Monday, November 4, 1963: Easy-Bake Oven

The baking toy, made by Kenner Products, goes on sale. 

From the packaging: "Bake your cake and eat it too! It's quick! It's easy! Simply add water and bake these delicious treats ... 'Cook Book' tells how to Easy Bake. You can get Kenner refill mixes or use Mom's ingredients."

From the patent (linked below): "This invention relates to toys and it is directed particularly to a toy oven in which a child may bake many varieties of foods 'just like mother's' but on a much reduced scale. ... (T)he oven is heated by ordinary light bulbs. The temperature generated by these bulbs is found to be adequate for baking purposes, but it is not so great that it cannot be effectively baffled, insulated and vented so that there is no danger of a child being burned by touching any of the exposed parts of the oven, even though it be small in size. ... (I)t is found that the average child can turn out excellent baked products with very little instruction using the oven of this invention."

* Short history (from Hasbro, current owner of Kenner): @

* Entry from National Toy Hall of Fame: @

* Early television ad: @

* Patent (from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office): @

* "The Evolution of the Easy-Bake Oven" (from Sociological Images blog): @

* "UC alum Ronald Howes creates Easy-Bake Oven" (from University of Cincinnati): @

* "The Passing of Mr. 'Easy-Bake Oven' " (from Super Chef blog, 2005): @

* "Light Bulb Baking" (Todd Coopee, 2013): @ (book) and @ (website) 

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