Inventors: Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer

The microwave oven was the product of an idea accidentally stumbled upon by Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer. Dr. Spencer was working around magnetrons, vacuum tubes that released energy in the form of microwaves, when he noticed that the candy bar in his pocket had melted. He brought over some unpopped popcorn and held it in front of the magnetron, and it started popping. So he patented his idea for using microwaves to cook, and his company, the Raytheon Corporation set to work improving his ideas for a marketable product. By 1975 sales of the microwave oven exceeded gas ranges, becoming the most popular cooking implement in a fast-paced world.

*Picture from http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/images/firstmicro.gif

Sources:
 Microtech. Who invented Microwaves?. 13 October 2003. <http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html>

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