1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: the show, fellow Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so 3 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: much for tuning in. Let's hear it for the man 4 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: the myth our super producer Maxwell Hoover Williams, but not 5 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: Hoover the. 6 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 2: Way you think, Max Williams. 7 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: And for an episode about things that effectively suck. We 8 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: want to be clear and say that Max, you do 9 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: not suck. You are really cool. 10 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 2: We're glad you're here. Yeah. I remember that bit from 11 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 2: Wayne's World where there's the guy that's got the vacuum 12 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 2: clean our haircut device called the suck cut, and he 13 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 2: goes it sucks as it cuts, and then Wayne goes 14 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: it certainly does suck. I do vaguely. I gotta I've 15 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 2: got to rewatch Wayne's World held franchise, it holds up. 16 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 2: It was back during. 17 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: The that Halcyon age where if you had a good 18 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: enough character on Saturday Night Live, you automatically got a 19 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,479 Speaker 1: movie deal. For the weirdest things Wayne's World. 20 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 2: I occupy some rarefied air, though, and it was a 21 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 2: real precursor to a lot of the third wall breaking 22 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 2: kind of absurdiest humor of the day of today. Really 23 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 2: Big Fan two is not quite as good, but it's 24 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 2: still great. But Man, Wayne's World Classic is a banger. Ben, 25 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:47,919 Speaker 2: we're talking about vacuums today. 26 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: Yes, it's Wayne's world and we are living in it. 27 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: I am Ben Bullen. You are Noel Brown. 28 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 2: And this is a. 29 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: Spiritual descendant on that hit of that hit piece we 30 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: did earlier on uh not lawnmowers. 31 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 2: But leaf blowers. Jeez, Ben, I barely even remember that 32 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 2: we did that because it must have just been such 33 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 2: a cathartic cleanse. And yet I still and I think 34 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 2: you feel the same way as do u. Max not 35 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 2: a fan of the humble leaf blower? 36 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I don't think it's humble. I think it 37 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:30,399 Speaker 1: insists upon itself. But you guys both have vacuum cleaners, 38 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:31,799 Speaker 1: correct I do. 39 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 2: I am a fan. I am not a dice in man. 40 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 2: I am a shark. Man. I like a shark because 41 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 2: I think it's just as good as a dice in. 42 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: And I am a fan of a corded vacuum because 43 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 2: I don't know if they've made leaps and bounds in 44 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 2: vacuum battery life. But back in the day when this 45 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 2: dice battery powered dicens first came out. You could literally 46 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: get maybe like fifteen minutes out of it, and I 47 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 2: just that's not enough for me. 48 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: I've got a collection of vacuum cleaners. 49 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 2: I'm a fan of even one in the car. Nice 50 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 2: I like a quarded vacuum and canister vacuum. You get 51 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 2: into her bag list. What about you, Max? 52 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 3: I last year switched to the to the stick the 53 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 3: bat like it's not a battery pack, but it's like 54 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 3: you charged it directly into the thing, and it's fine. 55 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 3: It's not as power. I just find it's not as powerful. 56 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 3: I bet you if you get like one of like 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 3: the three hundred something dollars Dyceons, that'd be great. 58 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 2: But sure the Ferrari of the vacuum world. 59 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,639 Speaker 3: I don't drive a Ferrari in my life. I'm not 60 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:28,959 Speaker 3: gonna get a Ferrari of a vacuum. 61 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 2: No. I think people are sleeping on Shark. I'm just 62 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 2: saying we're not sponsored by Shark. But shark is is 63 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 2: very comparable to the dcon. And then the one I 64 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 2: have is a stick and I find it does a 65 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 2: trick quite well. And I also to your point, Ben, 66 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 2: I do love a handheld vacuum also from Shark that 67 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 2: I used to clean up kitty litter and just you know, 68 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: round about behind things, crumbs and the like. 69 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: It's a little scoopy doupe, little little light work vacuum. Folks, 70 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: what my compatriots said is true. We are not brought 71 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: to you by Big Suck, but we have we're. 72 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 2: Gonna keep it. That'd be a great name for like 73 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 2: a podcast, the Big Suck. Oh. I don't know what 74 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 2: it would be about, hopefully not only vacuums, because that's 75 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 2: not that does not that's not enough material to comprise 76 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 2: a whole podcast series, but it is certainly enough for 77 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 2: an episode, an episode researched by you, Sir ben Ah. 78 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: Thank you, Sir Noel. Look the how the household vacuum 79 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: cleaner is pretty common now. It's maybe not considered a 80 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: crucial household item the way that refrigerator would be or 81 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: the way that air conditioning would be, but it definitely 82 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: makes life easier to your earlier point, especially if we 83 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: have children or kids in the household. 