Judith Lievens

HISTORY

History• Why do people toast bread?

To preserve it

To make it crunchier

To make it sweeter

To make it perfect for spreads

History• Before the toaster bread was toasted over an

open fire with the help of a variety of simple tools.

• 1900s: electricity in all households

there came a wave of technological innovations

and a demand for household appliances,

one of themthe toaster

• First: embedded heating system

History•March 1905 Nichrome (Albert Marsh)

Surface of toast needs to be heated above 154°C

Need of a wire that reaches high temperatures

without being damaged of starting a fire.

Nichrome

(alloy of nickel and chromium)

History• Numerous prototype electric toasters and in

1909 : first electric toaster (Frank Shailor for General

Electrics)

This was the first commercially successful electric

toaster

Problems:

When is the toast ready?

Flipping with your handsburns!

History• 1913 Lloyd and Hazel Copeman: „„automatic

toaster‟‟

Turning the toast without touching it

Five toaster related

patents on their names

Many companies paid

royalties to Copeman or

find other ways to turn

the toast.

HistoryProblem: burnt toast

By incorporating springs and a variable timer: pop-

up toaster on May 29, 1919 by Charles Strite

Patented on October 18, 1921

Manufactured and sold to the Childs restaurant

chain

Redesign in 1926: “the Toastmaster” available to

the public

HistoryMajor breakthrough in 1928 presliced-loaf and

sealed-bag process by Otto Frederick Rohwedder

1930 sliced Wonder Bread

1933 more sliced than unsliced bread

Strite‟s pop-up made sense now and became a

standard in American households