The Lazy Susan Revolution makes dinner time is so much fun! The kids love it! And so do the adults. Everyone can serve themselves and enjoy without bothering anyone at the other side of the table. Klages, Karen. Chicago Tribune. "Whaddayaknow. Q: Who named the Lazy Susan?" 9 Jun 1996. Accessed 11 Aug 2013. Boston Journal, p. 3. "Hingham Indian Maidens Revive Ancient Arts: Lazy Susan, Dumb Waitress". 8 Nov 1903. Laurie was a Scottish carpenter who made his "lazy Susan" to the personal specifications of a Hingham-area woman. Unfortunately he presented this gift to her too late, which caused her to unleash an abusive tirade upon Laurie. When she finally asked him for the price, he "told her it wasn't for sale, though of course it is". [15] [11] The name was repeated in a 1911 Idaho Statesman article – which describes it as "a cousin to the 'curate's assistant', as the English muffin stand is called" [16] [11] – and again in the 1912 Christian Science Monitor, which calls the "silver" lazy Susan "the characteristic feature of the self-serving dinner table". [17] By the next year, the Lima Daily News described an Ohioan "inaugurat[ing] ... the 'Lazy Susan' method of serving". [18] Henry Ford used an enormous one on his camping trips in the 1920s to avoid bringing a full contingent of servants along with his guests. [4] In 1933, the term was added to the Webster's Dictionary. [19]

Despite various folk etymologies linking the name to Jefferson and Edison's daughters, the earliest use of these "serviettes" or "butler's assistants" [14] [11] being called a lazy Susan dates to the 1903 Boston Journal: The lazy Susan was initially uncommon enough in the United States for the utopianist Oneida Community to be credited with its invention. They employed the devices as part of their practice of communal living, making food easily and equally available to residents and visitors at meals. [11] An American patent was issued in 1891 to Elizabeth Howell for "certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Waiting Tables". Howell's device ran more smoothly and did not permit bread crumbs to fall into the space between the lazy Susan and the table. [12] The rotating serviette at "Penates", the estate of Russian painter Ilya Repin at Kuokkala. Made in 1909 by Finnish carpenter Ikahainen. [13] There is a table arrangement used much in Germany, which has now found its way to America, though it is still by no means common. The German frau calls it "Lazy Susan", but it is entirely different from our product used for salt and pepper shakers. Its only point of similarity is the swivel upon which it turns. The one which joys my heart is of mahogany, and it turns automatically at the slightest touch. It contains seven china dishes, six of which are trapezoids, the center one being octagonal. The trapezoids fit about the center octagon, forming a perfect whole.Today, this turntable has multiple uses , far beyond its early purpose as a servant replacement. It is the new centerpiece of the modern dining table—as functional as ever but having undergone a high-end makeover that has designers and homeowners, and those that gather around their tables, clamoring to take them for a spin.

By 1918, Century Magazine was already describing the lazy Susan as out of fashion, [21] but beginning in the 1950s its popularity soared once again after the redesign and reintroduction of the lazy Susan by George Hall, an engineer, soy sauce manufacturer, and partner in popular San Francisco-area Chinese restaurants ( Johnny Kan's, Ming's of Palo Alto and John Ly's Dining), and the rotating tray became ubiquitous in Chinese restaurants and was used in homes around the globe. [22] The decline in America's domestic service sector after World War I and its collapse following World War II, [23] combined with the post-war Baby Boom, led to a great demand for them in US households across the country in the 1950s and 1960s. This popularity has had the effect, however, of making them seem kitsch in subsequent decades. [4] Other uses [ edit ] Pass the potatoes” is easier said than done when five of your nearest and dearest relatives are sandwiched between you and your potato-loving great aunt at a family gathering. Many can relate to and picture what happens next: a plate wobbling on its way from one end of the table to another, olive oil dripping to the tablecloth as the plate clumsily exchanges hands, and family members pretending not to be annoyed that they have to put down forkfuls of turkey to deliver the goods to Aunt Ida. Our Design and Engineering was done right here in the USA. The product is made from the best bearings and plastics to enable smooth trouble-free operation.Weekly Register, No. 105. 15 Apr 1732. Citing The Gentleman's Magazine: Or, Monthly Intelligencer, p. 701. F. Jefferies (London), Apr 1732. Accessed 11 Aug 2013. The concept is innovative, and we can certainly see a need for an elongated lazy Susan turntable, especially when Thanksgiving and the holiday season are upon us. But how well does it actually perform? Is it a pain to assemble, take apart, and store (because unless you are the host or hostess with the mostest, let’s face it: You are maybe getting a few uses out of it each year). And last but not least: Is it aesthetically pleasing—or will it compete with your tablescape vision? Gross, Daniel. "The Lazy Susan, the Classic Centerpiece of Chinese Restaurants, Is Neither Classic nor Chinese" Smithsonian. Smithsonian Magazine, The Lazy Susan, the Classic Centerpiece of Chinese Restaurants, Is Neither Classic nor Chinese. For the film, see Lazy Susan (film). For the song, see Lazy Susan (song). A lazy Susan in a Chinese restaurant