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The responses to this reddit post make me think that it is a popular belief that holes in pot lids make water boil faster. The claim is that by lowering pressure, the water boils at a lower temperature.

I had always assumed they were there solely for convenience and safety - steam buildup can be a hazard - and that releasing steam would make it take longer to boil. I also don't see the pressure getting high enough to matter, but I don't know how the physics works out.

Is there truth to this claim? Might holes in pot lids make water boil faster?

Veedrac
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    Even if it's true (which I doubt), it's not *useful*: the cooking effect of boiling water comes from the temperature, not the fact that it's boiling. – Mark Mar 29 '15 at 21:22
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    The reason for the hole is so that the steam has a ready escape route rather than having to lift the lid clear by sheer pressure. – Shadur Mar 29 '15 at 21:52
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because I don't think a comment, with barely any votes, on Reddit, really counts as "notable". This question is unlikely to get a good answer, based on empirical evidence. – Oddthinking Mar 30 '15 at 00:21
  • @oddthinking Theoretically all you'd need to test this one is a good cooking pot with a lid, a stove, a stopwatch and a drill -- but I'll let someone else handle the science. :) – Shadur Mar 31 '15 at 09:52
  • This is probably a better fit for physics than Skeptics.The claim is technically true but the physics guys are probably better suited to explaining why and how it matters. – Chad Apr 02 '15 at 14:37

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