What is an ice box?
Like those with grandparents old enough to remember, the ice box was a predecessor of the refrigerator. A large wooden box, often made of oak or walnut, an ice -stored meal that had to be kept cold, even though it did not run on the coolant. The ice cabinet was thus named because it required ice blocks as well as today's camp coolers. The Chinese were reportedly the first to create ice blocks of about 1000 BCE. In front of the ice box, people kept food cold in caves full of snow or ice, in streams or later, in underground cellars lined with straw.
The typical ice cabinet was roughly the size of modern refrigerators, albeit somewhat shorter. The face had three to five hanging doors, one smaller and designed for the ice block. The interiors were lined with materials such as tin, and for insulation were among other popular elections of cork, seaweed or straw. The inner cable shelves kept food.
many neighborhoods at the age of 20.Straightened every morning with a carriage drawn by a horse, while an ice man supplied ice blocks from the truck. It was not unusual to see how children chase the ice car to reward large ice chips created when cutting the block for delivery. The icy man used the pliers to grab the block and usually carried it over his shoulder, covered with a leather cloak. He entered the house and placed it directly in the ice box.
The arrival of a modern refrigerator was a somewhat slow process of development that lasted more than a century. It began with experiments in cooling in the 19th century, with several inventors contributing on the way. General Electric is credited to the first motor fridge in 1911, from which two were sold in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The engines were separate, noisy and stored remotely, for example in the basement.
This model was folldluže another model of the river basin-seamstat unit offered by Frigidaire in 1923. Improvement continued and mass production startedAnd seriously after World War II. The electric refrigerator was the main luxury when the family could finally afford to upgrade from their existing ice box.
Today, many people in their golden years still refer to the refrigerator like an ice box. While conditions can be synonymous for some, antique dealers appreciate the difference. Ice box in good condition can sell up to $ 2,500 (USD) or more, ironically competing with the price of some best -selling refrigerators. Once an ice box is ended with a necessity, it is now a popular collector's item.