Once a woman who dreams of machines that themselves wash and wring laundry would be called a dreamer and an emancipation. Today, washing machines are so easily and firmly entered into 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? Introducing 10 interesting facts about washing machines.
- The first attempts to automate the washing process were made by the ancient Babylonians. They constructed a large wheel with many blades. It sank into a tub with soaked linen. Rotating the wheel, the Babylonians spent much less time and effort on washing.
- The first rotary drum machine appeared in 1851 in the United States of America.
- The spin function was invented in the 1860s. Then two spinning rollers appeared for spinning. This technology is still used in some semi-automatic machines. The modern spin system in a centrifuge has become widespread since the 1950s.
- The first washing machine for the home appeared in 1874. Inventor William Blackstone (USA, Indiana) gave it to his wife for a birthday. Later, he opened his own company and launched mass production. By the way, it still exists.
- Initially, washing machines did not have a housing that would cover the moving parts of mechanisms. Because of this, accidents have often occurred. One woman inadvertently bent during the sitra, and her hair was pulled into the 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 for various devices for washing clothes were already registered.
- In the 19th century, men worked mainly in large commercial laundries, because for women this work became prohibitively difficult. One of these laundries and the process of working in it are described in Jack London’s novel Martin Eden.
- In 1910, A. Fisher designed a washing machine, which served as a prototype of the modern. The drum in it rotated alternately in one or the other direction, driven by an electric motor. It was the best washing machine of its time.
- The first programmable washing machine appeared in 1949. Like computers of the time, she read programs from perforated cards. More familiar to us devices with microprocessors appeared in 1978.
- At first, when washing machines were bulky and difficult to handle, women stopped washing at home and began to take their laundry to laundries. But with a decrease in the size of machines and their simplification, women returned to home washing.
Now, to choose the right machine, it is enough to look at the best washing machines in terms of quality, whereas before there was simply nothing to choose from.