84 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 2: It is a convenience, to be sure, and you can 85 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 2: certainly get by with the old trusty classic broom and dustpan, 86 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 2: but not so much on a carpet. Bom brooman dustpan 87 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 2: is not going to help you out on a carpet 88 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 2: because all those little little bits of crud they get 89 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 2: stuck in the fibers of the of the carpet. And 90 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 2: a lot of modern vacuums even have like little rotating 91 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 2: drums of little little brushies that kind of help dislodge 92 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 2: some of that stuff. Again, shout out to shark, that's 93 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 2: a good weird just alive. They can have that, they 94 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 2: can have it. 95 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: That's a good phrase. It eats dust alive. So this 96 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: is pressing it here, nol. Because the modern vacuum cleaner 97 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: comes to us via similar earlier inventions. Picture picture like 98 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: a steampunk eighteen hundred's version of a made for TV 99 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: ad where someone is sweeping carpet and saying there has 100 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: to be a better way. 101 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 2: Well, there is a better way, Ben, And it came 102 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 2: along in the form of the handy dandy, long handled 103 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 2: roly thingy called the carpet sweeper, which, to me, Ben is, 104 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 2: in a lot of ways the equivalent of the analog 105 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 2: lawnmower that sort of operates by locomotion alone. If I'm 106 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 2: not mistaken, The carpet sweeper is very similar. You got 107 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 2: to push. It does not have any electronics whatsoever. It 108 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 2: sort of sweeps as you push based on the force 109 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 2: of it, you know, moving forward. Yeah, folks, we. 110 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: Can all agree that using an old fashioned broom on 111 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: any kind of carpet is for the birds. It's inefficient, 112 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: it takes forever, and after a certain point, your broom 113 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: action will just be spreading stuff around instead of making 114 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: it easier to clean. And this is where we enter 115 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: onto the stage. One of our first inventors a guy 116 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:45,239 Speaker 1: named Melville R. Bistle of Grand Rapids, Michigan. There's something 117 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: about Bistle that makes me think of nominative determinism for sure. 118 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 2: Don't know what the what it. Yeah, it's just got 119 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 2: it's kind a certain vibe. And I want to bristles. 120 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 2: It's a slant rhyme with bristle. That could well be 121 00:06:57,760 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 2: that you nailed it, Ben. And I want to say, 122 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 2: while the Bistle vacuum is certainly not, you know, the 123 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 2: go to kind of flagship vacuum that you see today, 124 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 2: I want to say they are still around and like 125 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 2: it's sort of like almost like a like a throwback 126 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 2: kind of thing. It's like what you see in theaters. Oh, geez, Louise, 127 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 2: Now I recognize the logo. Of course it still exists. 128 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 2: It's got the little triangle, a little red triangle logo. 129 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 2: And they make stick vacs along with the rest of 130 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 2: them pet hair vacs. They are very much a growing concern. 131 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: They're still in the game. Melville Bissle patented his design 132 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: way back in eighteen seventy six. Now he was not 133 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: the first guy in the carpet sweeping phenomenon. That is 134 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: probably a guy named Daniel Hess out of West Union, Iowa. 135 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: But Bissile improved the earlier concepts. These were all mechanical, right, 136 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: because electricity wasn't really a thing for most people. They 137 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: had a series of belts and gears or rulers instead 138 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: of electric power. You can see him around a lot today. 139 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: It's funny that you were in my head too, man, 140 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: on the difference between a push lawnmower and a gas 141 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: powered one, because it all needs manual human muscle to operate. 142 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, man, you mentioned steampunk. I don't think we said 143 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 2: it out loud in the dock here, but I can't 144 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 2: imagine what a manual vac must have been like. It 145 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 2: really does strike me as a bit of a bellows 146 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 2: driven steampunk concern. Right, oh yeah, yeah, we've got a 147 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 2: picture here in the research you could create the vacuum 148 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 2: action through as you said, crows or fans. It looks 149 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 2: like a musical instrument. This is very far from perfect. 