blender

blender [blen der] noun

An electrical appliance featuring a spinning blade at the bottom of a glass or plastic pitcher, used in food preparation. Depending on the make and model, a blender can be extremely efficient and helpful – or not so much. Well-made and powerful blenders such as a Vitamix can even make flour from whole grain.

The history of the blender begins in America and primarily involves three men: Stephen Poplawski, Fred Osius and Fred Waring. Poplawski was the first person to put spinning blades at the bottom of an electrified container in 1922. Osius set out to improve the original design and filed a patent in 1933. He approached Fred Waring for financial and marketing support, which Waring provided, but the blender was plagued with some technical issues. Waring got rid of Osius, had the machine redesigned and went on to launch the Miracle Mixer blender in 1937 with a big campaign. Waring introduced his appliance at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago – it retailed for $29.75. The following year he changed the name of the product to the Waring Blender and to most of the public, this Waring blender was the first.