Thermos

Hello there! My name is Thermos, and I’m a magical container with a very special secret power. Have you ever been on a chilly winter walk and wished your hot chocolate could stay steamy and warm until the very last sip? Or maybe on a super sunny day at the park, you wanted your apple juice to stay icy cold and refreshing? Well, that’s my special job! I’m like a little secret keeper for temperatures. I was created a long, long time ago to solve just that problem. Before me, soup would get cold and lemonade would get warm. I thought, 'I can make snack time better!' My whole purpose is to make sure your favorite drinks and soups stay just the way you like them, no matter if it’s snowing or sunny outside. I hold onto the heat or the cold and don't let it escape.

I wasn't always a shiny lunchbox friend, you know. My story began in a busy science laboratory way back in 1892. A very clever scientist with a big, bushy mustache named Sir James Dewar invented me. He wasn't thinking about yummy soup or cold juice at all. He was working with special liquids that were colder than the coldest winter day you can imagine! For his important experiments, he needed a container that could keep these super-duper cold liquids from warming up and turning into gas. If they got warm, his experiments wouldn't work. So, he had a brilliant idea. He took a glass bottle and carefully placed it inside a slightly bigger glass bottle. Then, using a special pump, he sucked all the air out of the tiny space between the two bottles. This empty space is called a vacuum, and it’s my secret power! The vacuum acts like an invisible shield. It stops heat from traveling, so it can’t get in to warm up cold things, and it can’t get out to cool down hot things. For a long time, I was called a Dewar flask, and I happily helped scientists all over the world with their amazing discoveries.

For many years, I just worked in laboratories with serious scientists. I thought that was my whole life story! But then, my big adventure began. Two smart men in Germany, Reinhold Burger and Albert Aschenbrenner, saw me and thought, 'Wait a minute! This amazing container could help everyone, not just scientists!' They knew I could keep coffee hot for workers and milk cold for babies. So, in 1904, they held a contest to give me a new, friendlier name. Someone suggested 'Thermos,' which comes from the Greek word for 'heat,' and it was the perfect fit! Suddenly, I had a new job. I was painted in bright colors and sent out into the world. I traveled in picnic baskets and school bags. I kept soup steamy for hungry children on cold school days and lemonade frosty for families at the beach. I've even been on incredible journeys to the top of the highest mountains and to the bottom of the deepest oceans with brave explorers. Today, I'm still your trusty friend, always ready for your next snack-time mission or thirsty adventure!