When commercial air travel arrived on the scene in the 1930s, it was a far more luxurious experience than it is today. Over the course of the next 50 years, flying was transformed into a trendy way to get from one place to another. Airlines competed in making air travel normal to the post-war generation, while maintaining it’s luxury brand. Glamorous stewardesses preformed the duties of safety officers, waitresses, bartenders, and concierge, all rolled into one, succeeding in their jobs by making it appear effortless and luxurious.

 

This heavy aluminum hammer was used by stewardesses to break up ice cubes for cocktails in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Instead common ice hammers that closely resemble ice picks, this hammer has rounded edges. The design patent issued to James Root in 1977, does not reflect his reasoning for the rounded head. While assumptions primarily would jump to the safety concerns of the post-9/11 era, designing an ice-hammer to be less weapon-like was not really a priority at the time. The softer, rounded head may have been a representation of femininity, and made to allud the woman using it. Or perhaps, a simpler reason above them all: a rounded head was more likely to break the ice apart while maintaining the cubes in their form.