The Easy-Bake Oven Loses Its Light

Just so you know, rumors of the death of the Easy-Bake Oven are exaggerated. Yesterday, online, people worried that the federal ban on incandescent light bulbs, due to start next year, meant that everyone's favorite bulb-powered childhood toy was doomed. Happily, Hasbro announced that the Easy-Bake Oven would be reborn, as the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven. Only this time it's going to be cooking with a heating element, which means that the first parent that tries to rip it apart to change the light bulb is going to be awfully disappointed.

With the Easy-Bake Oven,  fantasy has launched kids into adulthood, and even the careers of award-winning chefs. The fact that behind all that is a regular old  light bulb is kind of amazing! Change that $1.50, screw-it-in-yourself bulb for the new Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven's and that line between fantasy and appliance gets thrown out the window! Now it's just a box that ... does stuff.

I'm sure that this is more energy efficient, and I'm all for that. But, it also seems slightly more dangerous (not that any child should use any version of the Easy-Bake-Oven without parental supervision). All I know is that I'm glad that last year I opted to get my niece Barbies instead of that Easy-Bake Oven she wanted.