150 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 2: A ton of people tried desperately, ardently to improve the design, 151 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 2: people from the US, from Britain, from France. This is 152 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 2: where the picture we're looking at here is something called 153 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 2: the Baby Daisy love it. I said, it looks like 154 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 2: a musical instrument because with the bellows and everything, it's 155 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 2: got kind of accordion vibes or the harmonium, which is 156 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 2: another bellows based instrument popular in Indian raga music for 157 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 2: creating drones. And also the film composer who did all 158 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 2: the Paul Thomas Anderson stuff, whose name is totally escaping 159 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 2: me right now, uses that instrument a lot, and it 160 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 2: actually featured in the plot of A Punch Drunk Love, 161 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 2: the pt Andersen movie. But yeah, it's a it's a 162 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 2: wooden box and you blink and you'd miss it. Ben, 163 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 2: But there is a very grimy looking stick coming up 164 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 2: out of it. And I am grimey of course, as 165 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,439 Speaker 2: we're looking at a vintage example and then it appears, 166 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 2: is that a crank on the side or is that 167 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 2: part of Now that's that's part of another piece of 168 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 2: equipment and the thing. So how how would it actually operate? Oh, 169 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 2: it's positively something from the world of Doctor Seuss. Yeah, 170 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 2: you need two people to operate it. So yeah, one 171 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 2: person stands at the base of those bellows we mentioned earlier, 172 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 2: moving the bellows back and forth. The the other guys 173 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 2: what I'd like to call the hoseman. The hoseman is 174 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 2: you see. 175 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: The manual vacuum power from the hose to suck up 176 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: stuff that goes into a cotton bag inside the device. 177 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 2: Oh who gets to be the bagman? That's my question. 178 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: That's crazy because they did have to empty this out 179 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: after pretty much every use and then clean it and 180 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: then let it try out and then replace it. 181 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 2: So I imagine you'd take turns alternating between who's the 182 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 2: hoseman and who's the bagman. 183 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels like between the bellowsman, the hoseman, and 184 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,199 Speaker 1: the bagman. The bagman was kind of a short straw situation. 185 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, because that's the one that's got to deal with 186 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 2: all the ichy the ichy bits don't breathe that into deep. 187 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 2: Even to this day, Man, emptying a vacuum is is 188 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 2: no joke. 189 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,320 Speaker 1: I know I've got I've got a vacuum right next 190 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: to me all frame as we're recording, and I realized 191 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 1: that I have to empty it after this. So maybe 192 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: that's motivation for our episode. Come on, though, baby Daisy, 193 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: Baby Daisy, it's a cool name. 194 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 2: There were a lot of fat that's my main and 195 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,439 Speaker 2: Mario Kart, oh yeah, your baby Jaysy. Baby Daisy is 196 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 2: absolutely a playable character in Mario Kart. 197 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: We also know that a lot of these manual vacuum 198 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: cleaners had similar catchy names. They started popping up in 199 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: the eighteen sixties. You see the first motorized designs towards 200 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 1: the end or the turn of the twentieth century. So 201 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: as we get into the nineteen hundreds, this is where 202 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: we have to ask how on earth did vacuums become electric? 203 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 1: And to do that, we've got to introduce two more inventors. 204 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 2: Sorry, man, I briefly went down a Google rabbit hole 205 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 2: just looking for some really hoping for some fun names 206 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 2: for early vacuums. Yeah, they are are not nearly as 207 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 2: fun as I was hoping. I was hoping for something 208 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 2: more in line with like the whiz bang or the 209 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 2: you know, the the wang Dang doodle or something like that. 210 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,599 Speaker 2: But we're looking more along the lines of what you 211 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 2: might see with modern appliances like the whirlwind or you've 212 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 2: got here one called the Regina, the Regina pneumatic cleaner, 213 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 2: which was I guess another name for a vacuum I 214 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 2: like the Golden Rod vacuum cleaner as well. The two 215 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 2: inventors we were teasing their names are Hubert Cecil Booth 216 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 2: and David T. Kenny. 217 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: So in nineteen oh one, Booth unveils his creation that 218 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: turns heads, It raises eyebrows. It is a huge, gas 219 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: powered vacuum cleaner. It's not anything you would put in 220 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,680 Speaker 1: your home unless you are a Saudi billionaire. 221 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 2: It is horse drawn Jesus. Yeah. It parades through the through. 222 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: The streets like Livesdale's to pull that, yeah, like a 223 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: steampunk carnival show. And it sucks up dirt from homes 224 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: and businesses or the you know, the the front sidewalks 225 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: of those places via these long hoses. Its street name 226 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: is and we kid the not folks, the Puff and Billy. 