I know that different cultures are different, but I always think of Americans as being (kitchen) gadget-obsessed.

Maybe I've watched too many infomercials and soaps. I've reached a point where I know Americans don't have (electric) kettles, but a scale seems like a necessity for anybody who cooks.

(I guess there are lot of people, American, or otherwise, who just don't cook. So I'd understand in that case. But cooking without a scale just seems surprising. Even where I come from a grew up with a balance-scale with brass weights. Never hugely accurate, but always available.)

It's because Americans mainly cook with volumes ("1 cup flour") and not masses ("100g flour"). Just look at any American recipe book - it will use volumes instead of weights.

Wait, Canadian here, American's don't have electric kettles?

Apparently they're unusual and not at all common.

People seem to prefer to use the kinda old-fashioned manual kettles you place on the top of a stove.