Daniel Thompson, automated bagel and ping pong pioneer, is dead at 94
In 1953, Daniel Thompson patented the wheeled, folding ping pong table, but it didn't make him wealthy, his family tells The New York Times. The success of the American game-room staple, however, allowed Thompson to create the first automated bagel-making machine, an invention that led to the bagel's ascension to a popular American food, not the Jewish specialty item found only in certain neighborhoods of certain cities, notably New York and Montreal. Thompson died on Sept. 3 in Rancho Mirage, California — near his home in Palm Desert — his family said last week. He was 94.
Thompson and his wife, Ada, founded the Thompson Bagel Machine Manufacturing Corp. in 1961, and Lender's Bagels of New Haven, Connecticut, leased their first machine two years later. (Lender's still uses Thompson machines today to make its 750 million bagels a year.) The advent of mass produced bagels killed off the tight-knit, mafia-like union of bagel makers, The New York Times notes, and many bagel purists are disgusted with the revolution that followed. (Slate noted Lender's role in the popularization of the bagel, by freezing them and selling them in supermarkets, after Murray Lender died in 2012.)
"There was a kind of schism in bagel-making history: pre-Daniel Thompson and post-Daniel Thompson," Matthew Goodman, who wrote a book on Jewish foods, told The Times on Monday. The Thompson machine "was one of a confluence of factors that in less than a generation turned the bagel, which had once been smaller and crusty and flavorful, into something that is large and pillowy and flavorless — it had turned into the kind of baked good that Americans like, à la Wonder Bread." On the other hand, if you like bagels — pure or not — you probably have Daniel Thompson to thank. You can read more about him at The New York Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - papal ideas, high-powered debates, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 Grammys
Speed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published