Toaster. History of invention and production

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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
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Toaster. History of invention and production

The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

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A toaster is a mains-powered device designed to quickly toast flat pieces of bread (toast).

Toaster
Modern toaster

Depending on the specific model, the toaster can be designed to toast 2 or 4 slices of bread (so-called "toast"). All toasters have heating elements and an adjustable thermostat, with which you can select the desired mode for cooking more or less toasted toast and cooking speed. The thermostat is designed for 6-11 temperature adjustment positions. In some toasters put smooth temperature control. A modern toaster has an electronic control that controls the toasting time for slices of bread depending on the temperature selected by the user.

Mankind has known the art of toasting bread over fire for hundreds of years. Maillard reactions between amino acids and sugars, occurring under the influence of high temperatures, give toasted bread its characteristic color, aroma and taste. In the XNUMXth century, electricity entered the scene, and the use of open fire became history.

The first electric toaster was produced by the British company Crompton & Company in 1893. He used iron wires as a heater - they rusted, burned out, and in general the device was quite a fire hazard. And most importantly, he was far ahead of his time, since electricity was still rare then and was used only for lighting and exclusively at night. In 1905, Albert Marsh patented a new alloy of nickel and chromium - nichrome. It is sufficiently refractory, resistant to oxidation and corrosion, and has a high electrical resistivity.

Toaster
Springless toaster, 1909

These qualities made nichrome an excellent candidate for the role of the main material in heating elements, and the manufacturers did not take long to wait. In 1909, when electricity was no longer a novelty, the General Electric Company released the D-12 toaster with four nichrome heating elements. The regular model cost $3, for an extra dollar you could get a version with color drawings on the base. D-12 was perceived as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. The ad was "Breakfast without a kitchen!" and some buyers were installing toasters in every bedroom in their homes. However, both the D-12 and other models had several significant drawbacks.

First, they knew how to toast bread on only one side. And secondly, it was only a little distraction - and the bread instantly burned. In an attempt to overcome these problems, the inventors put on the market many models equipped with various "turners" and limiters (there were even options in the form of a conveyor!), But these designs were too complex and could not conquer the mass market.

So how did the modern toaster come about? Legend has it that the inventor Charles Straight, a mechanical engineer at a Minnesota plant, got tired of taking burnt toast in the factory cafeteria. He built a mechanical timer into the toaster, which, after a certain time, opened the electrical circuit of the heater. Straight also arranged nichrome elements on both sides, and made the loading vertical. Toasts fried to the desired state were thrown out by a spring.

Toaster
Toastmaster toaster, 1930

After receiving a patent for his invention, Straight first sold toasters to cafes and restaurants. And in 1926, his Toastmaster model became available to ordinary buyers. For several years, annual sales of toasters of a similar type increased several times, reaching 1930 million pieces by 1,2. The toaster was only one step away from its modern appearance - in the 1940s, the mechanical timer was replaced by a slightly less accurate, but much simpler bimetallic circuit breaker.

Author: S.Apresov

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