The Cabinet In This Victorian Radiator Has An Amazing Purpose

By  Emma Taubenfeld
Close up of a radiator. Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash

Radiators serve an important purpose: to keep us warm when a sweater and fuzzy socks just aren't enough. The appliance — typically made from metal due to its superiority in conducting heat — draws heat from water or steam which it uses to warm up the air. Although radiators can be a little creepy as they can sometimes be loud, smelly, and definitely don't add any aesthetic charm to a room (although some nostalgic designers may disagree), to say we're grateful for them would be an understatement.

Well, according to Twitter account The Museum of Curiosities, a radiator may actually serve more than one purpose. In a tweet, they shared a photo of a Victorian-era radiator that also contains a bread warmer. Considering how effective the tool is to heat a room, we can imagine a loaf of bread would get pretty steamy in there.

As told by The Radiator Centre, the first water-based heating system extends back to Russia in 1700, but the modern radiator doesn't come in until 1857. In the Victorian-era, radiators served as decorative pieces in addition to just being functional, if you can believe it.

Commenters on the tweet were praising the contraption and even saying they wanted one of their own. "I'd put my slippers and pajamas in there!" wrote one, while another said, "Brilliant, why it's not still a thing?"

The safety of the warmer can't be confirmed, but it is really nice to dream of toasty warm socks and freshly-baked bread.

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