Buying a Microwave Oven from Sears in 1977


Time-travel with me back to 1977, and let's buy a Microwave Oven from Sears. We can save $50, as it's only $379.95 (Regularly $429.95).

I have to admit that this ad surprised me, as I hadn't realized that microwaves were once so expensive, and were even available in 1977. It must have been state-of-the-art stuff, for the rich people!

1977 was the year that I got my first apartment in Phoenix, and I sure didn't have a microwave, nor do I imagine that I had ever even heard of one. This morning I'm pondering when I got my first one, which was probably some time in the '90s, and it doesn't seem like it was all that expensive, more like buying a coffee maker or something like that. I didn't show it off to people who visited me!


Now that I look at the ad more carefully, this must have been absolute top-of-the-line. Kenmore was a very respected name for appliances, so much so that nowadays it's still on appliances made by Whirlpool (they bought the name). And it looks like the idea was to put an entire roast in the microwave, with a probe sensor (I wonder if they do that anymore?), and when it shuts off, your roast is done!

I use my microwave every day. Today I heated up a cup of coffee that had gotten cold because I spent too much time on the internet, and I'll probably make a microwave meal for lunch. I bought it a few years ago from Sears, and as I recall it was pretty expensive, but not as much as it would have cost me in 1977!

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