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Improvements in technology and in manufacturing processes meant that the seventies and eighties were a time when lots of so-called “labour saving” devices were introduced to our homes. The kitchen was one room in the house that saw quite a few new gadgets come along, and one of those was the toasted sandwich maker.
The toasted sandwich maker, also commonly known as a “Breville” in the UK (because that was the name of the biggest manufacturer of the devices, just like Hoover has become another way of saying vacuum cleaner) or simply a “Toastie Maker”, was basically an electric hot plate cooker, but instead of a flat cooking surface it was moulded with triangular indentations that could accommodate slices of bread.
To use the device you basically made a sandwich, except instead of arranging the bread so the buttered side was next to the filling, the buttered side faced outwards towards the sandwich maker surfaces. You dumped your sandwich into the toastie maker and closed the lid. The two sides of the sandwich maker compressed the bread around the crusts, creating a seal but normally leaving the crusts poking out the side. Once cooked you carefully extracted the sandwich from the machine, and waited for it to cool down before having a good munch.
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The picture illustrating this post may be of a more recent piece of equipment, but the general look and style of Citizen’s Band Radio kit hasn’t changed a great deal since it first truly became popular in the 1970s.
For some reason there seems to have been a sudden interest in creating 
Think that the clock is pretty unusual? Well it gets dafter with the 
For the more dapper gentleman who thinks buttons on shirt cuffs are abhorrent, how about a pair of 
, which you can buy on Amazon for under a tenner. I think these are a nice idea, it’s just a pity that they chose to make a cube with only 2×2 faces rather than 3×3.
Finally, and I’ve saved the best (and most expensive) until last. The 
I came across this cool image by Spanish designer Carla Berrocal this week and just had to share it with you as it’s a great example of early Eighties videogame art. One of her clients asked her to come up with a wedding invitation for them and the result was this great pixellated bride and groom.
Here’s one of those odd crazes that you’d probably forgotten about until now – I certainly had, and I’m not even sure quite why they popped back into my head. In the early Eighties (or it might have been late Seventies) there was a fad for these funny little metal balancing ornaments.
So, have you had one of the relaunched Wispa Gold bars yet? I must admit to having had a couple already and dare I say it, they seem to be better now than I remember them being when they were originally launched!
