191 - Irregular Verb Story: The (Funny) Invention of the Microwave
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Hi, everybody. My name is Shawna, and this is the American English Podcast. My goal here is to teach you the English spoken in the United States. Through common expressions, pronunciation tips, and interesting cultural snippets or stories, I hope to keep this fun, useful, and interesting. Let's do it. The other day...

I researched most interesting inventions from the United States with the goal to find a story that might be funny or a little bit different for today. And I ended up discovering the invention of the microwave, which is sort of a discovery mixed with an invention.

And the story is amazing. I'm not exaggerating. I'll explain why in a second. First off, you know what a microwave is, right? It's an appliance. In just 90 seconds, you can make oatmeal in a microwave. In 30 seconds, your leftover pizza is heated up.

It's something that a lot of us have in our kitchens. Some people are still critical towards microwaves, and that's okay. This story is going to be very short, very funny, and as I was hoping for, it took place in the United States. It happened in Massachusetts. So what's better than telling a simple story to me

is making it a worthwhile English lesson. I've decided to add more than 20 irregular simple past tense verbs to this story, which is a lot. But don't worry, we've already learned 10 of the 20 irregular verbs in previous irregular verb episodes. So you should be able to understand everything.

Listen closely to see if you can catch at least 10 of the 20 irregular verbs. So, if you have a pen and paper, maybe make a note of them. If you're in the car,

Just focus on the story. I don't want to distract from the story itself. And just as a reminder, irregular verbs do not have "-ed endings in the past tense, or the simple past tense, I should say. For example, around lunchtime, I ate an apple and drank a glass of water.

Both ate and drank are irregular past tense verbs because they don't end in "-ed."

It's fairly straightforward. And the thing that's a little unfortunate is that in English, we have quite a few irregular verbs that are very common. Because they're different, they don't follow a pattern always. There are some patterns, which I'll mention in future episodes, but they require a degree of memorization.

To help with that process, this episode will have a bit of repetition. After you hear the story, you'll hear the words again in new contexts, and then you'll be quizzed on the 10 key irregular verbs. Afterwards, I'll go over fun facts about microwaves, like what happens when you put different things in microwaves,

because it's pretty entertaining. And then to wrap things up at the very end, you'll hear the story one last time. If you would like the bonus material for this episode, which includes a quiz, flashcards, the transcript, and more, be sure to sign up to season four at AmericanEnglishPodcast.com.

With these irregular verb stories, you also get a video, which is really great, especially if you're an English teacher and you want to immerse your students into this specific episode. So without further ado, let's hear about the invention of the microwave. Back in the 1940s, at the end of World War II,

There was a man named Percy Spencer who worked as an engineer at Raytheon in Waltham, Massachusetts. He helped develop radar systems for the U.S. military. One day, while he stood in front of an active magnetron, which is essentially a vacuum tube that produces microwaves,

He felt something odd happening in the pocket of his lab coat. He reached in and found a warm, gooey mess. His chocolate bar, which had been in his pocket all morning, had mysteriously melted. Why? Could it be his body heat? No, he wasn't overheated. Had a heater been turned on? Nope, it was cool inside.

He wasn't working with fire. The sun wasn't even shining through the window. What on earth had happened? Being a scientist, Percy sprang into action. After all, he couldn't disregard the odd phenomenon. He chose to experiment. Suspecting that it was the microwaves from the magnetron that had caused his chocolate bar to melt, he thought, hmm,

What other food items can I put near this thing? First, he got some popcorn. Percy laid the kernels near the magnetron, and within a few seconds, they popped loudly and leapt through the air like tiny fireworks. That's when Percy understood. The microwaves were cooking the food. It blew his mind. The day after successfully popping popcorn, he brought in a metal kettle.

We use kettles to heat water, usually. He cut a hole in the side of it and then put an egg inside, still in its shell. He pointed the magnetron toward the hole. And right then, a nearby engineer took a peek inside the kettle. Talk about bad timing. The egg exploded all over his face. Percy documented his findings.

At that point, he knew he was on to something revolutionary, so he built a metal box to safely trap the microwaves. This prototype was the first step toward creating the Raider Range, the first commercial microwave oven. It was released in 1946, and it was huge.

