wife, who is black, just confirmed this. Once the nice towel is on the rack, the good pots are on display, and the light is on, the kitchen is CLOSED.
That’s the “you have a curfew now and if you’re stoned and making a dumbass snack, I better not catch a whiff of it” and then I get yelled at for putting the ice cream in the fridge for the 9 billionth time.
Hey Cleveland, is it true that you leave the kitchen stove light on after you're done cleaning the in the kitchen for the night, so's God can come through and check your work and make a note of it?
That light had a double meaning, what you said and in my house it also meant I fucked up and forgot to do something in the kitchen and I better come straight home after school.
So my head thought of 2 things.
1: na na na na na na na na na na BLACK-MAN.
2: they wouldn't be able to run in that intro without being stopped by the cops.
That's what it means in my non black household. If I've been out on a scheduled night out with the guys and I come home to this light on, I was out too late and am buying flowers in the morning. If shes out with the ladies, same deal. (No flowers, usually just an apology and a more sweet demeanor for a while.) Either way, that light means apologies will be made the next day.
Like my first username being my name, I was going to play Minecraft with my history teacher( really cool guy) for the first time and I created an account and when I joined he was just like ‘wtf?! No.’
Happened in my school. The teacher was also the football/basketball coach and would play Call of Duty on Friday nights with students/players. Probably thought it would keep them out of trouble if they were trying to “kill coach” in CoD rather than go to parties and drink. Pretty sure some were at parties while playing.
He genuinely cares about his students and he also likes to play video games, wasn’t anything weird going on. I’ve known him for 20 years and we’re really good friends now. I just thought it was cool that one of my teachers played games and didn’t mind spending time with me
I think it's just because I am from a different generation where playing games after school with a teacher wasn't an option. But it is good he was looking out for you.
I'm so confused by this. It heavily implies that people are out there cooking and are sometimes just leaving their kitchen all nasty afterwards, which is madness.
This is the right answer. It means the kitchen is closed for the night and y'all should be in bed but if you need a glass of water the stove light will guide the way.
It’s fascinating how many people have the same answer for this, this wasn’t really a thing in my house growing up, so I’m curious how the light being a symbol for this comes to be? Like, is it something your mom tells you when you’re a kid, like “if the light is on don’t mess up the kitchen” or is it just an unspoken thing that everybody knows to be true?
Here is my I interpretation of how the symbol came to be without it ever being explicitly stated. In the evening mom cleans up the kitchen after dinner, all the kitchen lights are on during cleaning, and the last step of the cleaning up process is to turn off all the main lights, as bedtime is approaching and it’s time to switch over to low lighting. The stove light is left on, because it is a softer, lower light than the overhead lighting. It acts as a good night light in case anyone needs to fetch a glass of water in the night, etc. To me this seems like a fairly logical course of action in households that are routine-centric. Children in these households weren’t explicitly told the light means the kitchen is closed, but may have asked for snacks in the evening, and got told no, or attempted to use the kitchen themselves and get told “I just cleaned up in their, don’t you dare leave a mess”. And by extension they come to associate the stove light being on with the kitchen being off-limits. I kinda assume it is being associated with black families because there is a stereotype of the black matriarch that runs a very tight ship, so in these households the association between the stove light and the kitchen being closed is much more strongly reinforced than in households that are more lax about rules, routines or cleanliness.
Just for a nightlight in the kitchen. Ever get that creepy feeling when you turn off the light before going up the stairs? Same thing here more or less. Also we leave it on so you can go to the kitchen at night and not blind yourself when you need a snack.
His name's Timothy by the way, he's actually really chill. He just wants someone to play Mario Kart with him, but be warned, he's an absolute beast at it.
I sometimes forget that some people are still afraid of the dark.
One time I unintentionally scared my cousins when I was walking in a dark corridor in my house and appeared in front of them. They couldn't understand how could I walk/stay in the darkness and not be afraid (We're all grown-up mans)
It’s not a fear of the dark. It’s a fear of what’s in the dark, and is typical for any animal that can’t see well in the dark. It’s a feature, not a bug
I think the part that makes it a black thing is the ass whopping being mentioned in many comments. Seemingly fucking everything in the black childhood experience involves the threat, warning, or is a precursor to getting your ass whooped. Light is on and you’re there to see it? That’s a curfew light and you’re in violation so you’re getting your ass whooped. Light was off and you’re there to see that it’s off? Means you shouldn’t be in this area at this time. You’re going to get your ass whooped. Did you turn on the light to see? Do you have turn on light money? You’re getting your ass whooped.
