A Taste of Good Cheer

by Your friends at OIC on December 23, 2013

Happy Holidays from OIC Moments

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Dec

Aha Moment Maker: Kernels of Curiosity

by Your friends at OIC on December 21, 2013

LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1945—Shortly after the end of WWII, Percy Spencer was touring the labs at Raytheon, where he worked. During the war, the Allies had charged the company with mass producing magnetrons, the tubes that powered radar systems. Percy had been instrumental in solving critical efficiency and production issues, so when he spotted one of his achievements in the lab, he naturally stopped to admire it.

We don’t know whether he got a warm feeling inside while inspecting the magnetron, but we do know that he got a warm feeling inside his pocket, and soon discovered that a chocolate bar he had been saving there was melting.

Ever the curious mind, Percy immediately sent for, of all things, a bag of popcorn kernels. Holding it up to the magnetron, he discovered that they all popped in a matter of minutes.

From this simple experiment Spencer and Raytheon went on to develop the microwave oven. Their first effort was a large commercial unit for cooking large amounts of food quickly, but chefs were quick to point out limitations with certain foods.

Starting out like other accidental inventions, it took decades for the microwave oven to be refined to the household device we know today—a handy device when you want some popcorn, just as Percy Spencer first wondered.