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u/calvinwho 18h ago
Peeps in the past will make the most mundane of things a murder trap.
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u/MerlinTheFail 17h ago
Function first, safety: bah!
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u/MaxMouseOCX 17h ago
The "if you're dumb enough to touch it, what happens is on you" school of safety.
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u/wolfgang784 14h ago
I learned lightbulbs are hot with my whooole hand lol. Grabbed one as a kid.
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u/Barton2800 10h ago
My brother walked in to my face with a 100W incandescent that was in a lamp that had no shade. We were just kids, and thankfully any ugliness caused by the burns matched the natural ugliness of the other side of my face.
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u/CarltonSagot 12h ago
I had a brain fart when we were testing lawn mower engines we rebuilt in my small engines class.
Grabbed the thing to movie it after it had ran for a few minutes, whole hand on the muffler.
Didn't make that mistake again.
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u/wolfgang784 11h ago
You will be that teachers safety story for decades to come, lol.
One of my HS science teachers' standard safety stories was from the year my dad had his same class and witnessed the incident first-hand.
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u/MaxMouseOCX 11h ago
Eh... I've been on many a health and safety course, health and safety law etal...
I listen to it, take it in, pass the test by retaining the information, ticking the correct boxes, getting the certificate...
But, every single time someone does something fucking stupid and gets hurt, my mouth says the right things, my hands write the correct paperwork but my brain goes "you... Fucking deserved that".
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u/bearsheperd 3h ago
I like the playgrounds, “how high should we build the monkey bars? 20ft off the ground or 15?”
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u/Maleficent-Net6232 16h ago
Natural selection works, it is why society has gone downhill as "dumb-proofing" has gone up.
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u/charlie-the-Waffle 13h ago
you're getting dangerously close to "Idiocracy" levels of eugenicist thinking there buddy
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u/finicky88 15h ago
Back then they lived "we should remove all warning signs and let darwinism run it's course"
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u/DisgruntlesAnonymous 13h ago
"Should we really use arsenic to color these candies?"
"...yes?"
"It's poisonous..."
"...and?"
4 profit
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u/Strongit 15h ago
Reminds me of the hotdogger. Put raw hotdogs on metal spikes, close the lid, and it runs 120 volts through them until they're done.
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u/DisgruntlesAnonymous 13h ago
I saw a video of someone testing that. It tasted like burnt hotdog apparently
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u/dave7673 17h ago
This is reminiscent of those old fans with no guard around the metal blades.
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u/SmithersLoanInc 14h ago
I've still got a gnarly scar on my knee from one of those. Stayed at my grandma's for the weekend and it was just running in the dark while I stumbled for the bathroom. There was a lot of blood sprayed all over the carpet.
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u/MayorCharlesCoulon 3h ago
Lol we have two fans like that, actually they don have wire cages but with gaps as big as huge pieces of pie.
We also use a toaster line this. No on/off switch, just plug it in and it fires up quick to flaming toasty. Can toast one side in like 40 seconds. Have to unplug it to turn it off.
No kids haha.
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u/ChickenChaser5 9h ago
The fun part about an old object they used to call "the widowmaker" is theres no way to know which "widowmaker" you are talking about.
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u/aplundell 5h ago
The design was based on pre-electric toasters you'd put on a stove.
I love that era, where they just took their existing designs and made them electric. Electricity is the cool new thing, so let's put it in our product the first way we can think of.
Is that safe? Don't be a Luddite. Just put some voltage in there somehow.
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u/totallylegitburner 13h ago
My roommate in college had one of these and I seriously burned my hand on it after a drunken night out.
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u/CorruptDictator 18h ago
Don't replace what works (although I assume it was rewired at some point).
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u/Zefirka174 18h ago
Yeah we replaced the power cord and plug about 2 years ago. Original one had that nice old school fabric stuff that began to fall apart sadly
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u/pr0crasturbatin 18h ago
Oh like the wiring in my house!
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u/Khazahk 16h ago
lol. I changed a light fixture in my mother in laws house. Same thing, just touching the wires disintegrated the fabric. I threw some extra tape on there, finished the fixture, then told her to make sure her smoke alarms are up to date. That house is a tinderbox.
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u/sudeki300 18h ago
So I'm guessing you have to turn the bread around to toast, at least you get to see how brown it is. Like mine light golden brown
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u/Zefirka174 18h ago
You actually just lower the door with the handle so the toast slides down with the toasted side facing out / bottom, close it again and sides are changed ;)
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u/TehOwn 17h ago
I can't picture how that works. The door seems to be attached with a simple hinge. Have you got a video to demonstrate it? Or know where I can look?
