ON
CONSUMERS
From the late nineteenth
to the early twentieth century, the refrigerants used in household refrigerators
were ammonia, methyl chloride, and sulfur dioxide. These chemicals
were toxic gasses that leaked from tubes and killed enough poeple to force
refrigerator companies such as GE and Frigidaire to find a new alternative
to these gasses.34
The advent of freon replaced ammonia and sulfur dioxide in the 1930s.35 As
a result, consumers had a better and safer way to preserve their foods.ON
WOMEN
The advent of houshold
refrigerators also had a significant impact on women. Because the doctrine
of spearate spheres said that the domestic world was for women, and the
public world for men, it bound women to their homes. Not only did
women have to maintain her home, she also had to feed her family. The
refrigerator raised the expectations of the quality of food. Refrigerators
saved women from preserving food in old fashion ways. They no longer
had to salt, smoke, or dehydrate foods in order to preserve them. The
impact of refrigerator can be seen in a play produced by General Electric
where kitchen appliances such as the refrigerator symbolized freedom for
the American housewife.37
ON
INDUSTRIES
Refrigerators were not
only used in the household, but also used in major industries. Throughout
the mid to late nineteenth century, meat-packing and railroad industries
greatly benefitted from refrigeration. Meat shipped in railroad cars
depended on refrigeration to keep the meat fresh. John W. Oliver states,
"These products were stored in insulated compartments between decks, with
an ice bunker and a fan for circulating the air."38
Refrigerated railroad cars allowed meats to be shipped faster and made
food more accesible to consumers. The success of the meat-packing and
railroad industries could not have been as successful without refrigeration.ON
ENVIRONMENT
According to inventors.about.com,
in the 1940's, the toxic gasses used to cool refrigerators were replaced
by chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) when "Three American corporations launched
collaboratice research to develop a less dangerous method of refrigeration;
their efforts lead to the discovery of Freon."39
Freon was safer for consumers, but had a negative impact on the environment.
Inventors.about.com states that in the 1970s it was discovered that
"chloroflourocarbons endangered the ozone layer of the entire planet."40 With the passing of legislation
such as the Clean Air Act of 1990, industries were forced to phase out the
use of CFCs in their products. DOMINATION
While refrigerators have
been around since the late 1800s, their popularity in the early years grew
slowly. According to Krasner-Khiat, "By the 1920s, the household refrigerator
was an essential piece of kitchen furniture. In 1921, 5,000 mechanical
refrigerators were manufactured in the US."41 By 1931, that number grew to over
one million and in 1937, six million refrigerators were produced. The
major boom in popularity occurred right after World War II. Because
toxic substances used as refrigerants were replaced by CFCs and the country
was experiencing economic prosperity, the public demand for refrigerators
soared. By 1950, more than 80 percent of rural and more than 90 percent
of urban families owned a refrigerator.42
According to the History Channel, today, refrigerators are "found
in more than 99.5% of American homes," thus making it "America's most used
appliance."43