History Of TV Dinner
In 1953, Swanson & Sons found themselves with a whopping 260 tons of frozen Thanksgiving turkey—sitting in ten refrigerated rail cars—because they’d overestimated demand.
Image credit: Reddit
Rather than let it go to waste, a savvy salesman named Gerry Thomas drew inspiration from airline meal trays. He ordered 5,000 aluminum trays and assembled meals of turkey with cornbread dressing and gravy, peas, and sweet potatoes (each with a pat of butter).
Priced at just 98 cents (in Eisenhower-era money!), the concept was a hit beyond expectations: Swanson sold 10 million of those turkey TV dinners in 1954. And just like that, the TV Dinner was born!
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