For those of us born in the 20th century,
it's hard to imagine a house without a
refrigerator.

But it's a fact that the household fridge
is a relatively recent technological devel-
opment.

According to Wikipedia, it wasn't until the
1930s that at least 60% of U.S. homes
included a refrigerator; and

"it was not until 40 years later, in the 1970s,
that the refrigerator achieved a similar level
of penetration in the United Kingdom."
- link


To get a sense of how wondrous the fridge
was to our parents, grandparents, or great
grandparents, check out "An Iceless Icebox"
from the March 1905 issue of Popular Mechanics.











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