Did you know that Stephen Poplawsky invented the blender in 1922? He used his unique appliance to make soda fountain drinks. In 1935, Fred Osius who called his creation, the famous Waring Blender, improved upon his idea. In 1910, Fred Osius, L.H.Hamilton and Chester Beach formed the Hamilton Beach Manufacturing Company. Gadgets always fascinated Fred Waring, an engineering student, and he achieved fame with his big band, Fred Waring and The Pennsylvanians.
Osius held the patent for the blender, but did not have the money to thrust his new invention into the marketplace. He knew Fred Waring had both a fondness for gadgets and the money to indulge in his hobbies. One night, after a radio broadcast at New York’s Vanderbilt Theater, he talked his way into Waring’s dressing room and pitched his idea. Waring agreed to fund his research. but six months and $25,000 later, there were still blender problems. Waring then dumped Osius and redesigned the blender himself. The result was the “Miracle Mixer Blender,” which sold for $29.75, and was introduced to the public at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago. In 1938, Waring renamed his Miracle Mixer Corporation to the Waring Corporation, and the mixer’s name was officially changed to the Waring Blender.
He once said that this mixer “will revolutionize American drinks” and he was right. He could not have imagined, however that the blender would be used inn hospitals for the implementation of special diets and research. Dr. Jonas Salk used it while developing the vaccine for polio.
So the next time you blend or pulse, stop for a moment and think about how much easier your life is because of this machine that asks nothing of you and sits quietly on your kitchen counter. Maybe you should consider even saluting it once, just to show it a bit of the respect it deserves.
Happy blending!