The early history of refrigerators involved digging holes in the ground or building structures to store ice cut from frozen ponds in order to preserve food. The first modern refrigerator was designed in 1748, but it wasn't until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that fridges for home use were invented. In the 1920s, self-contained refrigerators and Freon became widespread, expanding the market. Technical advances in the mid-20th century included automatic defrosting and ice making.