National Microwave Oven Day is annually celebrated on December 6th in the United States. This day recognizes the important role that oven plays as an essential kitchen appliance.
This day specially celebrates microwave ovens and why not as they serve a variety of uses, such as making popcorn, heating leftovers, melting chocolate and butter, and even heating water. These days, you can even make microwave fudge or cake!
Microwave ovens are also much more efficient when compared to conventional ovens as they use upto 80% less energy when compared to the other ones. Hence this day also promotes the usage of microwave ovens in our world.
| Event | National Microwave Oven Day |
|---|---|
| Date | December 6, 2022 |
| Day | Tuesday |
| Significance | The day celebrates and honors microwave |
| Observed by | United States |
National Microwave Oven Day History:
The microwave was invented accidentally in 1945 by a self-taught American engineer named Percy Spencer, who was leading a radar project for the defence giant, Raytheon. While testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron, he discovered that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted from the heat. He decided to try another experiment by placing some popcorn kernels near the magnetron, and he watched as the kernels popped into fluffy popcorns.
Next, Spencer placed an egg near the magnetron and the egg began to move from the heat creating pressure inside the egg. The egg exploded and Spencer saw that the yoke had become hot. He realised that the low-density energy from the magnetron could cook food quickly. He created a metal box with an opening through which he fed microwave power. The energy was trapped inside the box, which created a high-density magnetic field. He placed food inside the box, and the heat generated by the energy cooked the food. Thus the first microwave oven was born.
Raytheon submitted a patent for a microwave oven on October 8, 1945. Raytheon introduced the Radarange microwave in 1947, which stood nearly 6 feet tall and cost $5,000. In 1955, Raytheon outsourced its patents to Tappan, which launched a microwave that still wasn’t applicable for domestic use, and cost $1,295 at the time. Raytheon bought Amana in 1965 and released a countertop microwave for $495 in 1967. Shortly after, Litton invented a microwave oven with a design similar to those used today, which helped promote home microwaves even more.
By 1975, consumer demand for microwave ovens had greatly increased and it sold more units than gas ranges. Consumers were busier and their cooking habits had changed, and the quick and easy cooking supplied by the microwave oven made them a household staple. Now, microwave ovens are available with a variety of new features, such as convection heating, and probe and sensor cooking, and pre-programmed timers to ensure perfect cooking. Microwaves are an important addition to every commercial kitchen to provide fast and efficient cooking.
National Microwave Oven Day Significance:
A microwave oven is a cooking appliance that uses electromagnetic radiation from microwaves to heat and cook food. Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic radiation. They are shorter than radio waves and longer than infrared waves. The way they generate microwaves is with a special component called a 'magnetron'. It sounds like one of the Transformers, but what it does is agitate electrons with a heated filament. This generates the microwaves needed to cook the food. So that's how a microwave oven works.
Microwave ovens are much better than conventional ovens because of number of reasons. As microwaves are generally more affordable than conventional ovens. You can get some really basic models for a very cheap and affordable price. They also don’t incur any installation costs and microwave ovens generally use much less energy more efficiently than a conventional oven does as they utilizes less than 80% energy than conventional ones and that's why they saves large amount of energy.
Not just energy but microwaves also cook food much faster than a conventional oven. You won't really need to microwave anything for longer than 10 minutes. There's no need to preheat the oven and it cooks at full capacity from the moment it is turned on. The food absorbs the radiation, so time and energy isn't wasted on heating the space around it. They are also more hygienic, easier to clean and use up less space.
This day is used as a way to celebrate the importance of microwave ovens or ovens in general. As since their introduction they have played a large role in changing our society and making our lives much more easy in the kitchen. As before ovens, baking took a very long time through furnaces and it was much costly as they were not portable and required a lot of energy. Hence we are very lucky that we don't have to face such issues anymore and all of this could have made possible because of ovens and this fact must be recognized.
National Microwave Oven Day Activities:
It is time for you to celebrate your microwave oven and what can serve as a better way than by baking some of your delicious food through your oven! So reheat your leftovers or make meals from scratch with your microwave oven. Give your appliance a special status in your life today and make this Day special and memorable for you!
Try some new usage of your microwave for the day! Now you just be wondering but how can we use microwave oven other than cooking. But you will be surprised to know that there are actually! Like you can keep your beauty products inside your microwave oven before applying it. Like these there are many other ways too through which you can use your microwave oven so search about them.
Don't have a microwave oven? Or do you need an upgrade? Then this day is the perfect day to make that purchase and welcome your new favorite appliance into your life. As the technology is improving there are many advanced types of microwave ovens available today, so make sure to purchase the best microwave oven available in the market.
Most Searched FAQs on National Microwave Oven Day:
1. When is National Microwave Oven Day celebrated?
National Microwave Oven Day is annually celebrated on December 6th in US.
2. What happens if your microwave leaking radiation?
Microwave radiation can cause cataracts in the eye, temporary sterility, and skin burns. You might want to buy a microwave leakage tester to be on the safe side.
3. What are the disadvantages of microwave oven?
Microwaves do have some downsides. For example, they may not be as effective as other cooking methods at killing bacteria and other pathogens that may lead to food poisoning. That's because the heat tends to be lower and the cooking time much shorter. Sometimes, food heats unevenly.