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SLICED BREAD What did people say before "the best thing since sliced bread"? Wonder Bread, so associated with the 1950's and better food through science, introduced the first packaged, sliced bread in 1930. The Wonder Bread brand (owned by Interstate Bakeries is still first in the U.S.
POP-UP-TOASTER In 1926 the Waters Genter Co. (later called Toastmaster) introduced the first pop-up toaster. Master mechanic Charles Strite had patented the spring-loaded automatic-toaster design in 1919. Although it cost $12.40, the Toastmaster quickly displaced the manual electric toaster that cost only $1.
ICE CREAM CONE Americans did not start eating ice cream out of cones until 1904-at the world's fair in St. Louis, Mo. The Smithsonian recognizes Abe Doumar, a Lebanese immigrant, as the inventor. He rolled a waffle from one stall and put ice cream in it from another and sold the combination. He then created a machine for producing the cone.
POP TOP CAN On a family picnic in 1959, Ermal Cleon Fraze found himself with a can of beer and no can, opener-one of life's major annoyances at the time. The solution came to him "just like that" one sleepless night. In 1963, Fraze, the founder of Dayton Reliable Tool Co., obtained the patent for a removable pull-tab opener for the tops of cans. Continental Can Co. created a nonremovable tab 16 years later.
REFRIGERATOR With the introduction of small electric motors and nontoxic Freon in the 1930s, refrigerators migrated from industry to home, replacing iceboxes and gaspowered refrigerators. In 1927 GE established an electric-refrigeration department, and in 1931 Sears sold its first affordable refrigerator for $137.50.
PEANUT BUTTER Peanut butter appeared in the late 19th century. Spoilage was a problem, however, so the first popular brand, Peter Pan, was introduced by Swift Packing Co. in 1928. It was licensed from Joseph L. Rosefield, who figured out how to create smooth, long-lasting peanut butter. Rosefield formed his own company in 1933 and created Skippy.
SPAM A leading source of nutritional humor since 1937, Spam is a mixture of pork shoulder, ham and spices. Spam has been a soldier's staple in too many wars. On a more peaceful front SPAM Ku: Tranquil Reflections on Luncheon Loaf, includes 162 odes to the luncheon meat by more than 40 writers.
NEON In 1910 a French scientist named Georges Claude applied an electrical charge to a tube filled with neon gas (as opposed to a filament in a vacuum) and created a new kind of illumination. Car dealers did the rest.
BARBIE A babe since 1959 and now worth almost $2 billion in sales annually, Barbie was fashioned by Ruth Handler Mattel's co-founder. The first doll wore a swimsuit and cost $3. Over the year Barbie's had 30 relatives and companions, but only one boyfriend, Ken.
BAKELITE Leo Baekeland was hoping to create a synthetic shellac when he mixed together carbolic acid and formaldehyde in his Yonkers, N.Y., lab in 1907. Instead he created the first totally synthetic plastic-phenolic resin and changed the world. Some mistake.
TEDDY BEAR Brooklyn candy-store owner and his wife introduced a plush brown bear in 1902. President "Teddy" Rooseveit lent his nickname. Early bears are now so valuable that a 1904 Steiff Teddy went for $166,000 at a 1994 Christie's auction.
A CONSUMER CORNUCOPIA