WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
WASHING MACHINES
Profile America — Sunday, October 26th. Doing laundry was a wearying, time-consuming chore for many centuries. The industrial revolution and American inventiveness attacked the ancient chore on this date in 1858, when Hamilton Smith patented a rotary washing machine. But it was hand-driven and proved to be hard on both the operator and clothes. People continued to use the tub and washboard, even after the first electric washer came along in 1908. A few years later, the agitator-type machine appeared and gained immediate popularity. Finally, in the late 1930s, the fully automatic washer with a spin cycle went on sale. Today, over 85 percent of the nation's nearly 119 million households have a washing machine. You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy from the American Community Survey at www.census.gov.
Sources:
Kane's Famous First Facts, 4270
http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventions/a/washingmachines.htm
http://esporta.ca/evolution-of-washing-technology/
http://www.census.gov/hhes/well-being/publications/extended-11.html
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-census-bureau-daily-feature-for-october-26-968973131.html
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
Related Links
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article