Editor’s Note: Dust is an inevitable source of mess in the home. In the past, humans used brooms to fight against it. In modern times, vacuum cleaners have become available, and this human-dust war , is still in progress.
"Using science to save the crumbling mess, are you willing to clean up like this?" "The special topic takes you through the history of mankind's struggle with dust, as well as the magical inventions that have appeared in the past.
The Lunar New Year is approaching, and the annual cleaning time is coming again. Looking at the brooms and vacuum cleaners in your hands, are you curious about how these cleaning tools came to be in your hands?
Today let us learn about the story between dust, brooms and vacuum cleaners! Pexels records your life, but it also hides dangerous dust
Before getting to know the cleaning tools, let’s first get to know their common enemy: dust.
The noun dust is very similar to rock. It is not the name of a single substance, but a noun describing a whole mass of matter, because the dust commonly seen in homes contains a lot of things, such as dead matter. Lost (human) cells, hair, fibers, dust mites, insect debris, soil, plastic particles, bacteria... basically everything you can think of in life can be found in dust.
That is because dust has countless relationships with our whole body and life. It is like a recorder of your life. Every time your activities stir up dust, it will circulate indoors again, and it will circulate again. Load the footprints of your life, such as the fibers of newly purchased furniture, the food scraps you ate today... And as long as the house is airtight enough, the dust will not go far. A speck of dust can record the history of a certain area for several years. Shutterstock
Scientists first began to study the health effects of dust around 1940, when medical staff wanted to know whether the environment in the operating room contained possible pathogens, so dust was targeted. Since the 1970s, the study of dust has shifted from medical facilities to homes. At first, it included lead, paint, gasoline and other substances that are obviously harmful to human body. It was not until the past decade that other potentially harmful substances in dust began to be taken seriously. , scientists have also discovered a variety of substances that may appear in dust, and many of them cannot be identified because any tiny living substances such as plastics, paints, and solvents will mix with each other, and even come into contact with high-heat stoves and operating electronic parts. , electric lights, etc. will all deteriorate again and become substances of unknown origin and difficult to experiment with. Before the vacuum cleaner, man’s best friend was the broom
Although we rely on modern science to reveal some of the secrets of dust, our ancestors didn’t know it. They just found it annoying to have dust at home. It's just uncomfortable.
So before the vacuum cleaner, humans thousands of years ago invented a magic weapon to deal with dust: the broom. phshygiene
Whether it is Mesopotamia, India, or Egypt, every ancient civilization invented the broom without any communication. The earliest broom was made of sorghum-like grasses, tied They were made in bunches, and the Roman Empire also used peach wood and plant fibers such as vegetable melon and cloth to make their own special brooms.
When the time came to the Middle Ages, most of the buildings at this time had stone floors and were covered with replaceable reeds or hay, so the hard branch broom, which was shaped like a bamboo broom, became At this time, the best tool for home cleaning (incidentally became the representative means of transportation for witches); and when tiles, wood, and carpet paving became popular, brooms were more suitable to be made of soft materials, such as animal hair.
But people have also been looking for tools that can surpass brooms. For example, in the 19th century, someone invented a broom with a rotating shaft that was like a good mop. However, this was not very useful for sweeping the floor. It could even be said that Trouble; someone also invented the earliest hand-push sweeper (or carpet sweeper), but when the mechanical technology was immature at the time, it was no better or more efficient than a broom. vacuumcleaner.umwblogs
But without sweepers, we wouldn't have today's protagonist: the vacuum cleaner.
Predecessors of vacuum cleaners: various magical machines
In the United States on the eve of the Civil War, an inventor named Daniel Hess reluctantly became the first to apply for a patent for "something similar to a vacuum cleaner" He added a pipe in the middle of the chassis of the manual sweeper at that time, hoping to collect the dust swept up - just like that, there was no other power or special design. Hess's invention. vacuumcleaner.umwblogs
In 1869, another American inventor, Ives McGaffey, invented another ancient vacuum cleaner. This machine also had a tube, but this time it was connected To a bellows-like device that needs to be rotated by hand. So when you are sweeping the floor, you have to rotate the machine manually to generate suction. Of course, this is not a very effective invention. No one wants to use their hands more when cleaning housework. The invention of Maccafly. vacuumcleaner.umwblogs
In fact, the two previous ancestors had very good ideas, but at that time, it was impossible to generate sufficient stable negative pressure to create suction without electricity.
