Popcorn History

The Easy-Bake Oven is an icon of American toy history, adored by nearly 40 million girls and women -- and coveted by countless boys and men -- since it was introduced in 1963.

The inventor of the Easy Bake Over, James O. 'Jeep' Kuhn, the creative engineer who oversaw the development team as vice president of Research & Development at Kenner.

The Easy-Bake Oven appealed to boys as well as girls -- and some of the boys are now top chefs and even TV stars. You see, once upon a time, there as a little boy named "Bobby" -- we know him today s Bobby Flay, resident chef on the CBS Early Show, star of several shows on the Food Network, and chef-owner of Mesa Grill and Bolo. Little Bobby begged his parents for one over his father's alternative, G.I. Joe. Fortunately, Papa was overruled that time, because today Bobby is one of the best known chefs in America. (Another Easy-Bake Oven boy is Rick Bayless, star on PBS and chef-owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo.)

Girls had them, too, though, of course. On short notice, Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake told me tonight by phone that she had a Easy-Bake Oven as a girl. When her cake mix ran out, her mother told Elizabeth to make her own. "I thought that was so cool!" she said. Talk about "girl power"!