The fridge magnet is the most common tourist souvenir: even the most die-hard homebodies are almost certain to have at least a few of them in their kitchen. It seems as though it has always been this way, but in fact the history of these simple trinkets only began in the mid-20th century, spanned several decades, and they owe their existence to three Americans.
Holder Magnets
In 1954, John Wheatley patented magnets used to hold lightweight items—such as sheets of paper—on vertical metal surfaces. Back then, it was common to hang notes and all sorts of decorations on the refrigerator: magazine clippings, photographs, or drawings. At best, these were attached with tape, which was not very aesthetic, inconvenient, and unreliable. So Wheatley’s solution turned out to be very timely.
Magnetic Letters
The material from which most modern magnets are made was invented by professional molder Sam Hardcastle in the mid-1960s. At that time, educational aids widely used plastic letters and numbers with magnets attached to them. Large industrial companies tasked Hardcastle with developing fully magnetic symbols that could replace the awkward combinations of plastic and metal.
The inventor mixed iron dust with vinyl, obtaining flexible magnets that adhered to surfaces much better. From this magnetized plastic, Hardcastle made letters of various colors and sizes, imprinted words and logos on them, and later created a series of magnets for each U.S. state.
Cartoon Magnets
The idea of decorative magnets for embellishing household appliances belongs to William Zimmerman from the state of Missouri: he patented it in 1973 and began producing souvenirs in the form of Disney cartoon characters and animal figurines.
Now they were used not only as holders—the cute trinkets perfectly concealed scratches and other damage on the appliance body.
In the very first year, they became incredibly popular: at the request of children, parents literally swept the “cartoons” off the shelves. Later, products featuring rock stars, logos, and even religious attributes began to be manufactured.
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Smart Magnets
Today, magnet gadgets are widespread, reminding you when products are nearing their expiration date, measuring cooking time, or showing the room temperature. In 2006, Swedish scientists invented magnets with liquid crystal displays for short notes. But the most popular still remain the classic picture magnets.
How many magnets are on your refrigerator?
