{"id":10898,"date":"2014-09-24T11:35:10","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T15:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=10898"},"modified":"2014-09-24T11:35:10","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T15:35:10","slug":"1930s-refrigerator-had-built-in-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/1930s-refrigerator-had-built-in-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"1930s refrigerator had built-in radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to Andy Sennitt for sharing this fascinating piece of radio nostalgia<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"RefrigeratorRadio\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gizmodo<\/a> columnist, Matt Novak, writes:<\/p>\n

Jesse Walker<\/a>, author of the book Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America<\/a><\/em>, pointed me to this rather novel invention from 1937 \u2014 the refrigerator-radio combination unit. This may seem like an odd marriage of tech, but it makes perfect sense when you realise that it in the 1930s it was becoming harder to sell new radios and much easier to sell new fridges.<\/p>\n

Despite the Great Depression, America saw an explosion of mechanical refrigerator ownership during the 1930s. In 1930, just 8 per cent of American households had a fridge. By the end of the decade, nearly half<\/a> of American homes had one.<\/p>\n

But the market for radios was pretty saturated in the late 1930s. Over 80 per cent of American households had a radio by the end of the decade. So radio set manufacturers tried to insert their products into new places that from the vantage point of the future, we can see didn\u2019t pan out (like refrigerators) and others that did (like cars).<\/p>\n

Continue reading on Gizmodo…<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to Andy Sennitt for sharing this fascinating piece of radio nostalgia: Gizmodo columnist, Matt Novak, writes: Jesse Walker, author of the book Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America, pointed me to this rather novel invention from 1937 \u2014 the refrigerator-radio combination unit. This may seem like an odd […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[373,3,305,288,26],"tags":[3269,1324,4094,4081,3268],"class_list":["post-10898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-radios","tag-fridge-radio","tag-gizmodo","tag-nostalgia","tag-radios","tag-refrigerator-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2PM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37948,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/the-audimeter-a-1939-solution-for-measuring-radio-audiences\/","url_meta":{"origin":10898,"position":0},"title":"The Audimeter: A 1939 solution for measuring radio audiences","author":"Thomas","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Gizmodo) [...]The February 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine included an article titled \u201cRadio Audience Meter\u201d which looked at the machine that was revolutionizing audience measurement. First installed in homes on a trial basis in 1939, the Audimeter was placed next to a family\u2019s existing radio. The article included photo\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Radio-Audience-Meter-1024x634.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Radio-Audience-Meter-1024x634.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Radio-Audience-Meter-1024x634.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4320,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/gizmodo-shortwave-radio-deserves-a-place-of-prominence-in-the-home-of-any-audiophile\/","url_meta":{"origin":10898,"position":1},"title":"Gizmodo: “shortwave radio deserves a place of prominence in the home of any audiophile”","author":"Thomas","date":"August 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Gizmodo) Classic turntables may get all the glamour, but the shortwave radio deserves a place of prominence in the home of any audiophile. For a stylish way to surf the airwaves, try this stunning late 1950s\u00a0Trans-World T-9, produced by Philco (that's the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, for those who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Philco-300x168.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14852,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/gizmodo-preppers-who-are-ready-for-next-solar-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":10898,"position":2},"title":"Gizmodo: Preppers who are ready for next solar storm","author":"Thomas","date":"September 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to several SWLing Post readers who shared a link to\u00a0this post\u00a0on Gizmodo which focuses on preparations\u00a0for a major solar storm like the 1859 Carrington Event. Gizmodo\u00a0touches on several preparedness basics and specifically mentions tucking away a shortwave radio with your survival gear: Several preppers suggested keeping shortwave receivers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BC-348-Q-Dial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36924,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/back-when-superboy-encouraged-kids-to-build-radios-with-razor-blades\/","url_meta":{"origin":10898,"position":3},"title":"Back when Superboy encouraged kids to build radios with razor blades","author":"Thomas","date":"April 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Talk about hitting all of my nostalgia points! Hat tip to SWLing Post reader, Mitch, for sharing this ad from a 1960s comic book: Do you enjoy the SWLing Post? Please consider supporting us via\u00a0Patreon\u00a0or our\u00a0Coffee\u00a0Fund! Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SuperBoy-Crystal-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39824,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/the-radio-man-of-kumartuli\/","url_meta":{"origin":10898,"position":4},"title":"The radio man of Kumartuli","author":"Thomas","date":"September 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares a link to this short but fantastic photo pdoc about Kumartuli's radio man, Amit Ranjan Karmakar. Click here to view at The Indian Express.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/radio6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/radio6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/radio6.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/radio6.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20891,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/memories-and-transistor-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":10898,"position":5},"title":"Memories and transistor radios","author":"Thomas","date":"August 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always had an affinity for pocket transistor radios. My first one was an AM-only model: a Realistic Model 23-464.\u00a0It was about the only new pocket radio I could afford--and purchase locally--when I was a kid. It was surprisingly sensitive on the AM broadcast band, but the dial was a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Magnovox 1R 1203","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Magnovox-1R-1203.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Magnovox-1R-1203.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Magnovox-1R-1203.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Magnovox-1R-1203.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}