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Saturday, September 26, 2026Est. 2026. Most of what's in here is older.

Don't fix it if it ain't broke

Still Running / Kitchen

No. 0006Kitchen

1971

Toaster

Running 55 years

Bought on a Macy's card with a $300 limit

A Sunbeam toaster from the late 1970s. Not the one in the story. — A Sunbeam toaster from the late 1970s. Not the one in the story. Photo: Tape fanatic 007, CC BY-SA 4.0. The real one is in the original post.

In 1971 a young husband wanted to start a credit record, so he made his first purchase on a Macy's card with a $300 limit. He bought a toaster. He doesn't remember what it cost, only that it wasn't much. It gets used every day. There isn't much inside to go wrong, just a plain heating element on each side of the slot and a spring-loaded carriage. Ask anybody who fixes small appliances: the toasters that die young are the ones with a circuit board in them.

Retold from a post on r/BuyItForLife. Read the original

More from Kitchen

No. 0072Kitchen

Hoover coffee percolator

Hoover made coffee pots too An American electric coffee percolator from around 1950, with the glass pot showing the pump tube and basket inside. Not a Hoover, and not the one in the story.

An American electric coffee percolator from around 1950, with the glass pot showing the pump tube and basket inside. Not a Hoover, and not the one in the story.

Running about 71 years

No. 0071Kitchen

Wagner Ware No. 8 skillet

A July 1951 wedding gift, on the stove every day A vintage American cast iron skillet made by Griswold, Wagner's old Ohio rival. Not a Wagner, and not the one in the story.

A vintage American cast iron skillet made by Griswold, Wagner's old Ohio rival. Not a Wagner, and not the one in the story.

Running 75 years

No. 0005Kitchen

Sears electric carving knife

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An electric carving knife of the same basic design. Not a Sears, and not the one in the story.

Running 61 years

No. 0003Kitchen

Reliable gas stove

The best stove in the house is in the dining room An old enamel gas stove on legs, made by the German company Krefft. Not a Reliable, and not the one in the story.

An old enamel gas stove on legs, made by the German company Krefft. Not a Reliable, and not the one in the story.

Running about 99 years