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See also: Waring Blender Trivia
Orchestra Leader Fred Waring and the Waring Blender
Although the company is named after Fred Waring, a popular entertainer of the 1930's, 40's and 50's, Waring did not actually invent the blender. He did, however, perfect the original version and introduce this version to retailers and consumers-which ultimately became a big success. Waring history has it that in 1936 Fred Waring had just finished a radio broadcast in New York's Vanderbilt Theater when Fred Osius, dressed in outlandish striped pants, a cutaway coat and a bright lemon-yellow tie, approached the entertainer with his latest invention. Osius was looking for someone to finance a new mixer that would "revolutionize people's eating habits."
Waring was intrigued with the concept of a mixer such as the one Osius described, and he agreed to back the new product, even when the prototype failed to work the first time. Six months and $25,000 later, the prototype still didn't work. However, Waring remained enthusiastic and with his support, the engineering and production problems were solved in time to introduce the new "Miracle Mixer" (as it was then called) at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago in 1937.
Thanks to Waring's own promotion of the blender on the radio and through a singing group aptly named "The Waring Blendors," the blender became a permanent fixture in restaurants and bars. It wasn't long before consumers decided that they needed blenders in their kitchens as well; ultimately, department and specialty store sales increased and the blender became a household appliance for home chefs.
New Features Spur Sales in the 50's and 60's
World War II temporarily halted blender production, but in 1946 sales took off again as consumer demand grew. Product innovations continued, with the introduction of color-coordinated blenders and attachments that crushed ice and ground coffee. Solid state controls were among the most significant product changes. In the 1950's, new uses for the blender were constantly emerging, including applications in research laboratories. In fact, Dr. Jonas Salk used a Waring blender with an Aseptic Dispersal Container attachment to develop his lifesaving polio vaccine.
Fred Waring died in 1984, but his vision for a top quality blender lives on as Waring continues to manufacture an innovative line of top performance blenders for the home and for commercial use.
Waring Products - http://www.waringproducts.com
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