The History of the Lazy Susan
It's the question that has been on everyone's mind since the first time they heard the name of these magnificent storage solutions. Why Susan? Where did she come from? Was she lazy? Our TWS Remodeling experts dig into the history of the Lazy Susan to answer all of, okay, well some of, your most burning questions on the topic.
The Hard Cold Truth
It's easy to imagine a woman named Susan inventing this revolutionary rotating table. In a fury of rage she cries: "Enough with needing servants, enough with reaching long distances across the table, enough with digging around for your favorite spices. Let them come to you!" But that is unfortunately not the case. There seems to be no single inventor or solitary namesake to credit for this wonderful invention. What we do have is a paper trail, and it's a surprisingly good one.
First Written Appearance
The term "Lazy Susan" made its first written appearance in a Vanity Fair Magazine advertisement in 1917. It was a mahogany tray that revolved on ball bearings, described as "the cleverest waitress in the world, at your service!" Historians believe the origins of the Lazy Susan stretch as far back as the 18th century, long before that ad ran. Elizabeth Howell filed a patent in 1891 for her "Self Waiting Table", a rotating dining surface designed to reduce the need for servants at the table. Around the same time, Dr. Wu Lien-Teh wrote about sanitary rotating dining trays in 1915, describing their practical value in communal settings.
Theories
It's possible the name originates from "Susan" being a generic term popularized in the 18th century. Employers used "Lazy Susan" in reference to their female servants, a "common complaint against servants at the time," according to Markus Krajewski, a professor of media history at the University of Basel. Others believe tiered rolling carts, known as Etageres or Dumbwaiters, were the true predecessors, slowly evolving into the rotating tray we recognize today. No single theory has ever fully won out. The name stuck, the origin stayed murky, and somehow that feels right for something that just quietly spins in the corner of your cabinet.
Rising Popularity
Fast forward to the 1950s, when Chinese restaurants were flourishing across the U.S. George Hall, a friend of Johnny Kan who opened a Cantonese-style restaurant in San Francisco in 1953, had trained as an engineer and spent plenty of time tinkering in the basement. He built a revolving tabletop that became a centerpiece of Kan's new banquet room. The design caught on fast and became standard in Chinese restaurants across the country. From there, home cooks took notice. Lazy Susans had already begun appearing in corner kitchen cabinets around the 1940s, a practical answer to the awkward dead space that corner cabinetry creates, and by the late 20th century, they were a fixture in kitchens everywhere.
Modern-Day Use
Today, the Lazy Susan shows up in corner base cabinets, pantry pull-outs, refrigerators, and on dining tables around the world. The form has evolved, kidney-shaped trays, full-circle pie-cut shelves, stacked tiers, but the concept is identical to what Elizabeth Howell sketched out in 1891. Spin to reach what you need. It's a simple idea that has outlasted countless kitchen trends, and it keeps showing up in remodels for good reason.
Thinking About a Kitchen Remodel?
If a Lazy Susan is on your wish list, or if you're not sure what your corner cabinet situation even looks like right now, TWS Remodeling offers free consultations with no pressure and no payment required to get started. We serve the Twin Cities metro with kitchen remodeling, cabinet refacing, and custom projects built around how you actually use your space. Financing available: $0 down, $0 monthly payments, and 0% interest for 12 months.