The microwave oven is generally believed to be invented by American engineer Percy Spencer, who, while visiting a lab that was testing radar technology after WW2, felt a peanut bar start to cook in his pocket.
His curiosity piqued, he did further research by harnessing the microwave energy in a box and directing it towards some popcorn and an egg. The popcorn exploded all over the place, while the inside of the egg heated up so quickly it burst the shell and left an assistant with egg on his face. Soon after in 1946 his company, Raytheon, patented an oven that heated food using microwave energy, and the microwave oven was born.
Ever since, rumors have circulated about the dangers of microwave ovens, with people most likely spooked by the word ‘radiation,’ and conspiracy theories making links to things like DNA damage and cancer.
Jump to 2018 and we are still at it. A post recently showed up on Reddit’s ‘MurderedByWords‘ sub, with somebody using a secondary school project as ‘evidence’ for the insidious nature of the humble microwave.
While the experiment itself was pretty cool and raises a few questions, this person took an inch and ran a mile, making some pretty outrageous claims on the back of it.
Now, there are responses, and there are responses. Carefully deconstructing the claims piece by piece, we learn about DNA, cells, radiation and vitamins, among other things, meaning that yes, you can go ahead and zap that popcorn in peace.
Here’s what people had to say about the word-murder