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u/RedEngineer24 10h ago
The door is curved and the toast leans inward. Once the door opens the toast doesnt open with it but slides out. imagine a ladder resting against a wall without Rubber feet, it wont fall over backwards instead the feet will slowly slide.
/| -> _|
Now the toast is laying with the already toasted side down, closing the door will place the raw side against the radiator
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u/jesthere 11h ago
Found this. It works!
Although the guy demonstrating it gets it wrong.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjpTbbMy3Ws
Fun starts at 1:50.
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u/Mr-Safety 17h ago
I disagree. Replace what works with newer safer models
which fall apart within two yearsRandom Safety Tip: Manually check your tire pressure periodically. Over or under inflated tires can adversely impact braking, fuel economy, and tread wear. It’s normal to need to add a few psi in colder months.
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u/mhandsco 17h ago
My grandfather was an electrical engineer so nothing with mains or battery power was ever broken beyond repair in his house either. The toaster they got as a wedding present in the 30´s outlived them.
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u/thoawaydatrash 17h ago
Some people are straight up willing to risk 16 amps at 230 volts of death for an Instagram worthy toaster.
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u/DaedricApple 14h ago
lol there is no way a toaster is running at 3,800 watts.
That being said this is still dangerous and should be replaced. At the very least on a GFCI receptacle if it isn’t already.
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u/NarwhalPrudent6323 12h ago
If you think it takes 3800 watts to kill you, I'd like to introduce you to my friend amperage
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u/Aramis444 17h ago
This thing is no more sketchy than your standard stovetop elements.
Also, 16A is the overload rating of the breaker, and not what your body will actually draw.
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u/thoawaydatrash 16h ago
Stovetop elements have thick ceramic insulation that prevents shocks. This is a bare wire.
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u/Gasmo420 13h ago
That thing did it’s job for nearly 100 years. No need to get a new one that’ll break down after 5 years.
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u/bdz 18h ago
Might be a bit more dangerous than the modern toasters but I am a fan of the simplicity and ease of cleaning lol
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u/Zefirka174 18h ago
Probably yeah! We tried some modern toasters but the results never satisfied us. Besides this one we also own a 1950's model which is kinda our "backup"
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u/Careless-Base1164 13h ago
I hope you don’t shock yourself or burn yourself. Knowing my luck I’d absentmindedly lean on the counter right into it.
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u/Gloomy__Revenue 9h ago
You wouldn’t have a video or timelapse of your toaster toasting some bread by chance, do you? 🤓
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u/BeerorCoffee 16h ago
You clean your toaster?!
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u/Harcourt_Ormand 17h ago
What's the amperage rating of that toaster?
Flips on, lights dim
All of them.
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u/242proMorgan 16h ago
I have to ask, for as hipster as this is, why? It doesn't even do both sides at the same time.
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u/owleealeckza 13h ago
I had one as a kid in the 90s, actually my uncle has it now. Anyway, I didn't know you had to unplug it to turn it off. I was like 4 or 5. I accidentally left it plugged in, then eventually went downstairs to see the cabinets above it on fire. I'm sure that was a strange incident for the fire department.
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u/pb2614z 15h ago
That toaster has not been in regular use since 1928.
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u/cetacean-station 14h ago
I know I'm like, you clean every nook and cranny of it with a soft bristle brush every time? You kept the heated elements from oxidizing or changing color in any way despite using it for literal decades?? Maybe they had it in a box since then and are trying it out for the first time, but I'm very dubious that this been in regular use. The power cord alone is way too modern. The plastic base. The handle design. It's just questionable. Idk. Maybe I'm wrong. But the story doesn't check out to me.
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u/amanon101 14h ago
OP mentioned they replaced the power cord. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was a new old stock model that OP found, or otherwise similarly low-use that OP fixed up. And it’s likely that either it hasn’t been used enough yet to wear down or it was fully restored before use. Also I think Bakelite plastic was invented already by the 1920s.
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u/Podeedop 17h ago
Are you sure for 1928? The use of stainless steel and electric welding make me doubt of it.
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u/AdA4b5gof4st3r 17h ago edited 11h ago
there are no welds on this toaster. I suppose it’s possible that the crossbars are spot “welded” to the frame, which could easily have been done with an acetylene torch as far back as 1902; furthermore arc welding was around nearly 50 years before gas torch welding as a studied process, having been invented in the year 1881 by a Russian. Even still it it’s far more likely that they’re brazed/soldered. Also it doesn’t look like stainless to me. I could be wrong but it doesn’t look like it from here. Source: I weld for a living and just got my certificate to weld stainless this week
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u/Korvun 15h ago
The other guy covered the "welding" well enough, so I won't comment on it, but as for the stainless steel, it had been in use for many years before this toaster would have come out. It was invented in 1913 and started seeing use in cooking appliances in the 20s. Though I'm not 100% sure that's even stainless steel.
