Fun! Food! Facts! Microwaves!

The inventor of the microwave in 1946 was a Raytheon Co. radar scientist who happened to observe that during the testing of a magnetron, the peanut candy bar in his shirt pocket melted (magnetrons are vacuum tubes used to generate the microwave signals used in radar systems). The first microwave oven that they produced weighed 750 pounds, and was called the Radar Range. The military and very limited restaurants were the only buyers, so Raytheon sold the rights to Tappan Stove Co., who created the first home-use model in 1955. It was a much smaller, 220-volt, 24-inch unit which sold for $1295.00. Sales have increased dramatically through the years.
Mick Vann ©