📡 🍿 1945
Method of Treating Foodstuffs
U.S. Patent 2,495,429 · 1950
From the abstract
This invention relates to the treating of foodstuffs and more particularly to a method of subjecting comestibles to the influence of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the centimeter waves, and consequently raising the temperature of said foodstuffs.
Note
The microwave oven. Spencer, a self-taught Raytheon engineer with a fifth-grade education, was standing next to an active radar magnetron in 1945 when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He sent for popcorn kernels; they popped. The first commercial unit, the Raytheon Radarange (1947), was 5'6" tall and cost $5,000. Countertop models reached the U.S. consumer market in 1967. By 1986, 25% of American homes had one; today, 90%. Spencer earned a $2 royalty for each microwave Raytheon produced — the company's standard inventor's bonus.