Once upon a time, a woman dreaming of machines that wash and wring out clothes themselves would be called a dreamer and emancipation. Today washing machines are so easily and firmly included in everyday life that it is difficult to imagine your life without them. How much do we know about these wonderful inventions? Was their journey to our homes easy? Here are 10 interesting facts about washing machines.
- The first attempts to automate the washing process were made by the ancient Babylonians. They designed a large wheel with many blades. It dipped into a vat with soaked laundry. Rotating the wheel, the Babylonians spent much less time and energy on washing.
- The first rotating drum machine appeared in 1851 in the United States of America.
- The spin function was invented in the 1860s. Then there were two rotating spinning rollers. This technology is still used in some semi-automatic machines. The modern centrifuge system has become common since the 1950s.
- The first home washing machine appeared in 1874. Inventor William Blackstone (USA, Indiana) gave it to his wife for her birthday. Later, he opened his own company and started mass production. By the way, it still exists.
- Initially, washing machines did not have a housing that would cover the moving parts of the mechanisms. Because of this, accidents often happened. One woman inadvertently bent over while sitting, and her hair was pulled into a mechanism. Only a miracle saved her from scalping.
- In the second half of the 19th century, there was a real boom in washing machines. By 1875, more than two thousand patents were registered for various devices for washing clothes.
- In the 19th century, it was mostly men who worked in large commercial laundries, because this work became prohibitively difficult for a woman. One of these laundries and the process of working in it is described in the novel by Jack London "Martin Eden".
- In 1910, A. Fischer designed a washing machine that served as the prototype of the modern one. The drum in it rotated alternately in one direction and the other, driven by an electric motor. It was the best washing machine for its time.
- The first washing machine with programmable control appeared in 1949. Like computers of the time, she read programs from punched cards. The more familiar devices with microprocessors appeared in 1978.
- At first, when washing machines were bulky and difficult to use, women stopped doing their laundry at home and started taking laundry to the laundries. But with the decrease in size of machines and their simplification, women returned to home washing.
Now, to choose the right typewriter, just look best washing machines in terms of quality, whereas before there was simply nothing to choose from.