This is a bad thing:

What is it, you ask?  It’s the switch from my coffee maker.  When I turned it off this morning it threw a big spark from the switch.  It didn’t hurt, but it certainly surprised me.  The picture is actually a composite of two photos.  The left side is the switch base (with its contact point; notice the scorch mark)  and the right side is the part that moves to complete the circuit with the base’s contact point when you flip the switch. 

I’m not a coffee addict.  I can quit at any time.    But just not tomorrow, so I went ahead and bought a new coffee maker this afternoon. 

Out of curiosity, I decided to take the old one apart to see why it was spitting sparks.  As best as I can tell, the contacts have gotten worn and some carbon has built up.  It’s a bit annoying, as you’d think a Krups coffee maker would last longer than two years.

Update:  That Mr. Coffee model linked above wasn’t worth the time I spent fiddling with it.  It wouldn’t siphon correctly, and I found what appeared to be a plastic molding remnant in the intake, which I removed.  It managed to make one pot of coffee after that, but then decided not to siphon anymore.  This caused it to just emit steam, which means that the coffee that got into the container was basically steamed, and had a consistency similar to light motor oil.  I took it back and I’m going to consider a different model.