~ Jon James
Most everyone who doesn’t live under a rock (like I do) knows that earmuffs were invented by 15-year-old Chester Greenwood of Farmington. But did you know that the Microwave was invented by a guy named Percy Spencer who was from Howland, a town about two hours away?
This guy was no slouch. During World War II he worked for Raytheon, over seeing production of the cavity magnetron—a high-powered vacuum tube that generated the microwaves used in radar systems to detect enemy aircraft and submarines.
In 1945, while standing close to one of these radar sets, he noticed a candy bar in his pocket had melted. Intrigued, he then tried a kernal of popcorn near the device and it popped. The microwave oven was born as a result of Percy’s discovery.
Here’s a little information on the first commercial microwave. It wasn’t something many of us could afford or even fit into our homes.
According to The Ordinary Archive, it was almost six feet tall, weighed 750 pounds and cost $5,000. But it could cook a hot dog lickety split!
This video has the 411 on the inventor (who was never paid for the invention) and the history of one of our most convenient kitchen appliances ever created!
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