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The worlds largest Online Toaster Exhibition (toastermuseum.com)
79 points by zdw on Aug 4, 2023 | hide | past | favorite | 33 comments


I know everyone goes on about the famous Sunbeam toaster, but I proudly own what I think is one of the nerdiest, coolest toasters ever created, the Kenwood Virtu (https://appliancist.com/breakfast/toasters/kenwood-toaster-v...), now redesigned as the Kendwood Persona (https://www.kenwoodworld.com/en/persona-ttm610/p/TTM610).

This is a very unusual single long slot toaster with a huge wide slot. There is no spring basket to hold the bread centered in the slot: rather you manually change the slot width itself by moving the toasting elements up against the bread. For the same reason, you must manually raise and lower the toast yourself (and can do so at any time to check on the toasting situation). This toaster can toast huge pieces of bread, sandwiches, croissants, you name it.

The primary downside of this toaster is that its toaster elements are inconsistent and uneven. But it is an exceptionally unique design.


> I know everyone goes on about the famous Sunbeam toaster

I think I must run in different circles.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y

"The Antique Toaster that's Better than Yours"

  Technology Connections


I forgot the name of the toaster but instantly knew it probably had something to do with this video! Love his stuff!


The Antique Toaster that's Better than Yours[0] by Technology Connections[1]

[0] https://youtu.be/1OfxlSG6q5Y

[1] https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections


I think the infamous Mitubishi toaster has the Sunbeam beat. A $300 machine that supposedly produces the best toast in the world, but only toasts one slice at a time.

https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/03/mitsubishi-makes-a-373-toaste...


I have one and can confirm that once you have this style of toast it’s hard to go back.

Fluffy and moist interior with a perfectly crisp and browned exterior. It’s quite magical, and hard to understand until you experience it.


A teardown and commentary is available here: https://youtu.be/IxAbz9mfaj0


And if you're interested in buying an old toaster, this guy refurbishes them: https://www.toastercentral.com/

I have not actually bought a toaster from him, but I did buy a Sunbeam 1960s waffle maker/electric griddle. It works much better than my previous new waffle makers.


The majority of them look so well built and with a lot of craftsmanship. Very different to what is generally available today unless you go looking.


If you want a well built toaster I’d recommend a Dualit[1].

I’ve had the same one for roughly 20 years and it still just works exactly as it did when new.

It’s truly a design classic.

https://www.dualit.com/


What is an "Online Toaster"? Oh, it's a Toaster Exhibition that is online ;)


I thought it was a "Video Toaster" as a service.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Toaster


I wonder what is the second largest


I presume that would go to a toaster manufacturer with an obscene amount of models, or a toaster reviewer.

I'm actually surprised Amazon isn't the largest "toaster exhibition"?


In 1989 as a second year Industrial Design student we had a toaster project. We went somewhere deep into central Pennsylvania and saw a very large and extensive toaster collection that sprawled multiple buildings. Just some guy that loved Toaster he bought and sold antiques that he came across while looking for toasters. He had been doing it all his life and I believe only incapacitation could stop him.

I will have to look through my Hi8 Videos...



Hyphens required ...



Toasters plus Hacker News should always equal John Siracusa’s glorious series of toaster reviews:

https://www.caseyliss.com/2015/9/10/siracusa-on-toasters


We had a toaster oven when my kids were growing up (US). When we we visited London, they enjoyed the museums, etc., but what really excited them was the rental flat's pop-up toaster, "just like Wallace and Gromit!".


A lot of the toasters shown from 1910-1940s only toast one side of the bread at a time and have a flipping mechanism to then toast the other side. The flipping mechanisms seem like they would be nearly as expensive as just adding a second heating element. So is the reason for the one-sided toasting a constraint on how much electrical power was commonly available to homes 100 years ago?


The first toaster didn't come with a plug they came with a light-bulb socket connector.

If you are eating toast must be daylight for most people no need for the lightbulb.

Usually a home could afford a single outlet and they put it over the kitchen table for light and other utility tasks.

If one was going to splash out for some electricity that might consider and outlet for a refrigerator.


So I suppose these all run NetBSD? ><


Came here for this comment :D


Glad I found this comment:)


wow a website that gives me the desktop experience on my phone, feels like 2007 when the iPhone felt like a real web browser in my hand before everyone embraced the “mobile web” and reduced my handheld browser real estate by 1000%, and to think how small the screen was back then!



It's cute that they're based in Essen, Germany.


I love that he's kept a version of the original 1996 site online also (see the 'about' page).


No Cylons though?


This is so web 1.0. Love it.




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