For me, a rare brain flash regarding a McGyver solution

[noamnety]

15. That's a yes and no thing.

Excuse the translation from engineer to plainspeak, but this is what he says: When we sweat and it evaporates, it cools us - but it does it by transferring heat to the air. That's the goal here, to transfer the heat from the coffee pot to the air relatively quickly. The evaporation will cool the coffee pot slightly and warm the air, whereas the oil that doesn't evaporate would keep longer residual heat in the pot, and not warm the air as quickly.

I may have misunderstood, but I read this as they're planning to heat the pot in another room where an outlet works, then unplug it and move the pot to the bathroom. So it wouldn't be left on after the liquid has evaporated - which I agree would be a safety issue.

He also added that the amount of heat you'd get off a coffee pot once it's unplugged - no matter what fluid is in there - probably wouldn't make a difference in a full room, though.

I'm not sure about that. I lived on a 21 foot sailboat for 6 months, and in the morning I lit a single candle to warm the space slightly so I could bear to get out of bed and get dressed. (In the harbor, not at sea.) That did make a difference. I have no clue how a candle flame compares to a pot of boiling water, though.