ice box (was: obsolescene [was church key])

[sagehen]

>I used to wonder whether "Frigidaire" or "refigerator" was the source
>of "fridge." After consulting many English-French dictionaries and
>seeing many French movies wherein "refrigerator" is translated by
>"frigidaire," and the fact that my mother and my grandmother *always*
>used "frigidaire" and never "fridge" for any brand of refrigerator, my
>vote is for the brand name as the source.
>
>-Wilson
 ~~~~~~~~~~
I agree.  In fact I made much the same argument in an exchange on another
list."Frigidaire" was one of those inspired brand names like "Kleenex" that
became the generic. It may not be so universally used now as it was in the
40s & 50s, since now we just say "fridge."
I certainly remember the Servel with its pretty little blue flame logo.  My
in-laws had one on the ranch in Wyo --- before REA came into the valley --
when electricity, supplied by their own generator, was only on for a few
hours each evening. Servels must have saved a lot of food from spoilage in
rural America until years after WWII.
A. Murie

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