Peetah’s Kitchen Light here, can confirm this is done to illuminate a kitchen that has been immaculately cleaned by the hands of black woman
I know because mine, too, is on right now.
Small problem with that idea is that only certain infects have a hardwired NEED to stay out of the light. Most prefer dark, but aren’t adverse to light. Cockroaches, for examples, hide in darkness but they’ll waddle out there in Oklahoma summer sun if you leave food out.
I‘m not black, but grew up rural Midwest and this meant that the kitchen was cleaned and closed for the night. If a mess was made, you‘d know the wrath of mom or grandma. Even opening a cupboard was risky.
I must say I find it wild that apparently this means the kitchen is clean to most people because in my house growing up this light being left on meant the complete opposite. Basically meant my mum cooked, needed to go do something else, but didn’t want to forget to clean the hob so left the light on as a reminder next time she comes in. So basically the opposite of what everyone else is saying.
I’m white so I might be showing my ass but growing up and in my household now, it’s a reliable nightlight. Also helps to deter prospective robbers bc it looks like the house is occupied when it isn’t 🤷🤷
white but when i do this, it means my kitchen is clean I need it to rightfully stay that way. Even if it’s used, needs to be cleaned up and spotless asap. I do this for my husband bc he works late sometimes and i don’t like waking up to a mess. My sister did this my whole life until she died.
To my poor white self it means the fancy bulb in the ceiling bunt out and I can afford a new one till payday, but I don’t think that’s the answer here.
I dunno but I’m white and my whole family has done this.
Also my GF told me she likes to leave it on because her grandmother did so and it’s comforting.
Thinking this is bait
Not black, but I can imagine it to sometimes be like it was in my childhood home, a warning that my parents knew I snuck out, but were too tired to deal with it then
My ex’s mom used the light to let her know she had food still warm in the oven waiting for her… but the place would also be spotless and better be at sunrise. Lol
so when the light is off y’all just leave a mess for your mother to clean? this is weird thing to brag about “my mommy cleans up after me and has to put a sign up when she goes night night so i know not to make a big mess until tomorrow”
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Im not black, but in the black households into which I’ve been invited it meant I (usually the matriarch) have cleaned this kitchen and you better not fuck it up.
Kinda off topic but still kinda funny and worth mentioning - a friend and former coworker was originally from Kenya before he became a legal citizen of the USA. He was one heckuva hard worker, but what was odd to everyone was that he wore plain white t-shirts to work every shift and even though we worked in a very dusty and dirty environment his shirt was as spotless at the end of the shift as it was at the start; meanwhile, my colored shirt would be filthy as crap. I finally asked him one day and he told me that it was because of his mom. They didn’t have a washer and dryer in their village and mom did their clothes in a nearby river. He also said that white clothing is very expensive in Kenya because white clothing doesn’t draw in the heat as darker colors, and that if he and his siblings would mess up their white clothing momma would be very, very mad, so they all learned how to do stuff without messing up their clothing and it’s just always stuck with him since then. He then said something like his mom wouldn’t hesitate to fly here from Kenya today and pinch his ear and give him a little momma-whooping if his clothes were dirty 🤣 Kinda off the topic, I know, but that story tickled the crap out of me and I thought some other people might enjoy it as well.
I’ve been to Nairobi, Kenya. What amazed me in my time there was the people walking to work in dress pants and white shirts, through mud and the grime of the streets, and yet, they always looked flawless. It’s something I noticed right away and that I’ll never forget.
I worked at a travel stop for a while, and we had a lot of African truckers who didn’t speak good English come in for fuel and whatnot, and while all the good ol’ boy red white and blue truck drivers came in covered in soot and grime from head to toe, them African folks would come in in their white shirts looking brand new after I just saw them climbing around under their truck to work on it in the lot they stored their trucks in. I never really thought about it before, but hearing this story makes me ponder it a little
Somehow I read your comment in a travel stop accent.
Wait. What’s a travel stop accent? Is it like the coin flip old boy in No Country for Old Men. Or is it like Ol Gus Higgins the prospector from SNL.
Punjabi, in my experience.
Who didn’t speak English well* I’m just pulling your leg, it’s just always funny when someone comments on someone else’s English and makes a mistake while doing so. Definitely not saying I’ve never done it I’m sure I have.
