Why do we have nicknames for BBQ pits?
Owner & pitmaster Grant Pinkerton poses with his matching Klose pits "Waylon" & "Willie" at Pinkerton's BBQ. We met “Waylon” and “Willie” recently at Pinkerton’s Barbecue in Houston. “You know how to tell the difference?” Grant Pinkerton asked, setting up a punchline about his two big Klose pits. “Willie is always smoking,” Pinkerton said. Why do we have nicknames for BBQ pits and other machines we love? A few years ago, The Atlantic magazine tackled that question and basically determined that we apply human characteristics — names — to machines because it makes us think the machines work for us. Maybe.…