Mid-century modern material culture

Farewell, Lux Minute Minder; hello, Lux Minute Minder. The old one's done for. The spring may have broken, or just become detached, but I couldn't open the rusty back of the case to find out which. Here's a link to an image of a light-blue timer of the same vintage; my old timer is the standard white. The old one is branded "Robertshaw" on the bottom left, "Lux" on the bottom right, "Minute Minder" at the top of the case. "Robertshaw" dates the old timer as being from 1961 or later, according to the Wikipedia entry. I find it sad that the Wikipedia people are not sure that the Lux Minute Minder is worthy of an entry. All vintages of the timer bear the iconic vertical imprints and ridges at the bottom center of the case, and the rocket-like pointer is still prominent (see illustrations). My old timer was a present; I loved it as much as I loved my personal flashlight, personal battery radio, and Bulova folding-case travel alarm clock, all of which were also presents. Lux timers used to be available at local supermarkets in the housewares aisle. I never bought one, because my old one was still good. When it finally wasn't, I had to go on line to find a modern replica, made in China by the current Lux Products Corporation. I grew up among people who often cooked using wood-burning ranges and ovens and who didn't use recipes, let alone timers. I like having a timer as a fail-safe device, and I like using a mechanical, analogue timer.