Results based on a survey that asked consumers which products have improved their lives most. SOURCE: Predatory Marketing: What Everyone in Business Needs to Know to Win Today's Consumer, by C. Britt Beemer (William Morrow, 1997) | Microwave oven | 77.3
Universal remote control (TV/VCR) | 66.6
Garage-door opener | 64.6
Home telephone answering machine | 61.7
Ear thermometer | 59.5
Breath analyzer | 59.2
Programmable home thermostat | 58.3
Call-waiting telephone service | 56.4
Automatic payroll/government check deposit | 55.1
Supermarket price scanner | 55.0

TECHNOLOGIES AMERICANS APPRECIATE MOST
In 1945, Raytheon Manufacturing began experimenting with an offshoot of World War II, the Magnetron. While standing by the working contraption - which created short radio waves - Percy Spencer noted that a candy bar in his pocket melted. Soon after, Spencer began to contemplate the domestic uses of the machine. Ten years later, the "radar range" became available. Source: World of Invention, by Gale Research