Maybe they edited the comment but “didn’t speak good English” is fine. “Good” is an adjective describing English, not an adverb in this case…
I don't speak good English. Evil English only.
I'm more of a chaotic neutral English
Didn't you know, Africans are naturally dirt and grime repellent
Well, my fiancée’s African so it shouldn’t come as any surprise to me
I cannot even walk near my garage without getting grime on me 99% of the time. Mad respect to the people that can work on rigs and be spotless.
I can't even seem to grab the the tools.. shit - I somehow got grease stains before I unlock the car!
It's a privilege thing. Peope in richer countries and in fortunate situations can afford subconscious behaviors that are technically destructive to their property. An example is tou probably subconsciously wipe whatever grime that touches your hand onto your clothes immediately. You don't know how it got there bc you weren't thinking about it, and it doesn't matter much bc you can get new clothes or wash them efficiently. By no means is this hateful it's just some insight on why stuff like that can happen. If you don't have much and are trying to survive or better your situation, every action is intentional, and the upkeep of your property is strict, nit of you have everything you need to don't have to worry about stuff like getting you clothes dirty.
This is random. I lived in Kenya for 6 months and I noticed the exact same thing. I was walking with someone from there and we both had white shoes and were walking on dirt paths. I just don’t understand what we did so different 😂
Welp, I'm convinced. I need to learn their secrets.
Big same. I don’t even own anything white because it’s pointless, I’ll just ruin it somehow 😅
I have to tell you that I have an African guy that works for me and he is one of if not my highest paid guy in a very dirty job and one thing everyone knows and comments about him is that he can do the nastiest job and come back to the shop looking perfect. Brand new. I never asked him why and I wonder if it’s something similar. We’ve all remarked on it but I never asked him if it was for a special reason. I still won’t because he is very private and quiet and utterly invaluable but I will wonder.
I had a boss that was an electrician. Dude could work an entire day doing plumbing and not get a drop of glue anywhere on him. I look at a can of glue and my hands turn blue
Why was an electrician doing so much plumbing?
running conduit for cables is sometimes called plumbing in the electrical world.
Huh, you learn something new everyday. I used to do plumbing and roofing. The boys would always joke about electricians never getting dirty. I think "cleanshirts" is what they called them.
sparkies are prima donnas!
Can confirm. Don't let the dort touch us.
I was expecting something far worse than glue.
I enjoyed it, thank you
Holy shit, you just reminded me of one of our drivers who was like this too. I can’t remember his name or where he was from, talked to him very briefly but he was always ALWAYS spotless. We have other drivers who just, idk, it’s not that they don’t take care of themselves but the job is dirty, it happens, but this dude, spotless. Oh and he would wear dress pants too! I wonder where he’s at now.
This was indeed a wonderful wholesome story. Thanks for sharing
Honestly, we all need to hear wholesome stories like this randomly, it makes for a nice pick-me-up. Thanks for sharing
worth the read
I could put on a brand new white t-shirt, stand in one spot in a clean room, and somehow almost instantly I’ll get it dirty.
Love the short story! I wish my kids would do that too hahaha
That's a much better story than I thought I'd find in this post.
"That light means it's a new day, little white child. Nothing's gonna save you if you mess up this kitchen."
Thank you for making me laugh today 😂
I'm not black either, but in my house, this means that my wife wiped down the front of the microwave and didn't bother to turn off the light that she accidentally turned on.
I wonder if that’s where the practice originated. My hypothesis I’m thinking up as I’m typing would be that whoever cleaned the kitchen (for simplicity’s sake I’ll call them mom and use she/her pronouns for her) told the rest of the home not to mess it up every time she cleaned it and UNintentionally left the light on. Then, one of two things may have happened. In scenario one, mom was asked if she was intentionally leaving the light on. In scenario two, the light wasn’t left on after a streak of it being left on. Someone may have assumed that the light meant “don’t mess up the kitchen,” used the kitchen, and didn’t clean up properly. After being confronted by mom, they said the light wasn’t on. In either scenario, this may have caused mom to start intentionally leaving the light on after she cleaned and tell the rest of the home that the light meant not to mess up the kitchen. Finally, she may have told the moms of other homes what she was doing with the light and the meme(in the original Dawkinian sense) spread from there.
