Two Accidental Inventions

Often, inventions that are made quite by accident end up becoming an everyday part of life. This episode covers two of those: the microwave oven and the chocolate chip cookie.

Research: 

Balsley, Betsy. “Microwave Ovens Put the Space Age in the Kitchen.” Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Dec. 4, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/image/271185585/?terms=radarange&match=1 Ratheon Company. “Technology Leadership.” https://web.archive.org/web/20130322044917/http://www.raytheon.com/ourcompany/history/leadership/ Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "microwave oven". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Oct. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/technology/microwave-oven  Weiss, Stanley I. and Amir, Amir R.. "Raytheon Company". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Apr. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Raytheon-Company “Amana.” Whirlpool. https://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/2010annual/brand-amana.html “Percy Spencer.” Atomic Heritage Foundation. https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/percy-spencer#:~:text=Percy%20Spencer%20was%20an%20American,at%20a%20local%20paper%20mill. “Tappan Stove Company.” Ohio History Central. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Tappan_Stove_Company#:~:text=In%201955%2C%20the%20Tappan%20Stove,too%20expensive%20for%20home%20use. Jorgensen, Timothy J. “Hot Food, Fast: The Home Microwave Oven.” Smithsonian. March 16, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/hot-food-fast-home-microwave-oven-turns-50-180962545/ “Patent No. 2,495,429 – P.L. Spencer – Method of Treating Foodstuffs.” United States Patent and Trademark Office. January 24, 1950. https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02495429&IDKey=261705CF6164&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D2495429.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F2495429%2526RS%3DPN%2F2495429 “Revolution in Kitchens Is Created by Amana’s Microwave Radarange.” The commercial Appeal. Sept. 30, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/image/770831761/?terms=radarange&match=1 Wyman, Carolyn. “The Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Book: Scrumptious Recipes & Fabled History From Toll House to Cookie Cake Pie.” Countryman Press. 2013. Roberts, Sam. “Forgotten No More: Overlooked No More: Ruth Wakefield, Who Invented the Chocolate Chip Cookie.” New York Times. March 21, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/obituaries/overlooked-ruth-wakefield.html “CONTROL IS SOUGHT OF LAMONT, CORLISS.” New York Times. December 23, 1949. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1949/12/23/84292752.html?pageNumber=29 Blitz, Matt. “The Amazing True Story of How the Microwave Was Invented by Accident.” Popular Mechanics. Sept. 2, 2021. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a19567/how-the-microwave-was-invented-by-accident/

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