In today's Get Fuzzy Bucky says, "now we're working with gas." Prior to this, I had only heard, and used, "now we're cooking with gas." How 'bout y'all — workers or cookers?

Cooking

But I haven't heard it in a long time.

Cooking with gas? As opposed to what - electricity? Why should gas be better? I don't get it.

Why should gas be better?

Assuming you're serious, with gas when you turn it on it's hot right then and there, no waiting around; when you turn it off, it's not hot, right then and there. Much better, e.g., for bringing to a boil and lowering to a simmer once the boil starts.

Assuming you're serious

Well - kind of half serious wrapped in mock aggression I guess.

But I think there must be more behind the expression than you suggest, unless it was a fantastically successful advertising slogan. The most cogent point in favour of gas, seems to me, is you can see when it's on. Those hob surfaces can be painful!

Never heard of 'working' with gas by the way.

I think it was a fantastically successful advertising slogan. But I think that what gas was replacing was more likely wood and not electricity.

When my mother got rid of her wood stove, gas was wonderful for quick boiling of water. But when she got an electric oven with top burners, she could regulate heat much more accurately.
And gas can be dangerous. I have seen a dozen houses burn up after gas leak.And a nurse at BCH early in WWII
got stupid and tried to take chill of her apartment by lighting top burners. At 5PM, sudden demand made pressure fall, the burners went out, but then pressure came back. She and her baby would have died if a neighbor hadn't smelled the gas and broken door to get in and shut it off and open windows.
Edit: I had to go check to be sure. Boston Gas was produced by turning soft coal into coke. It had enough carbon monoxide, so that the nurse and her baby were in danger of dying from the carbon monoxide.
Producer gas as it was called also had enough hydrogen sulfide to turn all your silver black.
And like Faldage, I haven't heard the slogan for a long time.

I say "cooking."

Here's the cartoon:

http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/index.html

(if one doesn't look at it today, one'll have to go to the calendar and plug in Aug 8)

Or either here's the link now that'll work till it falls off the end:

http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20030808.html

this has got to be some comical gaffe -- the google-ometer givess 390 hits for "now we're cooking with gas" and zero, zilch, nil, nada for "now we're working with gas".

I don't think Bucky is known for being concerned with following the crowd.

Now you're cookin' with gas! Definetly.

I have found cakes come out moister in electric oven. But. When a Nor'Easer hits and the lights go out it's very comforting to have gas heat and to be able to cook dinner !

to build on the advertising idea, maybe someone took out the copyright on "cooking with gas"?