In news:buspvu$m39s2$1@ID-101276.news.uni-berlin.de,
Ryan Ginstrom <ginstrom@hotmail.com> radiated into the WorldWideWait:
> "Madra Dubh" <ccaine@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:OUaQb.93734$6y6.1881071@bgtnsc05-

>> Thank God you guys are wise enough to avoid charcoal braziers.
>> They worked well enough when homes were more than a bit drafty but
>> with modern construction............
>> I still remember sitting around a table placed over a pit in which
>> charcoal was burning, the table having a quilt over it.
>> We stuck our legs into the pit and covered our legs with the edges
>> of the quilt. It was warm,
>
> Yes, the kotatsu with the charcoal braziers (hibachi) have
> thankfully gone the way of the dodo. They still have kotatsu, but
> now they have electric heaters bolted to the underside of the
> tabletop.
> They are quite warm and cozy. The problem is when you have to go to
> the bathroom -- the rest of the house is an icebox.

Well, if you'd quit building houses with those silly paper walls...