Modern kitchens are pretty epic in the historical scheme of things. We have refrigerators that dispense ice, cold water, and even hot water. We have faucets that turn on and off with a touch. We have garbage disposals, automatic trash-can lids, and pot-filling faucets over stoves, all manner of modern conveniences that might make us assume that today’s kitchens are superior to every era that came before.

In some ways, they are. But a video from the National Archives demonstrating the features of a 1949 step-saving kitchen design has some of us rethinking just how much. The video, “A Step Saving Kitchen,” was produced by the USDA’s Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics and narrated by home economist Lenore Sater. It details every part of this efficient kitchen design, which was planned primarily for farm homes:

No wonder kitchens from that era feel small compared to most new homes today: the model kitchen in the film measures just 11 by 16 feet. Modern kitchens tend to be sprawling but far less functional. This design may be small, but it’s mighty.

The movie itself is a bit of a time capsule, not only in the cabinetry and clothing styles, but in the clear assumption that only women would be using the kitchen. On one hand, it’s great that work traditionally viewed as “women’s work” became the focus of innovation aimed at making life easier. On the other hand, it’s interesting to see how much has changed around gender roles since the 1940s.

So why did the government make this video?

Why would the government even care about kitchen design? It all........

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