Easy-Bake Oven
The Easy-Bake Oven is a working toy oven introduced by Kenner in 1963, and currently manufactured by Hasbro. The original toy used an ordinary incandescent light bulb as a heat source; current versions use a true heating element. By 1997, more than 16 million Easy-Bake Ovens (in 11 models) had been sold.[1]
The oven comes with packets of cake mix and small round pans. (Additional mixes can be purchased separately.) After water is added to the mix in the pan, it is pushed into the oven through a slot.[1] After cooking, the cake is pushed out through a slot in the other end.
Contents |
[edit] Kenner versions
 |
Wikinews has related news: Inventor Ronald Howes dies at age 83 |
The Easy-Bake Oven was introduced in 1963 by Kenner Products, a Cincinnati, Ohio based toy company.[2] The original Kenner Easy-Bake Oven was heated by two 100 watt incandescent lightbulbs, came in a pale yellow or turquoise, and was designed to resemble a conventional oven.[3] The design changed many times over the years. A more recent model resembles a microwave oven.
The Easy-Bake Oven was invented by Ronald Howes, a prolific toy inventor known for working with Kenner Products. [4] He said he was inspired to make the oven after hearing Kenner salesman report how chestnuts were roasted by street vendors in New York City.[5] In addition to his creation of the Easy-Bake Oven, Howes also was involved in the creation of or refinement to a number of other Kenner Toy products, including Spirograph, Give-a-Show Projector, and Close-and-Play Record Player.[citation needed] Howes died on February 16, 2010 at the age of 83.[2]
[edit] Hasbro versions
Kenner became a division of Hasbro, and Hasbro continued to produce the oven.[6] The Easy-Bake Oven and Snack Center was introduced in 1993.
In 2002, a version for boys was introduced, the "Queasy Bake Cookerator".[7]
A decade after the Easy-Bake Oven and Snack Center was introduced, the Real Meal Oven was released. This oven was different from the others as it could cook bigger portions and could cook two with two pans at the same time. It won the 2003 Best Toy Parenting magazine Toy of the Year Award. The neutral colors were more accepted across genders. The pans were bigger, and it could bake both desserts and meals. Also, this model featured a heating element and did not require a light bulb.
In 2006, a different version of the Easy-Bake was released, featuring a stove-top warmer, and a heating element. Like the first version by Hasbro, it had smaller pans and only could bake one pan at a time.
The new front-loading Hasbro design, a substantial departure from the traditional push-through arrangement, was apparently ill-conceived, as all (approx. 985,000) such units were recalled over safety concerns and reported injuries.
The oven was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006.[8]
In 2011, the last version which used a 100 Watt incandescent light bulb was replaced by a new version with a dedicated heating element. The replacement was due to a greener lighting policy by the US Federal Government, which would eliminate incandescent light bulbs that put out sufficient heat to bake goods inside the Easy-Bake Oven.[9] This rendered all models that used a light bulb as the heating element obsolete, without being able to replace the part once the existing bulbs burned out.[10] However some critics of the redesign have indicated that halogen light bulbs put out sufficient heat to replace incandescent bulbs.[11]
[edit] Recalls
In February 2007, Hasbro and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 985,000 Easy-Bake toy ovens after finding that children's hands and fingers can get caught in the oven's opening, thereby posing serious risk of burns.[12][13] Since the recall, there were at least 249 reports of children getting their hands or fingers caught in the ovens, including 16 reports of second- and third-degree burns, and finger amputation. As a result, Hasbro recalled all front-loading Easy Bake ovens sold since May 2006,[14] even those that were repaired with the free kit distributed after the February 2007 recall.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "The Easy-Bake Oven, Gourmet Style" (with audio link), National Public Radio Morning Edition, December 8, 2003. retrieved Nov. 11, 2006
- ^ a b Brown, Emma (19 February 2010). "Ronald Howes, Easy-Bake oven inventor, dies at 83". Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2010/02/ronald-howes-easy-bake-oven-in.html. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ "Easy Bake Oven inducted 2006". http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/easy-bake-oven.html. Retrieved 20 june 2011.
- ^ Haller, Melissa Davis; “Made in Cincinnati”,[dead link] Cincinnati Magazine, January 2007.
- ^ Ronald Howes, inventor of Easy-Bake Oven, dies at 83 - Cincinnati Enquirer - February 19, 2010
- ^ USA Today, "Easy-Bake loses its bulb, gets a makeover", Associated Press, 14 September 2011
- ^ Salon.com, "Hot young thing: Why we love the Easy-Bake Oven", Sara Breselor, 28 February 2010
- ^ Associated Press. "Easy-Bake Oven enters Toy Hall of Fame", MSNBC.com. 9 November 2006. retrieved 11 November 2006.
- ^ ABC News, "Easy-Bake Oven Loses Light Bulb, Gets $20 Makeover", Susanna Kim, 14 September 2011
- ^ The Post-Star, "The Easy way out", 4 September 2011
- ^ Cleveland Live."Halogen light bulbs fill spot as old-fashioned incandescent bulbs disappear", John Funk, 10 September 2011
- ^ "Easy-Bake Ovens Recalled for Repair Due to Entrapment and Burn Hazards", Consumer Products Safety Commission. 6 February 2007. retrieved 14 May 2008.
- ^ "Nearly 1 million toy ovens recalled", CNN.com. 6 February 2007. retrieved 6 February 2007.
- ^ “New Easy-Bake Oven Recall Following Partial Finger Amputation; Consumers Urged to Return Toy Ovens”, Hasbro, Inc. Undated. retrieved on 22 April 2009.
