Whew...the Easy Bake Oven won't die
but it won't be the same. I remember using my Easy Bake Oven all the time...even baking my brother's worms in it. Funny how one "toy" can instantly bring back childhood memories.
First things first: Rumors of the death of the Easy-Bake Oven are greatly exaggerated. Rumbling through the Internets yesterday were worries that the federal ban on incandescent light bulbs, due to kick in next year, meant that everyone's favorite bulb-powered childhood burn hazard was doomed. Happily, Hasbro announced that the Easy-Bake Oven would be reborn, all Phoenix-like, as the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven. Only this time it's going to be fired with some zippy little heating element, which means that some kid somewhere is going to be very unhappy when his parents rip the thing apart insisting that they can change the bulb themselves.
But is all truly saved? Surely the phase-out of incandescent bulbs is good for the world -- I mean, that a 100-watt bulb was so inefficient at turning energy into light that it could cook a cake as a byproduct is sort of its own argument against itself. Still, I can't help feeling a little something may be lost with the change. - Salon
It might seem easy to explain the Easy-Bake Oven's power over children: It is a toy that makes cakes; a perfect storm of passionate kid desire. But let's face it: Not even the most swooning devotee was in it for the plasticky taste of the treats. So why does the Easy-Bake Oven have such power over us? - Salon
Labels: childhood, Easy Bake Oven, toys
