The white goods industry – for the greatest benefit of humanity

At the time of his death, Alfred Nobel was one of Europe's richest men, and many raised their eyebrows when his will was read out after his death on December 10, 1896. The message was clear: "the will, the interest of which shall be distributed annually as a prize reward to those who, during the past year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind." Five years later, the first Nobel Prize was awarded, and since then it has been awarded annually to laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. But we are still missing a few inventors and innovators from the list of winners.

First up among the innovations that should have earned a place at the banquet is the vacuum cleaner, an American invention from 1868. The first one was certainly large, clumsy, weighed close to a ton and was mainly suitable for cleaning castles and manor houses. But development progressed quickly and by the turn of the century more useful devices had come onto the market. If the Nobel Committee had also wanted to see a Swede around the table, they could have awarded a Nobel Prize to AB Lux, which in the 1910s obtained a Swedish patent for vacuum cleaners and began mass-producing them to the neat weight of 14 kg.

From a historical perspective, the vacuum cleaner has meant a lot to cleanliness and hygiene in our homes. Today, an average Swedish household has 1.6 vacuum cleaners. Are we allowed to propose a medicine prize for innovation?

Electrolux pioneers in all their glory. But few Swedes have done more for the white goods industry than Carl Munter and Baltzar von Platen. In 1922, their world sensation, the refrigerator, was presented for the first time. The development of the product had taken them almost a year, but in the end they managed to create a smooth refrigerator with no moving parts. They also won awards and became famous. For their work About generating cold They were awarded the Polhem Prize in 1925. In 1974 they were awarded the Grand Gold Medal of the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. But they never won a Nobel Prize, even though their invention certainly created great benefits for humanity.

The father of microwave technology, Percy Spencer, didn't just win the Nobel Prize for his invention in the early 1900s. The microwave oven didn't become a success until well into the 1970s. For home use, microwave ovens only became popular in the 1980s, and they are now found in virtually every household. It is still an invaluable and affordable helper in the kitchen. In addition to cooking whole meals, the microwave can help with baking, heat porridge to perfection, and quickly defrost dinner when time is short. It is also available in all price ranges. Spencer could be awarded a posthumous Peace Prize for this technology, which has probably saved many people from blood sugar drops over the years.

The hottest innovation on our list of alternative Nobel laureates is the induction hob. Induction coils in the hob generate heat closer to the food and increase efficiency. The invention means that boiling water on the hob is as fast as with an efficient kettle. An induction hob also does not get hot in itself, but only the pot/frying pan is heated. In Sweden, more than 86 percent of all hobs sold are equipped with induction.

Now we know that the Nobel Committee cares little about the number of citizens who use, or even know about, an innovation, work or effort for a Nobel Prize to be awarded. But surely even the Committee could not have missed the great contribution to humanity that our industry has made over the years?

Kent Oderud

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