[WalterBright]

Suffering from that issue myself, one thing that helps is a checklist, and go through that when you leave.

Another way is to unplug them, because then one remembers doing that.

Ovens can also suffer failures where the gas is turned on, but it fails to ignite. This is no issue when you're there and notice the gas smell and the burners not going on. If you're not there, the house fills with gas and explodes.

[slantyyz]

We do the checklist thing, and I find it helps to say stuff out loud while you're going through it.

Fortunately, our range is a "dual fuel" stove, which means the oven is electric but the stove burners are gas. Having said that, stuff being left on is still a concern irrespective of whether a burner is electric or gas.

[joshvm]

Verbal checklists are extremely effective. It's why flying is incredibly safe, and they're also used in some operating theatres (see the Checklist Manifest).

Works even better with two people as you're forced to cross-check every item.

It's important to keep it a sane length and at a suitably high level, otherwise users have a tendency to skip items that are "obvious".

[delfinom]

Hah, I had a "Hotpoint" GE range until recently when it started having a fun issue. If you Google the reviews, well it randomly turns on the oven....at the best of times like when you aren't home example. Because the stupid potentiometer used for the oven control has a piss poor "off" position that goes bad over time and the oven either a.) refuses to turn off or b.) oscillates on/off over an extended period.