As I’m sure you know, I am an observer, a watcher, a witness to the weird. I had an experience last week that surely qualifies.

Wednesday.
Start our day, fridge works fine. Later, the fridge is being weird. The screen says 56, none of the options (ice, water, etc) are available, the lights in both refrigerator and freezer are off, but–everything is still cold.

Even though it obviously has power, contemporary fixit protocol requires we unplug/replug in hopes of a reboot. Nothing changes. Screen still displays 56. We watch the readout very carefully in case it rises (assuming 56 is the temp), checking inside every hour or so to make sure it’s still chilling but prepared to cook, eat, or toss what can’t be transferred to the much smaller garage refrigerator in case we lose this (new) one.

After scouring the owner’s manual for troubleshooting options, he spends a very long time on the phone with the useless phone service computer–SPEAK TO A PERSON–and then the useless phone service person until finally he is provided with three numbers to call in hopes of booking a maintenance check. All three numbers are a bust. Back to the official service number provided by the manufacturer and a repeat of prior shouting, holding, and extended conversation.

Eventually we book an appointment for Saturday between 8 and 12.

SATURDAY!
In case you missed it, this takes place pre-holiday and we have a full fridge.
It still cools and the food stays safe, but I can’t refill my water bottles, and *gasp* once the ice is gone, it’s GONE.

Saturday finally arrives and the repair guy shows up.
He looks at the screen, says, “5b is an error code.”
(oh, five bee)
Then he says, “I’ve never seen this before.”
(oh, great)
He looks some stuff up on his phone and says, “This is weird. It’s in Sabbath Mode.”
(oh, Sb) “I’m sorry, what?”
He repeats, “Sabbath Mode.”
(oh?)
He presses some buttons for a few seconds and voilà, fixed.

I looked it up in the manual–once you know what to look for, it’s easy to find. It’s right there, Sabbath Mode. Huh, lasts 96 hours. We were thisclose to not needing a repairman. I’ve yet to discover why it would automatically go into Sabbath Mode. For Holy Wednesday through Easter Sunday? Is it manufacturer programmed to do that? Or do we have a particularly preachy appliance? We’ve heard of door-to-door evangelism, but refrigerator door-to-door?! Weird.

Just an FYI, ovens can also go into Sabbath Mode.
(And 56 is too high for a refrigerator temp.)

The more you know…