The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
History
The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
Industrial arts -- History
To a certain western state, a young electrical engineer betook himself,
obtaining a position as superintendent of an electric power company and
establishing his abode in a tent far up a canyon, more for the benefit
of his wife’s health than for the thought of being near the power plant
and his work. The melting snow which gathered in little rivulets made a
roaring mountain stream which generated such an excess of power for the
company, that the young electrical engineer began looking about for
other means of utilizing it than for lighting the homes of the villages
below the mouth of the canyon. He designed a crude electric iron, placed
a number of them in use, and found they gave fairly good service and at
the same time enabled the power company to sell additional current.
Development of the device was rapid, so rapid, in fact, that the young
engineer’s time was soon taken up with it and he resigned from his
position with the power company to organize a small concern for the
purpose of manufacturing electric irons which at first were sold to the
consumers of the power company and later to a large nearby city.
These irons met with such a ready reception and were so popular with
housewives because of the time saving and the convenience, that
attention was next turned to other appliances which could be used in the
home and which would assist the power company in the sale of current.
About one hundred electric cooking sets were manufactured, consisting of
ovens and crude round stoves. These were distributed among the customers
of the power company and thenceforth their operation was carefully
watched and improvements made from time to time, using always the
suggestions offered by the housewives to make an appliance that would
meet the needs of the home.
This particular company, which was started but little more than ten
years ago in a small room of a store building in a small town of
Southern California, has grown rapidly from that time when its complete
office and factory force consisted of a man and two boys. It now places
in homes well toward a million appliances each year.
Since the home can now be operated almost exclusively with electrical
appliances, including everything from the electric iron to the modern
labor-saving electric range, it is well to note briefly some of the many
reasons for the success of electrically-heated appliances.
Perhaps most noticeable is cleanliness and the absolute absence of dirt
and grime in using pure electric heat. There is no soot, no smoke nor
discoloration. There are none of the bad effects so often caused by the
air becoming vitiated, due to the burning up of oxygen in the air by gas
and other fuels. There is no corrosion, oxidization or other form of
deterioration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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