227 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,199 Speaker 2: Not to be confused with Trip and Billy by the 228 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 2: Dave Matthews band, which is a stone cold banger, and 229 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,599 Speaker 2: clearly about this vacuum absolutely been no question about it. 230 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 2: This was I'm a little confused up and so they 231 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 2: paraded through the streets. It was more of like a 232 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 2: I don't know, like a just like a street sweep, 233 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 2: a street sweeper. But then how do they get into 234 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 2: people's houses with those horses? They didn't. This was for 235 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 2: municipal vacuuming basically, so instead of just sweeping stuff around 236 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 2: in these dirty streets, it would suck up the detritus 237 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 2: and the debris and probably a lot of horse poop 238 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 2: and uh yeah, which they contributed to the to the 239 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 2: to the equation right. 240 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: People were uh, this was divisive. People were not, you know, 241 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,320 Speaker 1: quite yet to the atomic age. Some members of the 242 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: public absolutely hated this thing because of the noise or 243 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: the fact that it scared the shit out of horses. 244 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 2: Thank you for the beat, Max, Yeah, I mean even 245 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 2: the horses pulling it probably weren't loving it none too much. 246 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 2: And Booth, you know, had his fair share of court 247 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 2: cases jamming up his business until he finally convinced a 248 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 2: judge and a jury that his machine was the only 249 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 2: vacuum cleaner at the time that actually worked. Yeah. 250 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty good, because now he's becoming like a Colonel 251 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: Kurtz of vacuum cleaners. 252 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 2: He's saying, you might not agree with my means, but 253 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 2: my ends create results. Now, Ben, I'd got to wonder, 254 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 2: we've talked about the Great Stink of London and how 255 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 2: nasty things used to be in the olden days. How 256 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 2: you know which Sometimes you look at a picture of 257 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 2: those of that era and you can almost you can 258 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 2: smell it. The pictures you can smell. So I've got 259 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 2: to wonder if the argument being made for this had 260 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 2: historical precedent in terms of, like we need this for sanitation. 261 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: I think that's a really great point, because the Great 262 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: Stink of London was eighteen fifty eight. London is still 263 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: a very dirty place foot yeah, by nineteen oh one, 264 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: So yeah, that makes sense. That was probably part of 265 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: the court case public health. He said, it's worth the noise. 266 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 1: You know, again, I'm speculating here a little bit, but 267 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: with all of that soot in a time where it 268 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: was absolutely cold powered everything it would be. You could 269 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 1: definitely make the argument that it would be good for 270 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 1: the greater good and worth perhaps the startled horses and 271 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: the you know, interrupted naps. Yeah, they were cleaning everywhere. 272 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: The puffing Billy after the court cases got deployed everywhere 273 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 1: from Buckingham Palace to the Royal Mint and Crystal Palace. 274 00:15:55,040 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 1: In they did provide some sanitation benefits. In the Crystal Palace, 275 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: the puffing Billy removed twenty six tons of dust from 276 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: the girders during a First World War outbreak of spotted fever. 277 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: So this is helping people. Sorry horses, Ben, I think 278 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: the puff and Billy is actually truly is kind of 279 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: a steampunk reference. Oftentimes, locomotives were called puffer billies. There's 280 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: a song I'm talking about seeing the little puffer billies 281 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: all in a row, something about the engine driver puff, puff, 282 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: two toot and off we go. Guarantee that this was 283 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: referencing something that people were familiar with. Oh yeah, which 284 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: is what you always want to do with creating a 285 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: new product, right, Yeah, that's a great point. On the 286 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: other side of the property line. Okay, let's say we're 287 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: very wealthy, and we have our estate. We don't have 288 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: a large enough area for a puffing billy which is 289 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: still horse drawn to work. That's where Kenny comes in. 290 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: He creates a vacuum cleaner powered by an electric motor. 291 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: And this means you can, if you're very wealthy, you 292 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: can take this thing and you can use it at 293 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: your house. It is stationary, it weighs four thousand pounds, 294 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,959 Speaker 1: it is steam powered. It's got pipes and hoses reaching 295 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:20,360 Speaker 1: to all parts of the building, so it's a lot 296 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:25,360 Speaker 1: more like a vacuum cleaner version of central air condition. 297 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 2: I want to say Ben that in some older buildings, 298 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 2: in places like New York City, you can actually still 299 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 2: see receptacles on the wall left over from these types 300 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 2: of systems. Fascinating. 