1957 Flash Back: The RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen
Posted on 4/13/22
Here, truly, are appliances of the future-RCA Whirlpool Appliances-that perform fantastic chores and services at the touch of a button or a mere wave of the hand.
No longer is the homemaker tied to sink and stove. No more need she spend long hours peeling, cutting, mixing foods; cooking by guessing, and hoping not to over- or under-cook dishes; scraping, washing, drying, and putting away all the paraphernalia of preparing, cooking and serving a meal.
In the exciting RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen, all this – and more – is done for her automatically, completely, and quickly. At last, she is entirely free of the dull monotony of routine kitchen-keeping!”
“But first, another cup of coffee. You go to your beverage dispenser and there’s your coffee served to you. Had you wanted hot tea or cold milk – it would have been no problem. Your versatile dispenser offers you a choice of beverages, served at the right temperature at the touch of a button. A separate compartment stores bottled beverages, also available at a wave of your hand.”
Softly, a voice reminds you, “The bridge club will arrive at 12 noon for lunch.” This is actually a message being played back to you that you recorded the day before. By setting a timer at the time you recorded the day before. By setting a timer at the time you recorded the message you were sure to be reminded of this in sufficient time to prepare the luncheon. This recorder is also your private telephone.
Twelve friends in for lunch? That’s no problem with this Miracle Kitchen-it will even plan your meal for you! Touch a button and on the screen in front of you appears the menu you have chosen as suitable for the occasion.
Next you’ll want to check your supplies. A touch of another button and before you appears an up-to-the-minute inventory of food on hand.”
A wave of your hand and the refrigerator is lowered to a convenient level and you select the foods you need. Wave your hand again to raise the refrigerator up and out of the way.
Salad vegetables to be prepared? Simple…just drop them into the automatic vegetable preparer unit, set the dial, and in seconds they are peeled, pared, diced, sliced or whatever you wish. Wastes are automatically disposed.”
Only an hour until the guests arrive? Plenty of time. Your RCA Whirlpool Electronic Oven will bake the cake in only three minutes-cook the vegetables in seconds-broil the chops in minutes. Just set the timer-never bother about temperatures-and you cook right in the dish or platter you plan to serve in. When you cook electronically only the foods get hot, their containers stay cool.”
Might as well do the floors, too. A touch of a button at the Planning Center brings your mobile floor cleaner unit from its storage compartment. It scurries about vacuuming up loose particles, then scrubbing and rinsing the floor. Having completed its task, it returns to it s niche, empties the waste, recharges itself and is ready for your next call.”
Luncheon over and a table full of dirty dishes. A touch of a button and the self propelled serving cart rolls up to the table. You place all the dishes on it, and it goes back to its compartment. Silently, quickly it scrapes the dishes, disposes of the wastes, then washings, rinses, dries, and stores all of the dishes in the special cabinet adjacent to the dishwasher…all automatically.
You’re planning to be gone for the rest of the afternoon and won’t be home until just before dinner. But no matter-tonight you’ll call on your magic Meal Maker. You have a wide variety of meals to choose from. You just select a menu and foods move into the proper cooking or warming compartments. Seconds later your meal is ready to be served at the table.”
For instance, there’s no more struggling with a can opener. When you want a can you merely dial for it. How do you want it – opened, closed, contents emptied into a pan or dish? Dial it, and you get it, as you desire it!
No more tussling with ice trays either. Place a glass or container under the dispenser-and all the ice just as you want it-cubes, crushed, any way-is delivered by your Ice Maker.
And, you’ll never get tired of “looking at the same old kitchen” every day. A the touch of a button your control panel you can change the entire lighting and color scheme…for hot days, a cool blue…for cold days, a warm pink…or perhaps a combination of these colors better suits your mood.”
When you think of all the amazing things this RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen can do to make your every day living much more pleasant and work-free, it seems truly fantastic.
But when you stop to consider the tremendous capabilities of the great laboratories that create and develop all the fabulous RCA Whirlpool Appliances it doesn’t seem so impossible that many of the exiting new appliances and conveniences in this kitchen of tomorrow are actually available today!”
Here today is the same RCA Whirlpool Washer-Dryer Combination that washes, rinses, and dries all your clothes and linens in one automatic operation! It’s a full-size washer and a full-size dryer in one compact 33-inch unit!”
RCA Whirlpool Automatic Dryers…real time and work savers that dry clothes and linens gently and properly.”
RCA Whirlpool Automatic Dishwasher and Food Waste Disposer…end the monotony of doing dishes and the mess and fuss with garbage. The dishwasher automatically washes dishes, glassware, silver, pots, pans and utensils sparkling clean, dries them perfectly, and if you wish, even stores them for you!”
RCA Whirlpool Built-In Gas and Electric Ranges…give you unusual beauty, efficiency, and conveniences-all built-in as you want them!
RCA Whirlpool Electric Ranges…with built-in features that give you every way to cook automatically!”
1957 Flash Back
The above video is the 1957 promo showcasing the Miracle Kitchen.According to Tom Maxwell (Indy Week, 2013 article), his father was part of the design team. Although it looked like a working “Miracle Kitchen,” the self-propelled machines were moved by remote control from someone behind a two-way mirror. The orange juice was dispensed by a person rather than the wave of her hand.
Looking back, some of these ideas were comical. But a few were rather genius, and improvements with those ideas make our lives a little more convenient today.
Forget having a “Planning Center” in the kitchen. It’s now a little gadget that fits in one hand and can be used anywhere.
Set your coffee to brew before getting up in the morning. Check the contents of your fridge from the grocery store. Say hello to the stranger that rang your doorbell. Give the dog a treat from the dispenser and watch the cat ride its robot vacuum, all from your hand-held gadget.
Since it’s not 1957 anymore, even men can do it! How far we’ve come!
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