Although they were invented in the 1940s, household microwave ovens did not become widespread until the mid 1970s, but I know for certain that I’ve been using the verb “nuke” (as a synonym for “cook in a microwave“) for at least four decades, because I vividly remember the puzzlement it caused for a friend’s son in the early 1980s. I find it somewhat surprising that the term could become so commonly accepted in less than a decade, but thinking back, this may be the very first time that I have ever seen the word “nuke” used in this sense in printed (albeit comic) form.
Comics I Don't Understand 
A related idea appeared in Rudy Park a week ago:
As is often the case, Google Ngram Viewer is fun for this.
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=nuke&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3
shows usage REALLY taking off in the mid-80s, which would be when microwaves got cheap. Of course the earlier rise in the 60s refers to nuclear weapons/power.
The big mystery is the use prior to 1820! Not that the percentage is that significant, but the fact that it was used at all is odd. Did some Googling and couldn’t find any archaic meaning.
Here’s an embed of Phil’s Ngram graph :
Thanks, Mitch. I saw nothing that would let me embed it?!
I distinctly recall the first time I heard the phrase: In the Danny Devito/Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Twins (1988).
Maybe 1800-1820 it was a different word pronounced “noo kay”?
It appears to have been a Scottish spelling of nook.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chronicle_of_Scottish_poetry/wiRMAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22nuke%22&pg=PA149&printsec=frontcover
Or more precisely, the inside of a corner
https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/nuke
@Downpuppy — Thanks, great find!
I haven’t been successful searching for it, but there’s a Shoe cartoon from (I think) the 1980s talking about reheating pizza in the microwave and using the phrase ‘nuke a slice’.
@ M.A.R.N. (11) – Unfortunately, when Shoe changed syndicates, GoComics obtained the archive only as far back as Sun-8-Apr-2001, so finding a strip there that MacNelly drew is simply impossible.
P.S. @ Downpuppy (8&9) – One silly tidbit that I remember from high school Spanish is that there were separate words for an “interior” corner (in a room), and an “exterior” corner (of a building, or on a street). On the other hand, there was only one word for both “clock” and “watch” (the latter detail is also true for German).
P.P.S. @ mitch (1) – The way that Rudy Park strip associates “bikini” with “perturbations” reminded me of a lecture in college. The professor explained that the equations he was demonstrating could be used to describe vibrations in “strings” or even “membranes”, to which a feminine voice from the back of the auditorium responded: “Oh, gross!“, and everyone broke up laughing (especially those of us who knew whose voice it was).
Fun anecdote, Kilby!
However, I don’t at all understand your starting point, that the ‘Rudy Park strip associates “bikini” with “perturbations” ‘. As far as I can see, what the Rudy Park strip associates “bikini” [garment] with is first of all “Bikini” [place name] and thereby “above-ground nuclear weapon testing” — pretty much the same path implied in your “Bikini Appliances” posting title.
I asked the Internet why microwaving food is called “nuking”, and one web site said that this is an example of “semantic bleaching” which is taking taking a term for something horrific — the devastation of a nuclear bomb — and using it for something relatively benign. I guess another example would be the various actresses and cartoon characters that have been called “The Blonde Bombshell”.
First encountered a microwave in an employee cafeteria. It was the weekend, so I got a roast beef and cheese sandwich from a machine and decided to warm it up, figuring it would need a couple of minutes. When I unwrapped it an orange fog rose up and dissipated. That was the cheese.
The early learning on microwaves could be fun. Or not. One guy at work wanted to warm up a big chocolate-chip cookie in the cafeteria. He put it in on a styrofoam plate for too long. It melted a circle out of the plate.
@ MiB (15) – The relevant link between “nuke” and “microwave oven” is “radiation”. Early models were not always adequately shielded, and there was supposed to be a potentially dangerous risk for heart patients with pacemakers. There was even a period in which restaurants that used microwave ovens were required (or at least encouraged) to notify patrons of this fact; I remember seeing such signs near the front doors, particularly at diners and cheap lunchrooms, in which the “kitchen” was much closer to the customers.
@ Brian in StL – Back in the early 90s I was baking something at my father’s house; the recipe called for a large amount (two sticks) of softened butter. I put both sticks on a ceramic plate in the microwave, and completely forgot that although one was packaged in wax paper, the other was encased in a foil wrapper. When I turned on the microwave, the foil wrapped stick instantly turned into a bright blue, butter-filled light saber. It was so amazing that I would have liked to try it again, except that it wasn’t my microwave.
@ mitch (14) – OK, I guess “associate” is too strong, perhaps “bring into proximity” would have been more accurate. The guy with the mustache is clearly thinking about skimpy bathing suits (no matter what they are called); I don’t think that string of plosive consonants in the fourth panel is a coincidence, especially in connection with a word with a connotation of “bouncy”.
This from ChatGPT, which supports Kilby’s idea that “nuke” for microwave got traction in the 1980s:
ChatGPT
The term “nuke” as a synonym for microwaving likely originated in the 1980s. The connection between nuclear energy and microwaving arises from the idea that microwave ovens use electromagnetic radiation to heat food, similar to the way nuclear reactions generate heat. The slang usage of “nuke” to mean microwaving reflects a colloquial and informal language evolution, likely influenced by the perception of the powerful and rapid heating capabilities of both nuclear reactions and microwave ovens.
Everything I know of that heats food uses some form of electromagnetic radiation to heat the food. The sun; fire; electric heating elements; inductive cooktops …
I’ll note that my 1957 Webster’s Unabridged does not mention “nuke.” The OED (1971) did, though:
“1. The spinal cord” (first example, 1541)
“2. The nape of the neck” (first example, 1562)
No mention there of nuclear anything.
A very late P.S. @ Downpuppy (8) – I had to study the scansion of that ancient Scottish verse to make sure that the term was intended to be a single syllable. For a moment I thought it might be related to “nookie“, about which Gene Weingarten just recently wrote: “Many many years ago… I used ‘nooky’ in a story. It got in the paper. I got a summons to the executive editor’s office and was informed it was a dirty filthy word, no less objectionable than the c-word…”
We got our first microwave as a “congratulations on your new house” gift from my sister – she had gotten it as a gift and already had one. We did not see a need for it nor did we have a place to put it. After telephoning both the microwave manufacturer and the refrigerator manufacturer we put it on top of the latter. (Our kitchen has 3 counter areas – one area has the toaster oven, one has the dish drying rack and the other was the work area so could not put the microwave there – plus it would be immediately next to the sink – not a safe place to put something electric.) It is used mostly for making popcorn (and our old popcorn popper is stored – somewhere in the kitchen or basement).
That microwave died and I did not plan to replace it – we could use popcorn popper we had instead, but he insisted and we replaced it. Then again we had to replace it. It has been replaced more than any other appliance we own – and we don’t make that much popcorn!
Then again, we don’t make much toaster and we have a special oven to do that also. (Yes I do use it as a small oven – a bad joke, as usual, from me.)