The World is introduced to it's first dishwasher.
The World is introduced to it's first dishwasher.
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Bevyn Prasad @bevynprasad / May 9, 2020
How did Thomas Edison’s 1879 invention of a reliable, long-lasting electric light bulb bring electricity and the invention of appliances into homes? What were the first electrical appliances?
Invention of the Dishwasher
Invention of the Dishwasher
In 1850, Joel Houghton patented a wooden machine with a hand-turned wheel that splashed water on dishes. It was hardly a workable machine, but it was the first patent. Then, in the 1860s, L. A. Alexander improved the device with a geared mechanism that allowed the user to spin racked dishes through a tub of water. Neither of these devices was particularly effective. Flash forward to 1886.
1886 – Electric dishwasher invented by Josephine Cochrane
Josephine Garis Cochran invented the first useful dishwasher in Shelbyville.
Cochran, a wealthy woman who entertained often, wanted a machine that could wash dishes faster than her servants, and without breaking them. When she couldn't find one, she built it herself. Cochran was noted to have proclaimed in disgust, "If nobody else is going to invent a dish washing machine, I'll do it myself." And she did. Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher. She designed the first model in the shed behind her house in Shelbyville, Illinois. Her dishwasher was the first to use water pressure instead of scrubbers to clean the dishes. She received a patent on December 28, 1886.
Her method: She measured the dishes first, then she made wire compartments, each designed to fit plates, cups, or saucers. The compartments were placed inside a wheel that lay flat within a copper boiler. A motor turned the wheel while hot soapy water squirted from the bottom of the boiler and rained down on the dishes. Her invention worked! She showed the dishwasher at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, but only restaurants and hotels showed interest in it. Cochran founded a company to manufacture her dishwashers, which eventually became KitchenAid®.
The Garis-Cochran Manufacturing Company became part of KitchenAid, and in 1949, the first KitchenAid dishwasher based on Cochran's design was introduced. It was in the 1950s that dishwashers became a common household item after new suburban homes were built with the plumbing required to handle the extra hot water.
Cochran had expected the public to welcome the new invention, which she unveiled at the 1893 World's Fair, but only hotels and large restaurants were buying her ideas. It was not until the 1950s that dishwashers caught on with the general public.
Cochran's machine was a hand-operated mechanical dishwasher. She founded a company to manufacture these dishwashers, which eventually became KitchenAid.
Light Socket Adapter
Light Socket Adapter
Harvey Hubbell designed a “Separable Attachment Plug” that was wired to an appliance and homeowners didn’t have to deal with connecting live wires from the home to the appliance. He later improved his design by making it with one portion that could be left in the socket and the other was a two-prong plug that was attached to the appliance and could be separated from the socket plug.
His plug also let you “leave the lights on” while using your appliance. Light-socket connections for appliances persisted into the 1920s.
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