# "Honey! The inventor of the TV dinner's done!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310 "2005-07-20T16:15:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/1 "2005-07-20T16:15:31Z")
From the AP (not the A&P): > [@](#): > > PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) - Gerry Thomas, credited with inventing the TV dinner more than a half-century ago and giving it its singular name, has died at the age of 83. Thomas was a salesman for Omaha, Neb.-based C.A. Swanson and Sons in late 1954 when he had the idea of packaging frozen meals in a segmented tray. He recalled that the inspiration came when he was visiting a distributor, spotted a metal tray and was told it was developed for an experiment in preparation of hot meals on airliners. “It was just a single compartment tray with foil,” he recalled. “I asked if I could borrow it and stuck it in the pocket of my overcoat.” He said he came up with a three-compartment tray because “I spent five years in the service so I knew what a mess kit was. You could never tell what you were eating because it was all mixed together.” Since interest in television was booming, he added: “I figured if you could borrow from that, maybe you could get some attention. I think the name made all the difference in the world.” The first Swanson TV Dinner - turkey with corn bread dressing and gravy, sweet potatoes and buttered peas - sold for about $1 apiece and could be cooked in 25 minutes at 425 degrees. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/2 "2005-07-20T16:23:34Z")
Best. Obit thread title. Ever. Bless you, Eve. (I just have this vision of the morticians rolling up the foil on the man’s coffin…) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/3 "2005-07-20T17:15:58Z")
I’m surprised that the AP left out the other half of the story: the TV Dinner was [the solution for the question of what to do with 260 tons of frozen Thanksgiving turkey](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues04/dec04/object.html). ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/4 "2005-07-20T17:45:54Z")
In his honor, the funeral will be today, at 4:25, for 25 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/5 "2005-07-20T17:55:03Z")
> [@Doctor Jackson](#): > > In his honor, the funeral will be today, at 4:25, for 25 minutes. Now THAT’S funny!! ---
**Author:** ![swanky\_glue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@swanky\_glue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swanky_glue)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/6 "2005-07-20T17:58:49Z")
In lieu of flowers, attendees of the funeral have been asked to bring forks so they can poke holes in the casket. This will allow for proper ventilation. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/7 "2005-07-20T17:58:49Z")
> [@Doctor Jackson](#): > > In his honor, the funeral will be today, at 4:25, for 25 minutes. For the last ten minutes, they’ll peel back the corner of his casket. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/8 "2005-07-20T18:32:08Z")
And his center will _still_ be frozen. ---
**Author:** ![swanky\_glue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@swanky\_glue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swanky_glue)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/9 "2005-07-20T18:35:10Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > And his center will _still_ be frozen. Most likely, his edges will be burned. ---
**Author:** ![Zog\_10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c57346/32.png) [@Zog\_10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zog_10)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/10 "2005-07-20T18:37:56Z")
> [@Doctor Jackson](#): > > In his honor, the funeral will be today, at 4:25, for 25 minutes. So I guess in the future people will say he was buried in a trench once, in 2005, after 25 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/11 "2005-07-20T19:26:55Z")
Why, that’s the most beautiful segmented casket I’ve ever seen. Look, the meat’s all seperated from the stuffing. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/12 "2005-07-21T02:28:47Z")
So will he need to rest for one to two minutes to cool after the funeral? I’d think that after being dead for a couple of days, he wouldn’t need to. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/13 "2005-07-21T03:34:43Z")
The really neat thing is I can mourn his passing without missing any of my favorite programs. How convient! ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-the-inventor-of-the-tv-dinners-done/313310/14 "2005-07-21T12:40:43Z")
I just want to say that **Eve** ’s thread titles _alone_ are worth the price of admission.