Chapter 04 of 5
The Cold Revolution
How cheap cold changed meat, fruit, shopping and medicine.
- The Shift
The Iceman Retires
As electric fridges spread in the 1930s, the regular delivery of ice blocks to homes faded away.
- End of a Trade
The Ice Trade Melts
The natural ice trade, which had employed thousands of harvesters, collapsed as machine-made cold took over.
- Proof of Concept
The Dunedin
In 1882, the ship Dunedin carried frozen mutton from New Zealand to Britain, proving long-distance meat shipping could work.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
What is the 'cold chain' in food and medicine?
❄️ Your Fridge Doesn't Make Cold
- 01Cold Is Not a ThingWhy a fridge moves heat instead of making cold, and how we got there from frozen lakes.
- 02The Loop Inside the WallThe four-step cycle that pumps heat out of your food.
- 03Poison in the PantryDeadly early refrigerants, the chemist who found a safer one, and the hole in the sky.
- 04The Cold RevolutionHow cheap cold changed meat, fruit, shopping and medicine.
- 05Cooling Without a CompressorDesert ice houses, clay pots and Einstein's silent fridge.