It stood close to 6 feet tall and weighed 750 pounds, over 300 kilos. To top it off, it cost an arm and a leg, $5,000 to be specific, which is equivalent to over $60,000 today. It was mainly bought by airlines, ships, and some restaurants that needed to reheat food.

As technology advanced, microwave ovens became smaller and more affordable. By the 80s and 90s, they were welcomed into households around the globe. Many people were thrilled to reheat their leftovers in seconds. Others remained skeptical. What's really happening to my food? Will I get brain damage if I stand next to this thing?

According to scientific studies, your brain and burrito are safe. So the next time you go to nuke something, just remember the funny story of melted chocolate, exploding eggs, and the first 750-pound microwave. Hey guys, I have to tell you something.

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Shop Skims Fits Everybody collection and more at Skims.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know I sent you, select podcast in the survey, and be sure to select my show in the drop-down menu that follows. On a scale from 1 to 10, what was that? Did you like that story? I have to say I was thoroughly entertained while researching this topic.

I thought more and more about microwaves and actually how prevalent they are in the United States. Perhaps it's because we've had them for longer than most countries. Maybe that's why there's a lot of food in the frozen section of the grocery store that you can heat up in a microwave. I'm not sure, but I do find it really entertaining.

I especially like the visuals of Percy, this engineer, in his lab coat covered in gooey candy. And that colleague of his with a face full of microwaved egg. It's just too good. Speaking of microwaved eggs, and this is just a tangent, but my uncle actually used to microwave his eggs in the morning.

Not in their shell, of course. They would explode from the pressure. He cracked them first. And I remember as a kid, him trying to convince everyone in my family that cooking eggs in the microwave was the best thing. It was the best thing since sliced bread. He was like, you don't need to wash your dishes afterwards, your spatula or your pan.

It's cleaner. It's easier. Have any of you ever done that? My immediate reaction was, okay, Uncle Jeff, ew, gross. But maybe I was being closed-minded. Maybe I should experiment in my kitchen. Or better yet, maybe you guys can experiment and let me know how it goes. How many irregular verbs did you count in this story?

If you weren't counting, that's okay. I know it's easier to focus on the story itself when you're not. First, I'll read the ones that we've had in previous irregular verb lessons, and then we'll take a deep dive into the new ones. Number one, to stand in the past is stood. Number two, to feel in the past is felt.

Number three, to choose in the past is chose. To think in the past is thought. To leap in the past is leapt. To bring in the past is brought. To take in the past is took. To cost in the past is cost. It doesn't change. To build in the past is built.

And last but not least, to become is became in the past. So what were the 10 irregular verbs from the story that are the focus for the day? Let's go through them. Number one, to find in the past is found. He reached in his pocket and found a warm, gooey mess, which was, of course, the chocolate bar or the candy bar.

The old man found a $10 bill under the couch cushions. I searched for my keys for an hour and finally found them in the car. Number two, to spring. In the past is sprang. Being a scientist, Percy sprang into action. Sort of like he jumped into action. He quickly moved into action.

The cat sprang onto the windowsill when it saw a bird. I bounced the ball and it sprang up to the ceiling. Number three, to get. In the past is got. First, he got some popcorn. So he retrieved it, he got it. I got a new phone for my birthday. She got really tired after the long hike. Number four, to lay. In the past is got.

laid. Percy laid the kernels near the magnetron, and within a few seconds, they popped loudly. She laid the blanket on the grass for a picnic. He laid the book on the shelf before going to bed. Right, so the verb to lay can be a little bit tricky. A lot of people confuse lay with lie.

Just remember, to lay in the present tense is used with objects that we place in a certain spot. So I might lay my phone down on the table. A second ago, I laid my phone down on the table. Number five, to understand. In the past is understood. That's when Percy understood. The microwaves were cooking the food.

I finally understood the math problem after watching the tutorial. He understood her feelings without her saying a word. Number six, to blow. In the past is blue. It blew his mind. It amazed him. It was shocking and surprising. The wind blew the papers off my desk. A strong gust blew the door open. Number seven, to cut.

in the past is cut. It doesn't change. He brought in a metal kettle. He cut a hole in the side of it and then put an egg inside. She cut the paper into the shape of a heart. I accidentally cut my finger while chopping vegetables. Veg-ta-bles.

right? Not vegetables. Try to get it into three syllables if you can. Veg-ta-bles. Number eight, to put. What's the past tense of to put? Put. Like cut, it doesn't change. He cut a hole in the side of the kettle and then put an egg inside. I put my daughter's clothes away for them. We put our new treadmill into our gym. Number nine, to know.

