Microwave Ovens

In the late 1960s, Americans were acutely aware of the future. Just a year after the release of the epic film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1969 moon landing seemed to suggest that even the most imaginative fictions could become true. The ensuing need to introduce modern gadgets into the home coincided perfectly with the introduction of microwave ovens.

Space age technology for the home

The impact NASA had on America's consciousness extended far beyond 'outer space.' Even food fads originated with space technology. Tang was a failed breakfast drink until NASA began using the powdered beverage on its Gemini flights in 1965. Every kid wanted to be an astronaut, and now they could drink what the astronauts drank.

Microwave ovens were to mothers what Tang was to kids. The microwave oven seemed to promise an end to domestic drudgery, a space age cooking device for the home of the future. Microwave oven companies were very aware of this perception. When Amana introduced their Radarange microwave oven in 1967, the language they used to promote it was boldly prophetic. The Radarange microwave oven, Amana boasted, was "a product that would forever change how Americans eat and cook."

From novelty to necessity

It took a while for Amana's prediction to come true. Cost was still a prohibitive factor for some families that wanted microwave ovens, though by the end of the 70s, the price of microwaves had dropped significantly.

The novelty of microwaves had yet to wear off. A NASA document from this period titled Airborne Microwave Oven Development began with these now amusing sentences: "For those not familiar with heating by microwave, a brief explanation is in order. Food is placed in an oven cavity and heated by molecular agitation." Microwaves still sounded like something from another era.

But a hint of the future necessity of microwave ovens could be found in a survey conducted by Newsweek in 1974. Over 60% of the people surveyed said that saving time was the main reason they purchased a microwave oven. Thirty years later, a microwave oven can be found in over 95% of American homes. And according to a survey by Yankelovich Monitor, 75% of us say that microwave ovens would be almost impossible to live without.