Toaster Trivia

No one knows exactly how long humans have been toasting bread. Bread itself has been around for at least 6,000 years, and ancient Romans toasted bread to preserve it. Before the advent of the electric toaster, bread was toasted over an open fire with the help of a variety of simple tools. Toasting bread does more than just preserve it, it changes its nature: bread becomes sweeter, crunchier and much easier to spread with butter, jam and other tasty toppings. The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 in Great Britain by Crompton and Co (UK) and re-invented in 1909 in the United States. It only toasted one side of the bread at a time and it required a person to stand by and turn it off manually when the toast looked done.
During World War I, a master mechanic in a plant in Stillwater, Minnesota was tired of the burnt toast served in the company cafeteria. To find a way to have bread toast consistantly , Charles Strite incorporated springs and a variable timer. He filed the patent application for his pop-up toaster on May 29, 1919. His intention was for the restaurant industry to use the improved toaster; he had no idea it would become one of the most common household appliances.