This post is about the very first vacuum, called "The Puffing Billy".
In 1901 British engineer Hubert Cecil Booth created a
machine that sucked dirt. The “Puffing Billy” was painted red and gold like a
fire engine and drawn by a horse. To clean a building, 82 foot long hoses were
snaked through windows and doors by men in white suits. A cleaning
cost the same as the annual wages of a domestic maid!
All my photos are from the web, of course.
"Don't vacuum and listen to loud music on
your headphones in the same time. I finished three rooms until I realized the
vacuum wasn't even on."
Anonymous -
14 comments:
Thank you! That's fascinating. :)
What a fascinating bit of history! The Puffing Billy sounds like something out of a steampunk novel. Imagine having a horse-drawn vacuum that took a small army just to clean one building—what a sight that must’ve been! The idea of a vacuum costing the same as a maid’s yearly wages is mind-blowing too. It really shows how far we've come in terms of both technology and affordability.
And that quote—so relatable! I’ve definitely had moments where I’ve gotten so caught up in my own world that I’ve forgotten to turn something on.
Thanks for sharing this cool tidbit of history.
The "Puffing Billy" was a spectacular, horse-drawn vacuum that required men in white suits to clean buildings, costing as much as a maid's annual salary, yet it helped lay the groundwork for modern cleaning technology.
That is so vacuum. I have never heard of this before. How interesting that is. Love that quote too. Wouldn't that be frustrating to find out that you had done all that vacuuming and never turned the vacuum on.
Wow - that's incredible! I love the name. Can you even imagine seeing that get pulled up? And paying that large fee?
I love the quote too! :)
Now that's what I call a vacuum. How wonderful was that? We have come a long way baby!
Wow, I love the photos, and this is such a fascinating post! Thank you so much for sharing.
Interesting! A puffing Billy is the name I will call my old Kirby! I’ll refer to it by that name in front of my husband for his reaction! 😆
Wow that was some vacuum!! How interesting. Love the quote about vacuuming.:)
I enjoyed this history...How true that quote would be...
What an interesting story about the first vacuum. It DOES resemble a fire engine. I had no idea that horses were involved. A delightful quote too. I often wonder where you find the quotes to go along with your posts, Ginny.
~Sheri
Now THAT is fascinating! Everything has to start somewhere! I love my many vacuum cleaners, hahaha! xoxo
Cool tidbit of history.
I had never heard of it.
That’s fascinating! Thanks for sharing this. :)
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