The fridge was invented in 1834, the dishwasher in 1886, the washing machine in 1851. It's telling that you couldn't name something from even the last century.
And the dishwasher wasn't invented to save work; it was invented by a wealthy woman who was tired of the hired help breaking her dishes.
I think the real point is that all things reach a natural "end", when no more real progress can be made. Kitchen appliances seem to have reached that end. Not much else can be invented.
Of course, what's already out there can be "improved". Timers, delayed starts, better insulation, energy efficiency -- these are all good improvements to what's already available. Other improvements are just junk; for example, internet and TV access from your refrigerator door. Or that interactive countertop/table. That type of thing is overly priced and not much use.
I'm a big fan of my microwave.
Eh, if I had to give up something significant in my kitchen, my microwave'd be at the top of the list. But it probably IS the last big kitchen innovation. My father brought one home for my mother around 1974 or 1975; I think that was about the time they became "a thing" in middle class homes.
True Mustachians know eggs need not be kept in the fridge. Tsk tsk.
Cheese doesn't need refrigeration; neither do a number of other things most of us choose to keep cold.
However, most of these things DO last longer if they're refrigerated, and storing things safely/longer is a frugal choice.
Plus it is annoying that gadgets go to sleep and I have to wake them up again with dirty hands. A cookbook doesn't close itself if you don't use it for 1 minute.. Sometimes a printed sheet of paper is quite nice.
Yeah, I'm with you. Once I decide I like a recipe, I type it up for my notebook, and I cook from a printed page. I've ditched shelves and shelves of cookbooks, which were
mostly being saved for the sake of 2-3 recipes each. I have a few favorite books that I've kept.