In the past is knew. At that point, he knew he was on to something revolutionary. I knew something was wrong the moment I walked in. She knew all the answers on the quiz because she had studied hard. Number 10, to buy. In the past is bought.

It, so the first microwave, was mainly bought by airlines, ships, and some restaurants that needed to reheat food. We bought groceries for the entire week. I bought fresh produce at the fair.

Once again, the focus verbs of the day were found, sprang, got, laid, that was bad, one after the other, understood, blew, cut, put, knew, and bought. All right, we're going to do a quiz on them now. I'd like for you to fill in the blank with the correct past tense form of the verb. Are you ready? Number one.

The hen n-ed an egg this morning. What's the past tense of to lay? Laid. The hen laid an egg this morning. Number two. He n-ed out of bed when he realized he was late for his flight. What's the past tense of to spring? Sprang. He sprang out of bed when he realized he was late for his flight. Number three.

Ken finally nt the joke after everyone else had stopped laughing. What's the past tense of to get? Got. Ken finally got the joke after everyone else had stopped laughing. Number four. After years of searching, archaeologists nt the lost city buried under the jungle. What's the past tense of to find? Found.

After years of searching, archaeologists found the lost city buried under the jungle. Number five, Carrie N out the candles on her birthday cake. What's the past tense of to blow? Blue. Carrie blew out the candles on her birthday cake. Number six, the man N how to code from a very young age.

What's the past tense of to know? Knew. The man knew how to code from a very young age. Number seven. We ____ a vintage record player for $15 at a garage sale. What's the past tense of to buy? Bought. We bought a vintage record player for $15 at a garage sale. Number eight.

After listening to podcasts, I finally ____ English conversations. What's the past tense of to understand? Understood. After listening to podcasts, I finally understood English conversations. Number nine. The logger ____ the tree down with a chainsaw. What's the past tense of to cut? Cut. It stays the same.

The logger cut the tree down with a chainsaw. Number 10. The model on a lot of makeup for her photo shoot. What's the past tense of to put? Put. The model put on a lot of makeup for her photo shoot.

Hope you got most of those right. Before we wrap up today's lesson and you hear the story one last time, let's go through a few fun facts about microwave ovens. And once again, most of us here call them just microwaves. Now, we learned today that Percy Spencer sort of accidentally discovered microwave cooking because of the candy bar in his pocket.

And then he went on to invent the microwave. But the thing is, he didn't get full credit. His company, Raytheon, filed the patent for it. And they succeeded in doing so in 1950.

The first microwaves, those really heavy and big ones, went on to make millions of dollars, and Percy just got a $2 bonus for inventing it. What was also interesting to me was that he had over 300 inventions in his life.

So he was a highly respected physicist in the U.S. up until his death in 1970, and he got a lot of awards for his work.

It's just crazy to me that he only got $2 for the microwave. This message is brought to you by Abercrombie & Fitch. I've been ready for summer for a while, and now it's finally time for summer outfits. With the trip coming up, the A&F Vacation Shop has me covered. Abercrombie really knows how to do a lightweight outfit. Their tees, sweater polos, and linen blend shorts never miss. I wear Abercrombie denim year-round. Their shorts are no different and have the comfort I need for summer.

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New York City's Grand Central Station had a fast food stop called the Speedy Weenie, which was a microwave vending machine for hot dogs. Sizzling and delicious, and it comes with a bun. And the early pictures from their advertising are hilarious. You have to look them up.

There are beautiful women with perfect hair and outfits grabbing their hot dogs on their way home. Just early advertising is just great. Nowadays, and I just learned this today, the youth, so no longer me, actually has a slang term for a hot dog, which is glizzy.

I'm not sure if you guys have heard it. It's new to me. A glizzy is another way to say hot dog. Crazy, huh? A vending machine spitting out hot dogs. Speaking of which, you can really cook a lot in a microwave. I mentioned my uncle with the eggs and now apparently these hot dogs. But the thing is, you can't cook everything. Metal,

Definitely not. Have you ever accidentally stuck a fork or a spoon in a microwave? It sparks and crackles. That's like the absolute basic first rule when using a microwave. I asked AI, now what are the strangest things ever microwaved? And here are its answers. A lava lamp. What happened? It exploded, obviously. A marshmallow peep.