Before the vacuum cleaner, there was another important item invented at the end of the 19th century: a blower capable of blowing strong air. The use of an air blower in cleaning is very similar to that of a leaf blower. It blows dust to a corner and collects it. However, in order to drive an air blower at that time, a device as big as a horse-drawn carriage was needed. But in the story of the invention of the vacuum cleaner, the blower plays an absolutely important role - the predecessor of the current household vacuum cleaner. vacuumcleaner.umwblogs The Story of the Vacuum Cleaner
If you come to the streets of London in the early 20th century, you will probably see an unimaginable sight...a huge mechanical carriage making noise on the road, attracting everyone They gathered around and entered the high-end residence with a fire hose-like pipe.
The great man who invented the vacuum cleaner was Hubert Cecil Booth. He was probably the most famous British engineer in the early 20th century. His specialty was the design of large-scale structures. Like the suspension bridge and the Ferris wheel, his most famous work is a landmark of the Austrian capital: the over 100-year-old Vienna Ferris Wheel. Booth's masterpiece: the Vienna Ferris Wheel that has been in operation for 100 years. Wikipedia
A product demonstration of a blower gave him the opportunity to invent a vacuum cleaner: "Would it be better if it was sucked instead of blown?"
Most people at the time said it was impossible, but Booth was determined to invent a machine that could breathe. By reversing the mechanism of the internal motor, Booth finally completed his invention in 1901 and established the British Vacuum Cleaning Company. A huge vacuum cleaner that needed to be pulled by horses and equipped with a long tube appeared on the streets of London.
As you can imagine, this is not a cleaning tool that everyone can have, so British vacuuming companies provide an expensive vacuuming and cleaning service. Whenever you call for service, they will come to your house in a carriage with fire department colors and announce to the neighbors that you are going to have a "vacuum party" and invite everyone to come and watch, and there are a lot of people in the carriage. The dust bag also has a glass wall so everyone can see how much dust is in your home. This all sounds inexplicably huge, but at that time the cost of such a service was equivalent to a cleaning servant's entire year's salary. Booth's ancient vacuum cleaner. Wikipedia
Booth's fleet of vacuum cleaners attracted a large number of high-profile people, including Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mint, the British Parliament, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany. services and even received a cleaning request from the Crystal Palace in the UK and removed 26 tonnes of dust from the building.
Although it is as big as a car, the principle of the Booth vacuum cleaner is actually the same as that of the small vacuum cleaners that are now available in every household, and the suction power is actually not much different from now ~ and there are also ones that are the same as those of the fire brigade. The color scheme is eye-catching.
Wikipedia
For vacuum cleaners to enter the household market, the time had to be pushed back a few years to 1905. Another British inventor, Walter Griffiths, improved the vacuum cleaner so that it could really It's placed at home and can be carried around, powered by feet, with different shaped mouthpieces - yes, a bit like a pump in reverse.
It was not until 1908 that American inventor James Spangler sold his portable electric vacuum cleaner design to entrepreneur William Hoover. ), his vacuum cleaner had a long pole with a dust bag installed on it, wheels, and a flat nozzle at the bottom - this was the predecessor of the modern household vacuum cleaner, and there was a fan inside the machine to collect dust. Hoover quickly promoted his design, and the product's appearance dominated the image of vacuum cleaners for decades. 1919 Hoover vacuum cleaner. UK Science Museum Collection
Even so, vacuum cleaners were not a popular household cleaning tool until World War II. Although there were no problems with the design of the machine itself, the power supply in the early 20th century was limited. Due to the price increase, most families in 1940 still chose to clean their homes in the old way. However, with the popularity of electricity and the decline in prices, vacuum cleaners began to occupy a place in home cleaning after World War II.
In addition, the evolution of vacuum cleaners has also included several interesting inventions, such as dust bag-less designs and filters. But what impresses you most is the corded vacuum cleaner. The most interesting automatic recycling plug is honestly a small but very genius invention that appeared around 1990, allowing corded vacuum cleaners to be as free from space constraints as possible. 1956 Hoover space style vacuum cleaner with accessories set. UK Science Museum Collection
Just like this, 100 years have passed. The principle of vacuum cleaners has not changed much, but it has taken on various forms, such as sweeping robots or ultra-mini handheld vacuum cleaners. There was also a significant increase in power during this process. The vacuum cleaner motor around 1910 only had 1,000-3,000 revolutions per minute, while today's vacuum cleaners all start at 100,000 revolutions. However, this does not necessarily mean that the suction power has become stronger, but that it operates better. More efficient because it honestly doesn’t take a lot of suction to lift dust from the floor.
Now that you understand the story of the vacuum cleaner, do you feel that general cleaning has become more intellectual? The author wishes everyone a happy Spring Festival cleaning. You can recall this story when using a vacuum cleaner, and then remember to clean the floor with a wet rag or mop after each use of the vacuum cleaner. This is the most correct order!