A Toast to Toaster Abundance

Get 86 today for the time price of one in 1926.

The automatic pop-up toaster was invented in 1919 by the mechanic Charles Strite. The device incorporated a timer to shut off the heating element and release a pop-up spring when the slice of toast was done. The first toaster for home use was introduced in 1926 by the McGraw Electric Company. The Toastmaster sold for $12.50 and promised “perfect toast every time--without watching, without turning, without burning.” In 1926 unskilled workers were earning around 25 cents an hour while blue-collar workers were earning 51 cents an hour. This would put the time price at 50 hours and 25.4 hours respectively. Today you can pick up a much better toaster at Walmart for $9.98. Blue-collar workers are now earning around $36.15 an hour in compensation (wages and benefits) while unskilled workers are closer to $16.50. This would put the time price at 17 minutes and 36 minutes respectively. For the time it took a blue-collar worker to earn the money to buy one toaster in 1926, they would get 89 today. For an unskilled worker the multiplier would be 83. The average would be 86.

The next time you enjoy a fresh slice of toast, thank Charles Strite and the millions of entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators for transforming scarcities into abundances. You might also enjoy learning about breakfast bounty in general by reading this related article about 12 common breakfast items.

We explain and empirically demonstrate why more people with freedom means much more resource abundance in our new book, Superabundance, available at Amazon. You can read more at superabundance.com. There has never been a better time to create more life.

Gale Pooley is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute and a board member at Human Progress.