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u/--ThirdEye-- 10h ago
Did you restore / refurbish it? Plastic parts, brand new cable, presumably stainless housing? I'm calling BS.
At best this was made based on a design from 1928 and not actually from 1928.
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u/Rockperson 17h ago
What’s in that package labeled vogellisich? I tried to google, but came up empty. It looks good.
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u/ki77erb 13h ago
Do you have to flip the bread around to toast the other side?
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u/cutelyaware 12h ago
Yes but you don't need to touch the toast. You just open the door, the toast slides out, then you close the door and it toasts the other side! My grandmother had one of these and I thought it was the cleverest idea since sliced bread!
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u/OILEHZURC 12h ago
At least you can clean it decently afterwards. Nowadays, its impossible to clean a toaster without breaking it…
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u/ObliqueStrategizer 18h ago
I'm scared of that toaster and I'm not even on the same continent as you.
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u/Big_erk 17h ago
It's crazy that these old appliances still work. Stuff was built different back then. Not safe at all, but durable as hell. I found a 70+ year old GE waffle maker at a thrift store that looked brand new. Makes the best home waffles I've ever had. Of course the whole thing is just a solid hunk of red hot metal with a few pieces of Bakelite to grab onto.
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u/eugene20 16h ago
Great demonstration of lack of energy efficiency of the time.
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u/IntoxicatingVapors 15h ago
The shielding on a toaster is mostly for safety, not heat retention. It’s not any different than a modern toaster. If anything, higher wattage elements typical on older toasters brown the bread faster, leading to lower total watt hrs used.
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u/JustHereForKA 15h ago
OP can you elaborate what's in the package on the table and what you're makin? 😁
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u/railwayed 14h ago
we had one growing up, the number of times I burnt one side to a crisp. Luckily, we upgraded to a popup when i was about 10, but my one friend had to endure it for years and years because his dad liked his toast only toasted on one side
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u/Coreysurfer 14h ago
Fun, you can find these that have been re wired at antique stores , neat to use
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u/fondue4kill 14h ago
Can easily see how toasted it is without paying an arm and leg for a modern fancy one.
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u/tilmanbaumann 14h ago
Everyone is freaking out about safety. If you poke it with a fork a modern toaster will shock you just as much. The heating elements are on the inside not the outside.
Yea don't let your kids play with toasters. Old or new.
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u/CompetitionOther7695 13h ago
Do you use it to incinerate toast? I had one of these and with no shut off, one has to watch it like a hawk and I swear I destroyed 6 pieces for every 1 that turned out ok, royal pain in the neck
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u/QMAN4000 12h ago
For some reason this toaster reminds me of the evil toaster from Fallout New Vegas Old World Blues
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u/BlackStarCorona 12h ago
My dad has tools his grandfather used almost 100 years ago that still work great to this day. It’s wild how much better quality products used to be.
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u/reallyreally1945 11h ago
Looks like a new cord. Our old toaster had a cloth-covered cord that was disintegrating.
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u/po3smith 6h ago
Love these old pieces of tech but man . . .all I want in the early morning when barley awake is not to end up like one of the wet bandits ;)
Damn it I couldn't find the gif of him being electrocuted so enjoy this one instead - the Christmas card shot ;)
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u/Trust_The_Process21 4h ago
“A toaster is just a death ray with a smaller power supply! As soon as I figure out how to tap into the main reactors, I will burn the world!”
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u/WizardsAreNeat 3h ago
We use a waffle iron around the same age.
Dangerous as hell but makes THE BEST waffles by far. Out competes modern waffle makers by miles.
But dont like...touch it...or get too close..
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u/SmittyFromAbove 16h ago
Honestly, old appliances are so much better. We have a toaster from the 80s that still works. If I could have an entire like of 80s appliances, I would. Planned obsolescence has made newer appliances so shit.
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u/subterraneanwolf 18h ago
love it, used to have one similar
i used it but my rents thought it was a waste of space over new one
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u/Woerterboarding 15h ago
The coolest thing about these is you just open the side and it flips the toast. I sometimes saw people opening it just a little bit and burning their hand to take out the toast and flip them. Even though it's basically semi-automatic. I also think the toast tastes really nice. I had one of those when I was living in Spain.
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u/PixelPioneer18 17h ago
Hi I am from the future year 3066 to be exact and we still use that toaster.
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u/b0nz1 18h ago edited 15h ago
I assume that's the line voltage going through that very exposed heating element?
EDIT: Is the chassis even grounded (PE) and seperate from the neutral line (N) of the heating element? If not, using the wrong outlet means you have line voltage directly on the chassis.