1679: Pressure cooker - The book of science

Pressure cooker, safety valve
Related technology
Relief
Commentary

Denis Papin pneumatics

Pressure cooker, safety valve

Denis Papin’s early prototypes exploded,
so he added a safety valve
regulated by adjusting
the position of a weight on a lever.
Thus he perfected his “steam digester”
intended to render bones brittle for grinding
but showing how future locomotives
would be powered and regulated
and how to cook potatoes in ten minutes
and a whole chicken in fifteen.

Denis Papin didn’t invent the steam bomb;
he wasn’t interested in armaments.
He didn’t invent the autoclave;
he wasn’t trying to sterilize instruments.
He didn’t invent the steam engine;
although he thought of moving pistons in cylinders.

Relief

to forget or think
over choices that grind
but seem, eventually,
to disappear, give me a break

A job involving emotional and physical distress is called a pressure cooker. Your safety valve is your ability to quit or take time off; if you cannot, you could explode.

See also in The book of science:

1662—Boyle’s law—Richard Towneley, Henry Power, Robert Boyle

Readings on wikipedia: