What Were the First Microwave Ovens Like?
The first models (so-called radar ranges), marketed in 1947, weighed 750 pounds and stood almost 6 feet tall. Early microwave ovens were used exclusively in restaurants, railroad cars, and ocean liners–places where large quantities of food had to be cooked quickly. It was years before microwave ovens were small and practical enough for home use. The first domestic microwave oven came on the market in 1955. It cost almost $1,300 and was too bulky to fit in the average kitchen. Thanks to the development in Japan of a smaller magnetron, the first compact and practical microwave oven was introduced in 1967 and cost $495. Today, microwave ovens melt chocolate and pop popcorn in millions of homes around the world.