301 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, that makes sense because it would be a 302 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,240 Speaker 1: flex for you as a landowner to have one of 303 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: these bad boys. Since a lot of folks still didn't 304 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: have electricity, the vast majority of household chores were the same, old, 305 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 1: back breaking drudgery. This is a true story. It reminded 306 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: me of you guys. Back in the nineteen hundreds, these 307 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:06,040 Speaker 1: gadgets were considered so impressive that people would throw what 308 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: they called vacuum cleaner parties. He's yeah, like pineapples. The 309 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: social ie, the socialites of the day would say. 310 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 2: Fellow one percentas, please come witness my vacuumry. It's like 311 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 2: a paintent party, marbouch, that's so funny, or like a 312 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:29,199 Speaker 2: tupperware party. Okay, yeah, So it was a bit of 313 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 2: a flex almost like a salon. Oh just so. 314 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: And now again, so we have a big horse drawn 315 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,439 Speaker 1: thing that is helping people avoid disease. We have a 316 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:46,480 Speaker 1: massive internal infrastructure really for a fancy pants house. The 317 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: first hortible electric vacuum cleaner comes around in nineteen oh seven, 318 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: and this is courtesy of a very interesting guy named 319 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: James Murray Spangler. 320 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 2: Yep, James Murray Spangler was a janitor at a department 321 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 2: store in Canton, Ohio. James got us a bit closer 322 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 2: to what we think of today when we think of 323 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 2: a modern vacuum cleaner that you might have around the 324 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 2: house as a custodian, which I think is the preferred 325 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 2: term the janitor, perhaps, right, and a guy with asthma. 326 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 2: Again to the point of the whole cold dust and 327 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 2: particulate matter of it all, and how this is an 328 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 2: issue that isn't going to be dealt with nearly as 329 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:40,160 Speaker 2: well with a traditional you know, broom and dustpan. He 330 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 2: was super interested in cleaning technology. Oh, there are reasons, 331 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 2: and he was a bit of a tinkerer. M hmm. Yeah. 332 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:55,120 Speaker 1: The concept of a portable cleaning device was revolutionary because 333 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: it made cleaning more accessible, It made it easier, it 334 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: made it practical. It also made it more affordable. His 335 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 1: design still has this cloth, filter bag and cleaning attachments. 336 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,440 Speaker 1: His design is also purchased by a guide named William 337 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,880 Speaker 1: Hoover in nineteen oh eight, which leads to something called 338 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,360 Speaker 1: the Hoover Company. 339 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 2: And the rest is vacuum cleaner history. Hoover, of course, 340 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,159 Speaker 2: basically becoming a verb for vacuuming things up today like 341 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 2: I say, I'm a hoover that up, you know, one 342 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 2: hundred percent? Yeah, it's an epononymous trademark. I always forget 343 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 2: that word, Ben, Thank you for always being so kind 344 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 2: as to remind me. By the nineteen twenties and thirties, 345 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 2: vacuum cleaners were starting to become something you might see 346 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,919 Speaker 2: in a household rather than just in industrial situations. Hoover, 347 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 2: of course, on the front lines of this, recognizing the 348 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 2: potential of this booming market. This is, of course, the 349 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 2: time the age of the atom, you know, are starting 350 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,439 Speaker 2: to get into like the you know, Sears catalog of 351 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 2: it all, the you know, the American Dream and all 352 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,720 Speaker 2: of that, when things were kind of starting to take 353 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,440 Speaker 2: on this patina of like futuristic and that what's more 354 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:13,919 Speaker 2: futuristic than a cleaning robot? Exactly. Yes, Hoover did something 355 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,959 Speaker 2: really clever. They said, we look, we can make a 356 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 2: little bit of money or a significant amount of money 357 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 2: pedling to the upper crust, or to be honest, to 358 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 2: the household cleaning staff of the upper crust. But our 359 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 2: real money is in economy of scale. If we can 360 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 2: make individual vacuums affordable to the average person, then we 361 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 2: can sell millions of those. And this is where we see. 362 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:43,439 Speaker 2: I want to give a shout out to one of 363 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 2: my favorite websites for this. They're a little biased, Edison 364 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:53,679 Speaker 2: Vacuums dot com. They're a Tennessee based company. By the 365 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,959 Speaker 2: nineteen forties, as Edison tells us, we see the improvement 366 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,919 Speaker 2: of the upright anister vacuum. Now it's more than just 367 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 2: a status symbol, more than just a cleaning tool. It 368 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 2: represents the future. It's Jetson's level at this point. Yeah, 369 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 2: and Ben, I dropped, and that's the one you meant 370 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 2: you referenced to. Edison Vacuums dot Com has some incredible 371 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:22,360 Speaker 2: images of some designs of these canister vacuums. I think 372 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:25,440 Speaker 2: one of my favorite ones, Ben, you'll see couple down. 373 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,399 Speaker 2: It looks like a like it looks like it's like 374 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 2: an R two D two situation. It's like a globe. 