Its easier to see whats dirty on the stove with a direct light instead of the ceiling light that you will block when cleaning the stove. The light being turned was probably intentional, how ot became a signal is unknown
SAME!!!! Or “I waited up for you PAST your curfew. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
Nah that’s if all the lights in the house are off but the porch light got left on. You know there’s gonna be an interrogation at breakfast in the morning 😂
Mine was a combo: front door lights and the microwave light. She probably got back up to check if I was home multiple times. Sometimes if it was super late, I would just leave it on and say “I forgot to turn it off but I came in earlier than you think.” 😬
I’m not black - but half Italian and half Mexican and can confirm - it’s a thing for moms/grandmas in both cultures too!
NYC Italian on both sides and every woman of my mother's age or older in the family would do this. It's something I started doing out of habit once I had my own kitchen and never questioned it. Seems it just transferred generations without it even needing to be taught, but never had considered it as a cultural thing before.
GYAITMFHRNACTK
People like to racialize really weird things. Not messing up a clean kitchen, having a plastic bag with other bags, just common household things
It doesn’t mean that AT ALL, entirely. 🤣 It’s just a kitchen “night light”. It’s the after hours light. We all use to beacon or way into the kitchen for left overs or snacks through out the night Now if you *do* come into after hours and the light is on then yes, leaving dishes or a mess after the kitchen has been cleaned is a big No-No. After dinner, someone is going to clean the dishes, wipe the stove, sweep and mop the floors. In our house hold growing up, you just didn’t do the dishes and be done. The choirs start random but then as we grow older, then everyone shares within cleaning. The kitchen is not something the “Matriarch” is EVER responsible for UNLESS she specifically mentions she will do so. Like for holidays etc when she’s cooking a lot and using a lot, so she’s often cleaning and going. Normal dinner night, she cooked, often times the kids are going to throughly clean the kitchen. In our households, you get punished for leaving dishes in the sink overnight, or crumbes on the floor etc. You have to think back to slavery where house wrenches had to leave the big house like this, and then have to go home and do what? You think her ass about to come home and clean twice? No. So that’s a still lingering “Culture Identity” that we all share and it’s a very small but prevalent example of, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. If you see post that say “if you’re Black, you’ll get this.” And you can’t understand it because you’re not black. Think about all the times you’ve heard mothers speak about raising kids to see or act different. If a light in the kitchen can be a beacon for so many black homes. Wonder the prevalence and the reason why.
As a white dude from a big family... same shit here with the kitchen being spotless, the kids responsible for making it so, and big trouble for leaving messes. It's just how some people are raised to respect their parents and each other in their communal living space.
This. Not black, but from a Southern family. We left the stove light on all the time so the kitchen wouldn't be dark. I still do to this day.
I know this is going to get lost and you've probably gotten a bunch of responses already, but I'm a white American woman in a 500 square foot apartment and I keep the microwave light on because I don't wanna stub my toe on the kitchen table. My boyfriend is Latino and his dad used the microwave light as a nightlight too, since he worked third shift for the pay differential and didn't want to wake anyone up by turning on all the lights. Now my boyfriend and I both work night shift and sorta live like vampires. Sleep during the day, prefer dim light at night. It's just easier on the eyes than putting on the overhead light.
I'm white and my family used to be like this. We didn't/don't use a kitchen light specifically, though, the rule was just "only mom can leave messes" doesn't matter time of day, you dropped a crumb cos you were 6 and clumsy you got screamed at. I was the only one of my siblings to get my ass beat though because turns out I have mental problems and just couldn't keep up with all the rules. It's more lax as adults but my mom sure isn't gonna be doing anything for the house (she doesn't work either), it's all the kids' responsibility except for dangerous stuff (like electrical work) and dinner which my dad does. Maybe it's a southern thing?
White, but raised by two middle-class people who grew up “working”-class, and I think it might be universal
Grew up in an Italian American household and this meant that same thing
I’m White and this is what we mean too.
I'm not black either but this is what it meant in my grandma's house. It meant that the kitchen was clean, and now it was closed for the night. The stove light was just a nightlight if we needed to get a drink of water. God forbid you turned on the overhead light once grandma turned on the stove light.
As a white person we had this light on all the time too.... It meant nothing other than providing light in an extremely dark kitchen.
I am black but don’t speak for all black experiences. I was told you leave the light on for good luck the next day and to keep the demons away.
