Ode to Man’s Second Best Friend, the Toaster

Yes, the toaster. The coffeemaker might come first but the toaster occupies the solid second place in kitchen necessities. And unlike the coffeemaker, you can get a pretty fine toaster, and a funky one, for a reasonable price. I know that every time I visit London Drugs I see the toasters and just wish I needed a new one. I do believe that designers love the toaster.

The innovation on general design is interesting but some have actually tackled the very basics of the process; witness the rolling toaster.

The old standby flap down; they are still with us.

I would have preferred this to my second last toaster. It was an art deco sort of thing and fairly expensive. You put the bread in and it slowly sinks and then slowly rises when done. The problem was that there was no manual way of ending the toasting or or pushing the bread down if it wasn’t functioning properly. So when it didn’t feel like doing what it was supposed to be doing, you found yourself there in the kitchen, standing at the counter and a little cold still waiting for the sun to rise, and helplessly cursing at the useless piece of crap that wouldn’t just fucking brown your bread a little.

I’ve seen toaster/coffee maker combos but here’s another dual purpose take, playing your golden oldies:

And for the cozy but corporate approach:

And for the cat who has most everything:

But I kind of like the industrial crash aesthetic of this metal magic:

And finally, for those who are somewhat paranoid about what is going on in there:

And naturally a video homage to a beloved toaster:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGtj4jjbco&hl=en]

Does anyone out there know what brand this is? Check out the cool ceiling doors.