Tuesday, March 5, 2013

When was the first Washing machine invented?

When was the first Washing machine invented?

Ancient peoples cleaned their clothes by pounding them on rocks or rubbing them with abrasive sands; and washing the dirt away in local streams. Evidence of ancient washing soap was found at Sapo Hill in Rome, where the ashes containing the fat of sacrificial animals was used as a soap.

Scrub Board

The earliest washing "machine" was the scrub board invented in 1797. American, James King patented the first washing machine to use a drum in 1851, the drum made King's machine resemble a modern machine, however it was still hand powered.

Rotary Washing Machine

In 1858, Hamilton Smith patented the rotary washing machine.In 1874, William Blackstone of Indiana built a birthday present for his wife. It was a machine which removed and washed away dirt from clothes. The first washing machines designed for convenient use in the home.

Mighty Thor

The Thor was the first electric-powered washing machine. Introduced in 1908 by the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois, the Thor washing machine was invented Alva J. Fisher. The Thor was a drum type washng machine with a galvanized tub and an electric motor. A patent was issued on August 9th 1910. View US patent #966677.

Facts About a Few Famous Washing Machine Companies

The Maytag Corporation began in 1893 when F.L. Maytag began manufacturing farm implements in Newton, Iowa. Business was slow in winter, so to add to his line of products he introduced a wooden-tub washing machine in 1907. Maytag soon devoted himself full-time to the washing machine business.The Whirlpool Corporation started in 1911 as the Upton Machine Co., founded in St. Joseph, Michigan, to produce electric motor-driven wringer washers.
The origins of the Schulthess Group goes back over 150 years. In 1909, they began production of their first washing machines. In 1949, the Schulthess Group backed the invention of punched card control for washing machines. In 1951, production of Europe's first automatic washing machines started. In 1978, the first microchip-controlled automatic washing machines were produced.

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When was the first refrigerator invented?

When was the first refrigerator invented?
Above was the first refrigerator to go into manufacture for domestic by GE. Produced in 1925 then sold in 1927.


Refrigerators are an essential part of every modern kitchen. While just about every home makes use of a refrigerator, most consumers know nothing about the history of refrigeration and the invention of the refrigerator. The gradual creation of the modern refrigerator actually spans a process that began in the 18th century and culminated with the work of German engineer Carl von Linden in 1876.
The first efforts that eventually led to the modern refrigeration process that continues to form the basis for the fridges that grace kitchens all over the world today. William Cullen of the University of Glasgow first developed a process to create an artificial cooling medium in 1748. At the time, there did not appear to be much interest in applying the medium to use in commercial or home applications, so the process created little in the way of interest beyond the scientific community. It would take the better part of a century before someone would apply the basic principles discovered by Cullen and create a design for a refrigerating machine.
Created in 1804, the design was the work of an American inventor by the name of Oliver Evans. However, no working prototype appeared until 1834. At that time, Jacob Perkins built a refrigeration machine that is often thought to be the forerunner of the modern refrigerator. A decade later, John Gorrie designed what is thought to be the first practical refrigerator. In 1844, Gorrie, a physician in the United State, constructed a working unit based on the design of Oliver Evans. Gorrie created the unit as a means of cooling the air in facilities he set aside for patients who were diagnosed with yellow fever. Many people credit Gorrie as being the individual who for all practical intents and purposes invented the refrigerator.
Carl von Linden discovered and patented an improved method of liquefying gas in 1876, which made the process of manufacturing refrigerator models practical. Making use of such gases as ammonia, sulfur dioxide and methyl chloride, the new process formed the standard for cooling agents until the late 1920’s. By then, a number of accidents related to the use of these substances as cooling agents convinced manufacturers that a more stable element was needed. This effort led to the development of freon, which provided the standard for cooling agents for the bulk of the remainder of the 20th century, until the substance was leaked to damage to the ozone layer.

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When was the microwave invented?

In 1945 Percy Lebaron Spencer, an American engineer and inventor, was busy working on manufacturing magnetrons, the devices used to produce the microwave radio signals that were integral to early radar use. Radar was an incredibly important innovation during the time of war, but microwave cooking was a purely accidental discovery.
While standing by a functioning magnetron, Spencer noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. His keen mind soon figured out that it was the microwaves that had caused it, and later experimented with popcorn kernels and eventually, an egg, which (as we all could have told him from mischievous childhood ‘experiments’), exploded.
The first microwave oven weighed about 750lbs and was about the size of a fridge!



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