I promise this story about microwaves is interesting.

I found an article that said "The microwave was invented to heat hamsters humanely in 1950s experiments." And I thought, no it wasn't. ...was it?

Pull down the description for thorough references and credits.



I did consider whether to do an extended interview with Dr Lovelock, but the Science Museum has already done far better than I ever could:

REFERENCES:

HISTORY OF THE MICROWAVE:

James Lovelock in 1962: Photo by Donald Uhrbrock/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images

PAPERS FROM NIMR:

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[InvictusByz]

"I put a potato in and baked it. It was alright."
Microwaves in a nutshell, tbh.

[janmelantu]

“So I decided to ask him about it” was the biggest twist, I wasn’t expecting a 1950s scientist to still be living. Just goes to show how important it is to record knowledge while we still can

[shangerdanger]

wow that guy was SHARP for 101. unbelievable

[wcapeling]

This guy was literally watching technology evolve before his eyes

[santumChannelYes]

man's 101 years old and can still speak perfectly and recall the exact story. legend

[LakierosJordy]

Mr. Lovelock is by far be the healthiest clearest-minded 101 year old I've ever seen, that alone was incredible.

[boxes]

Thank you Tom. That was what you might call public service broadcasting. "Nobody has asked me about that before". Priceless.

[PaulDixon]

10:50 "You cannot freeze a human, ..." when he stuttered there, I just could picture him finishing that with "I know, I've tried"

[BurgerWeeze]

I saw a 101 year old scientist talk about being in a highly radiated room reviving frozen hamsters with a microwave.
Tom, the title was accurate, I'm not disappointed.

[TechnologyConnections]

I can't think of a single reason why a story about microwaves wouldn't be immensely interesting!

[oakenshadow]

The fact that he was willing to be interview all these years later made me so happy. And how happy he was to share.

[Jeod]

Oh my God. This man's cognitive ability at age 101 was so good it actually relieved my own fear of old age. You can see he had some speech hiccups, much like anyone would have while tired or nervous, but when the sentences came out, they were perfectly sound and relaying information was effortless. I wish to have such a brain when I'm old.

[RobbyBobbyBoy]

The guy casually exposed himself to unshielded microwave radiation in his youth and is still strolling down the beach at 101

[shde]

"Do you mind if I borrow a bit of military kit to revive a hamster?"
"Here you go, mate. You can keep it.
"Top lad."

[sixmedia]

My word, James Lovelock was in incredible shape and incredibly sharp for 101 years old. May he rest in peace.

[crystalsoulslayer]

"A hamster is an acceptable size" is a phrase I did not know I needed in my life until I heard it.

[antreiriukula]

I love how this old inventor says giddily "I put a potato in it, and baked it, and it was completely allright"

[briansmobile]

101 years old and happens to be alive for this video. That IS interesting!

[pitirimelea]

Incredible history. RIP James Lovelock. I'm astonished how well he was at his 100's even he remembered the stuff he did 50 years ago.

[AdmiralOctopusOBE]

You can see his face light up as he talks about his crazy scientific experiments, what an incredible human being