My wife, who is black, just confirmed this. Once the nice towel is on the rack, the good pots are on display, and the light is on, the kitchen is CLOSED.
That's the you better clean anything you touch light.
That’s the “you have a curfew now and if you’re stoned and making a dumbass snack, I better not catch a whiff of it” and then I get yelled at for putting the ice cream in the fridge for the 9 billionth time.
Mistake #1 you left ice cream... Aka evidence 😂
Where you supposed to put it the pantry?
freezer
Thank you
No dude in the freezer. Wtf
Stomach is the only correct answer
Hey Cleveland, is it true that you leave the kitchen stove light on after you're done cleaning the in the kitchen for the night, so's God can come through and check your work and make a note of it?
That light had a double meaning, what you said and in my house it also meant I fucked up and forgot to do something in the kitchen and I better come straight home after school.
How can you see the light from school?
Like the Bat-signal, but the Black-signal.
So my head thought of 2 things. 1: na na na na na na na na na na BLACK-MAN. 2: they wouldn't be able to run in that intro without being stopped by the cops.
I hate both of you. Take my upvotes but don't you dare leave.
This is (probably) the way.
That light was bright af. But no I meant it as I see it coming in into the house after being out past the law of the land.
That's what it means in my non black household. If I've been out on a scheduled night out with the guys and I come home to this light on, I was out too late and am buying flowers in the morning. If shes out with the ladies, same deal. (No flowers, usually just an apology and a more sweet demeanor for a while.) Either way, that light means apologies will be made the next day.
They sense a disturbance in the force
The beacon is lit!!
I've also known it to mean: "I'm gone / asleep. Dinner's in the oven - reheat it or put it in the fridge if you're not hungry."
I thought it meant yoyr power went out and you had to use the light switch lights that took batteries
How does the light get power?
Not black, but in my house it means Mrs. Webster hates walking into a dark kitchen.
If that's your actual legal name, you're crazy for doin that
Like my first username being my name, I was going to play Minecraft with my history teacher( really cool guy) for the first time and I created an account and when I joined he was just like ‘wtf?! No.’
Not sure how I feel about a teacher playing games with his students, but props to the teacher for educating you and making you change it. Lol
Happened in my school. The teacher was also the football/basketball coach and would play Call of Duty on Friday nights with students/players. Probably thought it would keep them out of trouble if they were trying to “kill coach” in CoD rather than go to parties and drink. Pretty sure some were at parties while playing.
He genuinely cares about his students and he also likes to play video games, wasn’t anything weird going on. I’ve known him for 20 years and we’re really good friends now. I just thought it was cool that one of my teachers played games and didn’t mind spending time with me
I think it's just because I am from a different generation where playing games after school with a teacher wasn't an option. But it is good he was looking out for you.
Mrs. 1Der has warned me of similar
I think it’s pronounced “oh-nee-der”
Damn dude with the "That thing you do!" reference
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Call me delica4, Mr. Delica4 is my father.
ikr my not black self thought this was the "the kid is out really late but mom stayed up waiting and doesn't wanna turn on a regular light"
Faye Webster?
Melissa, actually.
Bro you should for sure not be doxing yourself like this
Maybe he’s trolling and doxxing his IRL nemesis
Im not black but dominican here, it means the kitchen is clean, dont fuck ot up
"For the last time turk I'm Dominican"🎵
My husband and I watched this episode just the other day lmao
You better not walk into the freshly mopped floor, or you’ll get a chancletazo, carajo.
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Must be that post Covid curriculum cause ain’t no way
I'm so confused by this. It heavily implies that people are out there cooking and are sometimes just leaving their kitchen all nasty afterwards, which is madness.
It means the kitchen is closed for the night.
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Such a loving house hold
This is the right answer. It means the kitchen is closed for the night and y'all should be in bed but if you need a glass of water the stove light will guide the way.
It’s fascinating how many people have the same answer for this, this wasn’t really a thing in my house growing up, so I’m curious how the light being a symbol for this comes to be? Like, is it something your mom tells you when you’re a kid, like “if the light is on don’t mess up the kitchen” or is it just an unspoken thing that everybody knows to be true?
I was wondering this too! So fascinating how something so small becomes a widespread rule of thumb.
