Questions from the church members:
After you fry up some potato pancakes. Do you turn off the electric burner
And let the pan cool down. Or do you put it in the sink and run water over it
Where it steams

What is the cooking surface? -- Teflon, aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, silicone, ceramic, glass?

Teflon Pan

Teflon, like most cookware, is best left to cool just a minute. I have seen pans warp slightly, losing their flatness on the bottom, and Teflon I believe is in danger of separating the bond with the metal under it. Many Teflon pans are not meant for very high heat as well.

Very Good Advice

Here's an interesting chat on a snopes messageboard about this very subject -- and it supports what joypulv says.

snopes.com: Cracking a frying pan with water. (http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=58;t=001020;p=1)

I used the same set of Revere Ware stainless with copper bottoms for 40+ years. The skillet warped up slightly in the middle, and one of the pots warped slightly down. Now that I'm OLD I treated myself to 2 Calphalon skillets (used, ebay) (anodized aluminum) and 1 expensive non stick pan.
I watched my mother use cheap Teflon that flaked off, a toxic material that has killed pet birds and is suspected of causing all sorts of medical problems. Of course she lived to be 87 and my dad 92, and I couldn't care less what I ingest as long as it tastes good. But I'm a little bit of a kitchen snob now.

Very Interesting

I've had this happen to me. My husband always puts the frying pans in the sink filled with water after use, and a few of mine have now warped to the point where they wobble while on the stove.

So that is the problem in a nutshell. Very Good