johncomic

The refrigerator. It can be sobering to contemplate the extent to which this single device has shaped our day-to-day lives.

For one example, consider milk. I love having cold milk available for my cereal or sometimes just to drink on its own. But without the fridge, I would be unable to store milk safely in my home for any length of time. I would need to obtain a fresh little supply every time I wanted any. And I wouldn't even be able to pop down to the corner shop and buy some, because the shop wouldn't be able to keep a supply on hand either - no cold storage.

In order to get milk, I would either have to keep my own cow(s) - forcing me into a life of animal husbandry on top of my other duties - or have an obliging neighbour with cows. (Or perhaps the corner shop might keep cows? In which case shopping there would smell rather different...) And in order to enjoy cold milk, I'd need to store some of my milk in a container suitable for leaving outside overnight to chill. Meaning that this option would only be available at certain times of year.

Don't even get me started on ice cream...