Washing Up

Today's sinkhole search brought up an ABC news report that hadn't shown up before.  It listed stories about sinkholes and the latest story is a sinkhole being discovered on top of a US nuclear site where a tunnel collapsed exposing railroad cars full of waste. The site has day-by-day stories of sinkholes in the news feed. For example, earlier in the week a water main break in New Jersey created a sinkhole that swallowed a SUV.   You can watch the video of them pulling it out.  There are other videos - one from Jan 17, 2017 with a 55,000 pound excavation truck partially swallowed by a sinkhole in Georgia.  My initial interest today is the invention of the dishwasher. I was listening to its gentle swooshing and wondered how it came about. Invented by Josephine Cochrane in 1887, it was intended to do the dishes faster than her servants, without any breakage.  Daughter of steamboat inventor John Fitch, she was wealthy and entertained often.  Like her father, she was 'inventive' - she registered her patent and trademarks and showed her dishwasher at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.  She founded a company to manufacture her dishwashers, which eventually became KitchenAid.  The UK Independent has a picture of her here along with the story of the invention. If you would like to see pictures of dishwashers from the 1940's and 1950's, then the website automaticwasher.org is the site for you. It covers topics relating to vintage, classic and antique automatic washers and dryers.   With the 1960's economic growth, all manner of appliances became common and affordable, relegating dishwashers to the invisible cupboards of the kitchen. Today's picture is of a Grimsby Beach cottage.  On a house tour last year, I found out that many of these homes' interiors are kept close to their origins and are missing this modern appliance.