"Jack Schidt®" > wrote in message >
> My question is, were these safety features designed as a forethought, or
> were they an afterthought? Were we indeed treated to some unwanted
> 'finger foods'?
>
> I know how engineers are, so the question burns like an ember...
>
> Jack Curiosity

As appliances are designed today, all the safety considerations are put in
place.
That was not true years ago. I'm sure a few fingers were sacrificed to get
to that point.

Microwave ovens did always have a door interlock though. I don't recall my
mother's old Bendix front loader having a door lock back in the early'50s.
Designers thought people would have enough common sense not to open the door
when water was sloshing around.