THE MASSIVE MICROWAVE OVEN AND OTHER HOME APPLIANCE FIRSTS

Discover the prototypes of everything from the microwave to the electric toothbrush – and why some were unreliable, weird or downright dangerous

- WORDS AILSA HARVEY

You may take for granted many of the devices and appliances you rely on today, whether it's the rapid and efficient heating of meals in a compact microwave oven or the automated washing of your clothes. But these trailblazing inventions, which have now become commonplace in our homes and part of our daily routines, were once novel time-saving devices. The microwave oven was patented by American engineer Percy Spencer in 1945, just after the end of World War II. This invention was an accidental discovery. After Spencer was working with a live radar set that was emitting microwaves, he found that the chocolate bar he had in his pocket had melted. He discovered that the radar’s magnetron – a high-powered vacuum tube that generated microwaves by accelerating electrons under a strong magnetic field – had caused the chocolate to heat up and melt. The tube was originally used to emit radar signals for detecting enemy aircraft during the war. Following his chocolatey discovery, he experimented by pointing the magnetron tube towards other foods.

Sure enough, he could turn corn kernels into popcorn, cook an egg and heat many products using this method, and the rapid-heating microwave method was born. Spencer then built a metal box to contain the microwaves, with an opening for the magnetron tube to deliver microwaves into the box. At the front, he engineered a door that allowed food to be placed inside. This was the first microwave oven.