Tired of Slaving Over a Hot Stove ?

Tired of Slaving Over a Hot Stove ?

from the July, 1974 issue of National Lampoon

Litton Industries, Inc, introduced here yesterday a new microwave oven with a variable cooking control that matches power levels with various cooking tasks. It enables the user to vary power from 65 to 650 watts. The new counter top unit, produced by Litton's Microwave Cooking Products division, will carry a price tag of $469.

-The New York Times, September 20, 1974

In '74, microwave ovens still were too pricey for most households ($469 was a lot of money in 1974 dollars. A gallon of gas was 53 cents, a gallon of milk $1.57, and a first-class postage stamp 8 cents), but dropping prices would make them commonplace in many households by the decade's end.

Leave it to the National Lampoon to satirize this new cooking technology, in a gruesome fashion...........