375 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 2: It looks like a planet. It's got like ring around 376 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 2: the ring around the edge like Saturn. And it's light 377 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 2: blue and has these very mid century modern kind of 378 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 2: wheel design with a really cool kind of telescoping hose 379 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 2: that comes off of it and wraps around with an 380 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 2: attachment at the end. This is all a result of 381 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:55,719 Speaker 2: post war technological advancement that led to more compact designs 382 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 2: in both the upright and these canister models. And I 383 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 2: guess today, but when we think of the canister models, 384 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 2: we think more of like shop vacs, you know, the 385 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 2: ones that roll around or dry wet vacs. But I 386 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 2: think typically you know that's not true. I have I 387 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,639 Speaker 2: have seen some cleaning companies that use backpack mounted uh 388 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 2: vacuums that would be considered a canister version, but typically 389 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 2: I think the ones we see or we have as 390 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 2: individual households would be more of that upright back. And 391 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 2: there's a lot of propaganda to it. You can see. 392 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: You can see clearly staged pictures of white American families 393 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: where there's one in the Edison Vacuum site that shows 394 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:44,640 Speaker 1: a lady sitting down and watching in amusement as her 395 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: husband is using a canister vacuum, and the idea is now, 396 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: cleaning is so easy that even your dumb hubby can 397 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: do it. 398 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 2: And he just looks like a real, real, real special boy. 399 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 2: He's like he's vacs like a missionary. Yeah, there's a 400 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 2: couple images when you're talking about it's clearly staged for 401 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 2: an advertisement, and this one probably is too, But there's 402 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 2: one of a dude on his own vacuuming up the 403 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,159 Speaker 2: tray underneath a bird cage and with just the dopiest 404 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 2: grin on his face like he's a yeah, he's having 405 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 2: a ball, and the bird is in the background looking 406 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:23,440 Speaker 2: at this as probably as frightened as the horses were 407 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 2: of the puffing a bility. Oh, more so, man, can 408 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 2: you imagine what that thing would do to a tiny 409 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 2: little parakeet. 410 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: And we see that these improvements continue over the massive 411 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: economic boom the dawn of the atomic age, which mentioned 412 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 1: earlier there. In post World War two America, we begin 413 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 1: to see the movement toward disposable culture. Vacuum cleaner bags 414 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: become disposable. They're not great for the environment, but they're 415 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: more convenient and arguably more hygienic for your household because 416 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: now you don't have to, like, let's say you suck 417 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: up something nasty or grody that could maybe be a 418 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: health hazard, and then you have to take your cotton 419 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: bag out and you have to wash it in your sink. 420 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: That could be a vector for plague or infection. Now 421 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: you just throw it away. It's the trashman's problem. 422 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,159 Speaker 2: You know. It's interesting, Ben, I actually also own a 423 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 2: baged whatever you call it, a vacuum that uses a bag, 424 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,360 Speaker 2: a dispossible bag by a company that you may remember. 425 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 2: I think Rush Limbaugh chilled for this company back in 426 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:40,160 Speaker 2: the day. Ork Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so kind 427 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 2: of popular, But I think they're more popular with older 428 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 2: folks who remember the good old glory days of vacuum 429 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,639 Speaker 2: cleaners because vis belonged to my mother. Uh and I 430 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 2: inherited it, you know, from my mother when she when 431 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 2: she passed. So I have this rac but you got 432 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 2: to order the bags. You need the bags. It will 433 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:00,639 Speaker 2: not operate with that. And I am a bagless man. 434 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 2: As we're going to get into. I think that's where 435 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,360 Speaker 2: you were heading, Ben, that there is a bagless revolution 436 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:06,400 Speaker 2: on the horizon. 437 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 1: Oh yes, sir, and Oric did something very clever by 438 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,919 Speaker 1: making their bags proprietary. It's terrible for the consumer story 439 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: for the company. 440 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. 