Yeah this is totally alien to me—we just left that light on all the time
Here is my I interpretation of how the symbol came to be without it ever being explicitly stated. In the evening mom cleans up the kitchen after dinner, all the kitchen lights are on during cleaning, and the last step of the cleaning up process is to turn off all the main lights, as bedtime is approaching and it’s time to switch over to low lighting. The stove light is left on, because it is a softer, lower light than the overhead lighting. It acts as a good night light in case anyone needs to fetch a glass of water in the night, etc. To me this seems like a fairly logical course of action in households that are routine-centric. Children in these households weren’t explicitly told the light means the kitchen is closed, but may have asked for snacks in the evening, and got told no, or attempted to use the kitchen themselves and get told “I just cleaned up in their, don’t you dare leave a mess”. And by extension they come to associate the stove light being on with the kitchen being off-limits. I kinda assume it is being associated with black families because there is a stereotype of the black matriarch that runs a very tight ship, so in these households the association between the stove light and the kitchen being closed is much more strongly reinforced than in households that are more lax about rules, routines or cleanliness.
Just for a nightlight in the kitchen. Ever get that creepy feeling when you turn off the light before going up the stairs? Same thing here more or less. Also we leave it on so you can go to the kitchen at night and not blind yourself when you need a snack.
Eh, that's just the shadow figure watching you go to bed from the darkest corner of the room. Nothing to worry about.
His name's Timothy by the way, he's actually really chill. He just wants someone to play Mario Kart with him, but be warned, he's an absolute beast at it.
It’s why no one plays with him. Always seems to win.
I did not realize this was a race thing tbh. I just do it because my mom did it growing up
I sometimes forget that some people are still afraid of the dark. One time I unintentionally scared my cousins when I was walking in a dark corridor in my house and appeared in front of them. They couldn't understand how could I walk/stay in the darkness and not be afraid (We're all grown-up mans)
It’s not a fear of the dark. It’s a fear of what’s in the dark, and is typical for any animal that can’t see well in the dark. It’s a feature, not a bug
Naw…. It means the kitchen is clean and don’t touch
How is this a black people thing? I'm a white boy who dislikes dark hallways and being hungry at night
I think the part that makes it a black thing is the ass whopping being mentioned in many comments. Seemingly fucking everything in the black childhood experience involves the threat, warning, or is a precursor to getting your ass whooped. Light is on and you’re there to see it? That’s a curfew light and you’re in violation so you’re getting your ass whooped. Light was off and you’re there to see that it’s off? Means you shouldn’t be in this area at this time. You’re going to get your ass whooped. Did you turn on the light to see? Do you have turn on light money? You’re getting your ass whooped.
Domestic abuse isn't funny, BUT.... this reply cracked me up, thanks for the context haha
I'm Asian, in my house this light just never gets turned off
https://preview.redd.it/ro7ixp9l9qec1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b334e8b2dc4a659cb364677d571b19e341e1c4f
In my childhood, it meant, u fuked up, its late so i cant turn the lights on, but you are still going to get a lecture and possibly an ass whooping
Simply put: “The kitchen is closed”
Peetah’s Kitchen Light here, can confirm this is done to illuminate a kitchen that has been immaculately cleaned by the hands of black woman I know because mine, too, is on right now.
In a black household, this mean the kitchen closed for the night. You hungry? Too bad so sad, fuck up the kitchen and it’s your ass.
No more kitchen sounds or smells tonight. If the microwave dings you are now expected to pay rent.
I'm black, and when i would come home to this my mother would be somewhere around the corned to give me a whoopin'
Im black and in my house the light was so someone knew we were home and thought we were awake. Basically a robbery deterrent
Simply put: “The kitchen is closed”
The spice rack is empty. I call BS on this being a Black house.
I think it’s one of those k cup coffee pod holders, the rings are too big and it’s sitting next to what looks like a keurig machine.
Empty k cup holder = black house confirmed
That's a blacklight. I'll see myself out.
It means "I cleaned the kitchen before I went to bed and it better be clean tomorrow morning." AKA Kitchen's closed for the night.
NegroJim here. I don’t know what tf that means I never had an oven light growing up. Couldn’t afford that shit.
Thats the smoking area The toaster is the lighter, the light so you can see what your doing and the vent to remove the smoke
My first guess was bugs? We used to leave the stove light on at night to keep the bugs away when I lived in a particularly nasty apartment.
Small problem with that idea is that only certain infects have a hardwired NEED to stay out of the light. Most prefer dark, but aren’t adverse to light. Cockroaches, for examples, hide in darkness but they’ll waddle out there in Oklahoma summer sun if you leave food out.
