With inquisitive minds and tools as simple as a Waring blender, the work of early phage researchers such as Max Delbruck, Seymour Benzer, and Alfred Hershey generated much of the knowledge underlying contemporary molecular biology. But in a decision that echoes current debates about focusing too narrowly on canonical model organisms,[1] Delbruck insisted that research be done only on the T-phages that infect Escherichia coli B. This and other factors relegated the phage to a mere key for unlocking the secrets of genetic material. Although everyone cared greatly about understanding what was beyond the door, few would pay much attention to what opened it.