There's Nothing New Under The Sun

I just saw this item on CNN.com, about a new solar-powered oven.

Except that it's not all that new. My Dad had one he took on campouts 35 years ago. He called it a Dutch oven. No, wait, the Dutch oven had to have been the big iron pot. Funny ... all these years, I thought the solar heat-box thing was called a Dutch oven. Still, he did have this insulated, silvered box with a clear plastic lid. It got damn hot on the inside if you left it in direct sunlight. I distinctly remember that he used to make cherry cobbler with it. I have no idea where he got the notion. He was an air conditioning technician back in the day, and few mortals understand solar heating as intimately as men who work in attics during a Texas summer.

Still, this new design is remarkably cheap to build. He's earned a hearty thumbs-up for that, if for nothing else.