Fascinating facts about the invention of the
refrigerator by Carl von Linde in 1876.

TO LEARN MORE

RELATED INFORMATION:
Carl von Linde Biography   from The Great Idea Finder
History of Household Items    from The Great Idea Finder

ON THE BOOKSHELF:
100 Inventions That Shaped World History
by Bill Yenne, Morton, Dr. Grosser (Editor) / Paperback - 112 pages (1983) / Bluewood Books 
This book contains inventions from all around the world from microchips to fire. This is a really good book if you are going to do research on inventions.
The Social Shaping of Technology
by Donald MacKenzie / Paperback: 462 pages / Open University Press; 2 edition (June 1, 1999)
The book argues that social scientists have devoted disproportionate attention to the effects of technology on society, and tended to ignore the more fundamental question of what shapes technology in the first place
Linde: History of a Technology Corporation, 1879-2004
by Hans-Liudger Dienel / Hardcover: 352 pages / Palgrave Macmillan (September 4, 2004)
Today, the Linde Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, is a global technology company dedicated to gas and engineering, material handling and refrigeration. This book examines the history of this company in the context of the history of technology in industry.
More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave
by Ruth Schwartz Cowan / Paperback Reprint edition (February 1985) / Basic Books (Sd)
Inventions such as washing machines, cotton cloth, and even white flour acted as catalysts by giving the less well-off a chance at the comforts the prosperous already possessed, but in general it was men and children whose chores were relieved by these innovations.
Never Done: A History of American Housework
by Susan Strasser / Paperback - 361 pages / Owl Books; (November 2000)
It is truly an eye-opening perspective on housework, not to mention a history of the tools of the trade.
A Social History of American Technology
by Ruth Schwartz Cowan / Paperback: 352 pages / Oxford University Press; (December 1996)
This book surveys the history of American technology from the early 17th century to the present, focusing on the key individuals, ideas, and systems that have shaped the important technological developments throughout American history.

ON THE SCREEN:
Digi-tech
DVD / 1 Volume Set / 50 Minutes / History Channel / Less than $25.00
See how the computing capacity of World-War II era room-sized computers is now surpassed by hand-held devices; visit Zenith to see a side-by-side comparison of regular television and HDTV; discover how a Cold War era NASA program is transforming personal photography, and get the inside story about MP3s.
Household Wonders  
DVD / 1 Volume Set / 50 Minutes / History Channel / Less than $25.00
HOUSEHOLD WONDERS tells the story of seven taken-for-granted inventions that make modern life comfy, fast and clean: the stove, sewing machine, refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, toaster and mixer.

ON THE WEB:
The Linde Group History
At a sometimes staggering pace and with a great love of experimentation, Carl von Linde created a new industry within just a few decades: refrigeration.
(URL: www.linde.com/WGAP/internet/html/default/pger-67mjzk.en.0)
G.E. History of Appliance Innovation
GE transforms imagination into exceptional products. Learn more about our tradition of innovation and the many appliance "firsts" GE has unveiled.
(URL: www.geconsumerproducts.com/pressroom/our_company/history_appliances.htm)
Birth of the Cool
All of a sudden, the middle class could have things that seemed high class a few years before. Article by Katy Kelly for US News & World Report.
(URL: www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050815/15fridge.htm)
Refrigerator-Great Achievments
Which of the appliances in your home would be the hardest to live without? The most frequent answer to that question in a recent survey was the refrigerator.
(URL: www.greatachievements.org/?id=2958)
It's a Cool Story!
Fred Wolf Jr.,patented an electric refrigerator in 1913. Designed to drop in through a hole cut in the top of an icebox, the quarter-horsepower Domelre plugged into an electric light socket to power an air-cooled refrigeration machine that needed no water connections.
(URL: www.memagazine.org/backissues/may00/features/coolstory/coolstory.html)
How the Refrigerator Got Its Hum
Article by Ruth Schwartz Cowan from The Social Shaping of Technology: How the Refrigerator Got its Hum, Donald MacKenzie, Judy Wajcman, eds. Open University Press, 1985
(URL: www.towson.edu/~sallen/COURSES/311/ESSAYS/HowtheRefrigerator.html)
Refridgerator History
Brief description of the evolution of the refrigerator.
(URL: www.historychannel.com/exhibits/modern/fridge.html)
Brand History
From the Appliance magazine Web site.
(URL: www.appliancemagazine.com)
National Museum of Science and Technology
The largest of its kind in Canada devoted to Science and Technology education.
(URL: www.science-tech.nmstc.ca)
Chemical Achievers
It was the achievement of Carl von Linde in 1902 to take oxygen from the air itself—and he was soon extracting it in quantities approaching one thousand cubic feet per hour
(URL: www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/chemach/tpg/cvl.html)
General Electric
The official GE appliance web site.
(URL: www.ge.com/en/product/home/index.htm)
Electrolux
Everything Electolux including Vacuum cleaners and who owns the name.
(URL: www.electrolux.com/node637.asp)
Frigidaire
The new Frigidaire Home Products was formed January 1, 1997 by uniting three sister companies in the White Consolidated Industries/AB Electrolux family—American Yard Products, Frigidaire Company and Poulan/Weed Eater.
(URL: www.frigidaire.com/)
AHAM
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers ("AHAM"); your best source of information about home appliances and the industry organization that represents the manufacturers of home appliances.
(URL: www.aham.org/)
Cool New Technologies
There are always some scientists and engineers who think completely outside the box. In this case, the 'box' was the idea that you need to use pressure to change temperature. Article by Andrew Kantor for USA TODAY.
(URL: www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2004-07-23-kantor_x.htm)
The Impact of Refrigeration
Barbara Krasner-Khait discusses the effect refrigeration had on industry and the home. Published by History magazine.
(URL: www.history-magazine.com/refrig.html)
History of the General Electric Monitor Top Refrigerator
The first models available to the general public, for residential use, were introduced in 1927. 
(URL: www.antiqueappliances.com/monitor_top_refrigerators.htm)
The Social Shaping of Technology
G.E. had agreed to manufacture a commercial refrigerator for the Audiffren Company, which held the American rights to a patent owned by a French monk, the Abbe Audiffren.
(URL: www.towson.edu/~sallen/COURSES/311/ESSAYS/HowtheRefrigerator.html)
Refrigerator
Milestones of the Millennium at the History Channel Web site.
(URL: www.historychannel.com/exhibits/millennium/society_culture.html)

HOW IT WORKS:
How Refrigerators Work by Marshall Brain at How Stuff Works. Lots of COOKIES.and POP UPS

DID YOU KNOW?:

• A domestic refrigerator is present in 99.5% of American homes
• The earliest units used toxic refrigerants, typically ammonia (R-717), sulfur dioxide (R-764), or methyl chloride (R-40) as their refrigerant.
• In the 1930s R-12 was used to replace sulphur dioxide as the most commonly used refrigerant. Trademark name for the product was Freon.
• The Montreal Protocol (1987) serves as an international agreement to begin phasing out CFC refrigerants, which are suspected of contributing to the thinning of the earth’s protective, high-altitude ozone shield.
• A Monitor Top refrigerator was sent on a submarine voyage to the North Pole with Robert Ripley (the originator of 'Believe It or Not') in 1928, the year after its introduction..
• The millionth Monitor Top refrigerator was presented to Henry Ford in a special radio broadcast in 1931
• The Linde AG, founded by the German scientist-entrepreneur Carl von Linde in 1879 with the name of "Society for Lindes Ice machines" today is the oldest German engineering company still in operation.