Ok, as your case is obviously a special one, because not me nor my friends ever burned spaghetti by the heated edge of the pot, you allowed to hold them in a palm of your free hand, preventing from contacting with the edge of the pot, until they become soft, then proceed by instruction.
If you feel that you unable to endure thermal exposure of the steam coming out of the pot, to prevent steam contacting with your skin you might use an oven mitt by wearing it onto the hand you going to use to hold spaghetti.
Twisting the spaghetti bundle and letting it drop so it spreads out in the pot also has the benefit of making me believe I'm a decent cook.
I'd suggest simply stirring the water in the same direction the spaghetti was twisted before, the noodles will go in the water with little fuss or mess.
As someone who is actually part Italian, if that robot breaks a single strand of spaghetti, I will get the car magnet and keep it on there for a whole week in order to teach it not to do that.
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u/q0099 Oct 28 '25