Refrigeration might be compared to the wheel in its impact on civilization. For the first time, food could be kept for relatively long periods of time without spoiling. Later, medicines could remain effective with prolonged storage. In those two cases alone, human life improved. But there have been many more applications for refrigeration, not the least of which is industrial use in process manufacturing.

Read a history of the impact of refrigeration on industry and the home at www.history-magazine.com/refrig.html.

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