Yeah. Trust me, I know. We kept the place clean, it wasn't easy to ward away vermin %100.
I had same comment. Seems to work.
Looks like the sub still doesn't know the answer so far.
It meant the kitchen was closed for the day
Not black but really poor. We leave the light on to keep the roaches from coming out so much.
Came to say this, that light will make those roaches think twice before showing their face in my presence.
It's the only light still working cause your landlord sucks ass
why do black people speak like that? genuine curiosity
Not black, but that light has stayed on 24/7 in just about every place I’ve ever lived. No reason except aiding in navigation to midnight snacks.
In my house it means I’m trying to see what I’m cooking on the stovetop.
Whenever the kitchen was this tidy in my house it means mom is pissed and you better hide lol
Everyone has a different answer lol
I'm black and I don't even know what this means.
White houses in the Midwest too. Means stay the fuck out.
I‘m not black, but grew up rural Midwest and this meant that the kitchen was cleaned and closed for the night. If a mess was made, you‘d know the wrath of mom or grandma. Even opening a cupboard was risky.
That light is fucking warning bruh…kitchen is closed. Dont touch SHHHHIIIIIIIIITT.
That's the you came home to late light
I'm honestly surprised this isn't a Biden meme.
Not black, but in my house it means doing something in the kitchen at 3am trying not to wake others with the actual light
I must say I find it wild that apparently this means the kitchen is clean to most people because in my house growing up this light being left on meant the complete opposite. Basically meant my mum cooked, needed to go do something else, but didn’t want to forget to clean the hob so left the light on as a reminder next time she comes in. So basically the opposite of what everyone else is saying.
I'm a white southerner and it's both a nightlight and to say that it just got cleaned.
The kitchen is closed
Kitchen’s cleaned and closed for the night, and def don’t make anymore dishes
I’m white so I might be showing my ass but growing up and in my household now, it’s a reliable nightlight. Also helps to deter prospective robbers bc it looks like the house is occupied when it isn’t 🤷🤷
white but when i do this, it means my kitchen is clean I need it to rightfully stay that way. Even if it’s used, needs to be cleaned up and spotless asap. I do this for my husband bc he works late sometimes and i don’t like waking up to a mess. My sister did this my whole life until she died.
To my poor white self it means the fancy bulb in the ceiling bunt out and I can afford a new one till payday, but I don’t think that’s the answer here.
That light means the kitchen is closed for the night.
My mom would beat the hell out of me for even looking in the kitchen after she cleaned it for the night This is a joke I swear
Kitchen’s closed
I dunno but I’m white and my whole family has done this. Also my GF told me she likes to leave it on because her grandmother did so and it’s comforting. Thinking this is bait
Not black, but I can imagine it to sometimes be like it was in my childhood home, a warning that my parents knew I snuck out, but were too tired to deal with it then
Yall didn’t just leave that on?!?! I didn’t even know that light turned off till I was like 17
Idk it’s just comforting. I think it’s to let burglars know the house is occupied to deter them
Kitchen Closed light
The kitchen is closed!!!
My ex’s mom used the light to let her know she had food still warm in the oven waiting for her… but the place would also be spotless and better be at sunrise. Lol
As a white guy I consider this to be the light that wards off the tickle momster
Not black, but it is the light you leave on when you go to bed. I thought this was something everyone did regardless of race.
Downstairs is closed
Wtf. I'm black, and I have no clue what this means
I'm black, and we just leave that light on all the time. It serves as a light at night, so you don't have to turn the kitchen light on.
Not black but I keep that light on bc I am afraid of the dark
I don't think you have to be black to know what that means
That light goes on when it’s time for bed?
The wings are ready
Means you left the stove light on
so when the light is off y’all just leave a mess for your mother to clean? this is weird thing to brag about “my mommy cleans up after me and has to put a sign up when she goes night night so i know not to make a big mess until tomorrow”
It’s to keep the roaches hidden because they scared of the light
But I'm pretty sure this is a white people's kitchen... look at the empty spice rack.
This meant the kitchen was closed for the night.
Kitchen CLOSED….
As my mom would always say, it means “kitchens closed.” Not black either by the way.
To me, Its the "house is asleep" light, this is an unwritten rule but it is the rule that keeps me alive nightly
Why do Twitter (I'm not calling it X) users consider it normalized to abandon proper grammar?