Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Radar magnetron waves melted an engineer's snack to spark microwave cooking. The figure is taken from Smithsonian Institution, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Mondo Knows Facts

Microwave ovens were discovered when radar melted a chocolate bar

Radar magnetron waves melted an engineer's snack to spark microwave cooking

American engineer Percy Spencer discovered microwave cooking while working on military radar equipment at Raytheon in 1945. Standing near an active cavity magnetron, he noticed a chocolate bar in his pocket had completely melted. He subsequently tested popcorn kernels and patented the world's first commercial microwave oven.

Where this comes from

Smithsonian Institution

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Tags: appliances, cooking, radar

Microwave ovens were discovered when radar melted a chocolate bar: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Radar magnetron waves melted an engineer's snack to spark microwave cooking. The figure is taken from Smithsonian Institution, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a everyday life fact?: Yes. It sits on the Everyday Life shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.