Notes

Percy Spencer and his invention was an accident! Spencer worked for a company named Raytheon, developing microwave radar transmitters during World War II.One day in 1945, he noticed that a candy bar he had in his pocket was starting to melt. The microwaves from the radar set he was working on were cooking the candy bar in his pocket!One day in 1945, he noticed that a candy bar he had in his pocket was starting to melt. The microwaves from the radar set he was working on were cooking the candy bar in his pocket!Raytheon filed a patent for Spencer's microwave cooking process on October 8, 1945. In 1947, Raytheon produced the first commercial microwave oven and called it the “Radarange." Would you believe it was almost six feet tall and weighed about 750 pounds? It's true!It was also expensive. The first Radarange was $5,000, which would be equal to over $52,000 today. It would be many years before microwave ovens could be produced and sold inexpensively.