441 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: And the bagless vacuums those are the kind with uh, 442 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: this is embarrassing to check this out there, Yeah, show 443 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: these are the kinds that have that cup. This thing 444 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 1: is called the dirt cup. And you pull it out 445 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,400 Speaker 1: and you can see how it's got a little trap door. 446 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 1: It's got a little trap door. As you're saying, you 447 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: can also have the advantage of seeing how much junk 448 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: is accreting in there and knowing when you. 449 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 2: Need to empty it. Well that's the thing too, Ben. 450 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:54,159 Speaker 2: Both you and I are pet owners and pet dander 451 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,400 Speaker 2: and the like. If you're not careful, it will significantly 452 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,119 Speaker 2: hamper the effectiveness of your vacuum. It can get stuck 453 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,919 Speaker 2: in the hose, it can build up in the filter, 454 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:06,679 Speaker 2: So you really do have to kind of keep an 455 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 2: eye on that lest your vacuum lose it suck. I 456 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:14,000 Speaker 2: think it's cool that you kept the Oric though, man. 457 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 2: I have it down here in my studio. I haven't 458 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 2: used it once, but I can't get rid of it. 459 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 2: My mom loved that thing. You got to get the 460 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,400 Speaker 2: bags too, right, I got it bags, it's the problem. 461 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 2: Got no bags. He's got no bags. He's the bagman though. 462 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 2: I'm looking on Amazon right now. Actually, sixteen pack vacuum 463 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 2: bags for ORK type CC compatible with all ORC xcel 464 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 2: up right vacuum cleaners. Twenty dollars and ninety nine cents 465 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 2: for sixteen bags. Sixteen that's not awful. Guy's got full 466 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 2: stars too on the reviews. Yeah, they've got a very 467 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,120 Speaker 2: loyal customer bag. I think that's right. Then. My mom 468 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 2: was in that number. 469 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,920 Speaker 1: Did I tell you guys that not too far away 470 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: This is gonna sound crazy, you don't have to believe me, 471 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: But not too far away from the waffle House Museum 472 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:08,200 Speaker 1: over an Avondale, where we visited researching our waffle House episode. 473 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: For a long long time there was a vacuum cleaner store, 474 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: and ever since Breaking Bad debuted, I was convinced. 475 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 2: It was a grift. Yeah, well you gotta think too. 476 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 2: I mean, there used to be just stand alone vacuum 477 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 2: cleaner repair operations because you needed them. People. These things 478 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 2: would break and you needed to take it to an expert. 479 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 2: But now it seems like everything's covered under warranty. I mean, 480 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 2: how often do you bring It's annoying, honestly, because it 481 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 2: is the whole right to repair issue that we often 482 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:43,479 Speaker 2: talk about on stuff. They don't want you to know 483 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 2: the idea that so many proprietary pieces of equipment that 484 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 2: consumers purchase, they're designed in such a way that it's 485 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 2: very difficult for you to repair or to have them repair. 486 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 2: They want you to send them back to the company. 487 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 2: Yeah planned opso lescens as well. They want you to 488 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 2: buy the new one. 489 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: But of course, who are we to disparage the good 490 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,720 Speaker 1: folks at places like Hoover, Aurek or of course the 491 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: Ferrari vacuums, Dyson and what was it? What was that 492 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: other one sharp sharp the Sharknado. That's not I think 493 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: it's the best opportunity though, But yeah, shark, So, for 494 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 1: better or worse. Now, ninety eight percent of US homes 495 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: have a vacuum cleaner, which is a crazy business success story, 496 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: considering that only thirty percent of homes had a vacuum 497 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: cleaner of any sort in the nineteen thirties through the forties. 498 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,200 Speaker 1: It's because they're cheaper now, it's because there are more 499 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,880 Speaker 1: people in the market. One of the weirdest facts recently 500 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,160 Speaker 1: that we learned while we were putting this together is that, 501 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:59,720 Speaker 1: out of all of the United States, the tiny I 502 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,719 Speaker 1: called them the tiny Nation, the tiny state of Delaware 503 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: vacuums the most often. 504 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 2: Oh, call back to Wayne's world. Hey we're in Delaware, Aware, 505 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 2: nothing to do except vacuum and launder money apparently as well. 506 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, probably, you know what, It's all starting to make 507 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: sense now that you say that. Of course, the people 508 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: who run money laundry are going to be great a vacuum. 509 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 2: Delaware residents vacuum the most because they're cleaning that money. 510 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 2: If anyone doesn't get their reference, there is a whole 511 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 2: thing we've talked about on stuff they don't want you 512 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 2: to know about how you'll often see businesses incorporated in 513 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,480 Speaker 2: Delaware because they have I couldn't tell you exactly the 514 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 2: nature of them, but there are some interesting tax laws 515 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:51,960 Speaker 2: or just financial laws that, for whatever reason are more 516 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:54,800 Speaker 2: let's just say, are a little I don't know, kinder 517 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:56,680 Speaker 2: and gentler. Ben, do you remember. 