Refrigerators

The mechanical refrigerator was a revolutionary invention that changed life in the United States. No longer were families, restaurants, and businesses inconvenienced by periodic ice deliveries and the necessity of limiting use of the icebox for fear that the ice would melt. Home food costs were reduced because leftovers could be chilled and saved and perishables could be purchased in larger quantities. The diet could be more varied as well. With the advent of mechanical refrigerators, frozen and refrigerated foods became a major factor in the American diet, and refrigerator production became big business.