A woman contemplating a new fridge purchase laid out three options for design. And though it might be a matter of taste more than anything else, her query revealed that people have opinions on the matter.
The video putting the best fridge question to the public at large came from creator JackieMcBaddie (@jackiemcbaddie) as a TikTok submission on March 4. At the two-week mark, the video had drawn more than 130,000 views, far surpassing her usual tallies.
“All right, I have a new poll,” she starts the 10-second video while walking through what appears to be a Lowe’s big box store with various refrigerators on display. “You’re in the market for a new fridge. Are you going freezer on top, freezer on bottom, or side by side?”
Her caption accompanying the video insists, “There is a right answer,” but the comments section revealed that while there might not be one conclusive “right” answer, many feel strongly that there is a “wrong” answer.
What people thought
“Whatever you do, don’t get a side-by-side,” warned one. “There’s not enough room.”
“Never side by side,” echoed someone else, making the salient point, “A fridge isn’t a fridge if you can’t fit a pizza in it.”
“Freezer on bottom is terrible,” opined another. “Everything gets buried and forgotten and you have to Tetris everything to fit.”
“Freezer on bottom,” one voted. “I am [expletive] tired of a frozen turkey yeeting itself out of the freezer and breaking my toe.”
What Reddit had to say
The best refrigerator topic was also grist for the mill on Reddit two years ago, on the r/BuyItForLife forum.
“I’m a refrigeration mechanic, and I’ll tell you, they’re all the same,” one counseled before adding, “Anything that has variable temperatures, or digital controls etc, it’s less likely to last a long time. The more basic the better.”
“I’ve found anything with an ice maker will fail,” another said. “There is a reason Grandpa’s basic old fridge lasted 30 years. It was because it was basic.”
“High-end Bosch [fridges] have separate fridge and freezer compressors which should make it last longer,” offered another. “But, as most everyone else has said, it seems like there’s a certain amount of failure in all new units.”
@jackiemcbaddie #onthisday There is a right answer. #homedesign #refrigerator #throwback #poll #interiordesign #appliances ♬ original sound – JackieMcBaddie
And now, the experts
Consumer Reports compared six types of refrigerators with very specific pros and cons, including “freezer bins require bending to access” for bottom-freezer models and “doors need a wide space to swing open” for top-freezer fridges.
Reviewed added additional comments to either help clarify or muddy the waters, including this passage in praise of bottom-freezer fridges.
“This design is good for anyone who’s had one too many frozen chicken cutlets slide out of an overstuffed freezer and directly onto their toes. The bottom-freezer drawer can sometimes make it a bit difficult to keep things organized, as it’s less likely to have shelving or compartments than other fridge styles, but at least you can dig around for what you want without needing steel-toe boots.”
As with the commenter on TikTok, there’s a very real fear of frozen poultry taking flight.
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