518 00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:02,360 Speaker 1: Corporate corporate friendly? There you go, they courage investment, and 519 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 1: they're willing to have an open conversation with you about 520 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: your liability or taxes. 521 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 2: And they'll sell you a vacuum while they're at it. Hey, 522 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 2: we should talk about this briefly. Ben. Remember the days 523 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 2: of like, you know, death of a salesman and all 524 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 2: that stuff, The bygone era of door to door salesman. 525 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 2: I think one of those, very much that we see 526 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 2: parodied off in or shown in cartoons or sitcoms was 527 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,400 Speaker 2: the person that would come to your door with a 528 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:31,680 Speaker 2: vacuum and the would like, dump a bag of dirt 529 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 2: on your carbon and then you're like, what are you doing, 530 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 2: you mad man? Wait a minute, wait a minute, and 531 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 2: then they would vacuum it up and you'd be mind 532 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 2: blown and you would, of course, you know, shell out 533 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 2: and get the get the latest vacuum. 534 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 1: Uh huh, Yeah, and given our stereotypes of the nineteen fifties, 535 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,320 Speaker 1: when the vacuum cleaner door to door salesperson showed up, 536 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 1: the people at the house were already way gone on 537 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: Mother's Little helpers or uh, what were those things, Benny's whatever? 538 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 2: Those painkillers were amphetamines. Oh geeze ben They call them 539 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 2: popping Benny's but I can't remember what Benny's is short for. 540 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 2: But yes, Benzo now benzo diazipens or dopey dopey drugs. 541 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I've been watching the first season of True 542 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:25,640 Speaker 2: Detective again, very very good. Uh interesting timing to check 543 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 2: it out right now, y'all if you want to, uh, 544 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 2: you know, get a view into a different perspective on 545 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 2: some things that are going on in the news. But 546 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 2: he calls them dopey drugs. Uh, rust coal, but yeah. 547 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 2: Traveling vacuum salespeople would represent brands like Kirby, who we 548 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 2: didn't talk about, and they were, of course, they had 549 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 2: to be showmen. They'd go door to door and use 550 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 2: these in home demonstration tactics to sell these high end 551 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 2: vacuum cleaners, and of course you would also see a 552 00:32:54,440 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 2: certain amount of pyramid scheminess to Yeah, we have a 553 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 2: bit of a pyramid scheme here in our podcast, folks, 554 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 2: because we'd like to tease future episodes while we wrap 555 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 2: up the first one. Uh, the vacuum cleaner has become 556 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 2: an inescapable, if ridiculous invention, it is still very convenient 557 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:23,640 Speaker 2: for a lot of people. We'd love to hear your 558 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 2: weird vacuum cleaner stories. We'd also love to tell you 559 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 2: that we're going to get super into national anthems in 560 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 2: our very next episode. Oh my gosh, Ben, would you 561 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,000 Speaker 2: believe it that there are still vacuum salespeople door to 562 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:43,560 Speaker 2: door vacuum salespeople. I'm seeing an article here from let's 563 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:48,480 Speaker 2: see six news in Tennessee. Hey, how about that alcoa 564 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:54,960 Speaker 2: Alcoa woman regrets purchase from traveling salesmen after long refund disputes. 565 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:57,960 Speaker 2: In Tennessee, there's a three day cooling off period for 566 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,560 Speaker 2: door to door salespeople. In other words, if you sign 567 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 2: a contract, you can cancel it within three days. That's 568 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 2: what Donald McLendon tried to do. However, recently, she's been 569 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,920 Speaker 2: getting notices for non payment from her loan company, and 570 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 2: these Kirby vacuums apparently cost about five grand. 571 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: Well, that's how they make the money and that specific 572 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 1: business model. It's a strange world out there, folks, but 573 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:25,200 Speaker 1: we're glad we are on it with you together. Thank you, 574 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:29,799 Speaker 1: as always so much to our super producer Max Hoover Williams. 575 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: Thank you to Alex Williams who composed this slap and bop, 576 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 1: and you know, honestly thanks to the people who invented 577 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:38,800 Speaker 1: the vacuum. 578 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,840 Speaker 2: Holy smokes, nol. I'm looking at it. The vacuum. I 579 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 2: just showed you that I have. It is also a shark. 580 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 2: I just never checked you. You're a shark man. Hey, yes, Oh, 581 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:52,319 Speaker 2: my brother boocome to the club. You didn't even know 582 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,919 Speaker 2: you were in it. Hughes, Thanks Chris Frosciotis and he's 583 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:56,680 Speaker 2: Jeff cot here and Spira and of course Ben, thanks 584 00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,160 Speaker 2: to you for doing the research on this. Absolutely m 585 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 2: a of a of an episode on vacuums. Didn't suck 586 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 2: it up. We'll see your next eppooks. For more podcasts 587 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 2: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 588 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:19,840 Speaker 2: you listen to your favorite shows.