CHOOSING THE RIGHT THERMOMETER

Meat thermometer on the left, candy thermometer on the right. Meat thermometers may be smaller than the one pictured, but it will always be slender unlike the candy thermometer.
If you're going to purchase a meat thermometer, make sure you don't accidentally pick up one intended for creating candy (otherwise known as a candy or deep fry thermometer). Meat thermometers are slender and will only read up to 220 degrees farenheit, unlike candy thermometers which are fat and read up to 400 degrees farenheit. If you think you can kill two birds with one stone by buying a candy thermometer and using it for both meats and confections, good luck trying to prod a steak with the dull tip.
Oh, and a bit of advice... DO NOT PUT THE THERMOMETER INTO THE OVEN! The top part of most meat thermometers are made of plastic but my mom unknowingly stuck it into a turkey and put it in the oven. The only thing the thermometer was able to tell her was that 350 degrees is the perfect temperature for melting plastic.