And if you don't know what a peep is, they're popular at Easter. They're little chicks, but they're made of marshmallow with sugar, usually colored sugar on the outside. Anyway, if you ever microwave a peep, it will get really huge and then collapse. Same thing with marshmallows. They're kind of fun to watch in the microwave, but it can make a mess. So just be aware.

And then the last thing mentioned here was a CD. People used to do this for the light show. It sparks and crackles. But yes, very bad idea. Honestly, it's really easy to ruin a microwave. I remember when Lucas put popcorn in.

And pressed the wrong amount of time. Instead of, I think, one minute or three minutes or something, he put like 10 or it was way off. And it turned our whole microwave black. So what about you? Do you have any microwave stories? Bring your story to your language class or to your language partner. Yeah, it's definitely not something we talk about every day, is it?

Now you're going to hear the audio one last time. Remember, repetition is great with these irregular verbs. They don't follow that ed ending pattern. So the more you work with them, the better. Here we go. Back in the 1940s, at the end of World War II,

There was a man named Percy Spencer who worked as an engineer at Raytheon in Waltham, Massachusetts. He helped develop radar systems for the U.S. military. One day, while he stood in front of an active magnetron, which is essentially a vacuum tube that produces microwaves,

He felt something odd happening in the pocket of his lab coat. He reached in and found a warm, gooey mess. His chocolate bar, which had been in his pocket all morning, had mysteriously melted. Why? Could it be his body heat? No, he wasn't overheated. Had a heater been turned on? Nope, it was cool inside.

He wasn't working with fire. The sun wasn't even shining through the window. What on earth had happened? Being a scientist, Percy sprang into action. After all, he couldn't disregard the odd phenomenon. He chose to experiment. Suspecting that it was the microwaves from the magnetron that had caused his chocolate bar to melt, he thought, hmm,

What other food items can I put near this thing? First, he got some popcorn. Percy laid the kernels near the magnetron, and within a few seconds, they popped loudly and leapt through the air like tiny fireworks. That's when Percy understood. The microwaves were cooking the food. It blew his mind. The day after successfully popping popcorn, he brought in a metal kettle.

We use kettles to heat water, usually. He cut a hole in the side of it and then put an egg inside, still in its shell. He pointed the magnetron toward the hole. And right then, a nearby engineer took a peek inside the kettle. Talk about bad timing. The egg exploded all over his face. Percy documented his findings.

At that point, he knew he was on to something revolutionary, so he built a metal box to safely trap the microwaves. This prototype was the first step toward creating the Raider Range, the first commercial microwave oven. It was released in 1946, and it was huge.

It stood close to 6 feet tall and weighed 750 pounds, over 300 kilos. To top it off, it cost an arm and a leg, $5,000 to be specific, which is equivalent to over $60,000 today. It was mainly bought by airlines, ships, and some restaurants that needed to reheat food.

As technology advanced, microwave ovens became smaller and more affordable. By the 80s and 90s, they were welcomed into households around the globe. Many people were thrilled to reheat their leftovers in seconds. Others remained skeptical. What's really happening to my food? Will I get brain damage if I stand next to this thing?

According to scientific studies, your brain and burrito are safe. So the next time you go to nuke something, just remember the funny story of melted chocolate, exploding eggs, and the first 750-pound microwave.

Hope you enjoyed today's episode. Be sure to check out the bonus material for this lesson, including the full transcript, a vocabulary quiz, listening comprehension questions, and that video I talked about before. You'll find everything at AmericanEnglishPodcast.com. You'll also find the link in the episode notes.

Enjoy the rest of your day. Bye. Thank you for listening to this episode of the American English Podcast. Remember, it's my goal here to not only help you improve your listening comprehension, but to show you how to speak like someone from the States.

If you want to receive the full transcript for this episode, or you just want to support this podcast, make sure to sign up to premium content on AmericanEnglishPodcast.com. Thanks and hope to see you soon. When we started writing our thoughts down on paper, it opened up endless possibilities. Ideas could grow beyond the borders of the mind, and it changed the world. Somewhere along the way, we lost touch with paper.

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