1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. Listen. I 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: don't know why I'm on a kick about the origins 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: of everyday items lately, but it's still what my brain 6 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: is drawn to. Also, let me be frank, I'm kind 7 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: of a slob by nature. I fight it, I'm working 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: on it all the time, but that makes me deeply 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: grateful for every invention that helps me kind of keep 10 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: up with my housework. I need them all in Spain. 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: By the way, not an ad for anyone. I won't 12 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: mention a specific one, but if you haven't got a 13 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: steam mop, I highly recommend it. Uh. They're like magic. 14 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: That's not what we're talking about today. We are talking 15 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: about dishwashers, and there is one woman in particular who 16 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: normally gets the credit for inventing the dishwasher, but there 17 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: were other inventors trying to come up with ways to 18 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: automatically take care of kitchen clean up, both before and after. 19 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: Josephine Cochrane, the woman we're talking about today. We are 20 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: going to talk primarily about Josephine. But we will also 21 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 1: book nder story with other efforts to get dishes clean. 22 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: So first we're going to start out with some design 23 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: patents that didn't result in much actual machinery being built. 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: So first up is Joel Hutton of Ogden, New York, 25 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: who was granted the first dishwasher patent in the US 26 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: on May. It's really kind of a glorified hose and 27 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: bucket affair. Water would pass onto buckets that were mounted 28 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: on a shaft that was turned with a crank, so 29 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: it would sort of spatter the water onto dirty dishes 30 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: that were in a wooden or a metal cylinder. The 31 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: water had to be boiled separately and then poured onto 32 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: this mechanism. This was not really functional in any kind 33 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: of thorough or practical sense. The description of this dishwasher 34 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: in the patent application of pretty charming, though quote the 35 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: nature of my invention consists in placing the crockery or 36 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: other articles of table furniture in a machine fitted to 37 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: receive them and then to wash them by turning a 38 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,519 Speaker 1: shaft with arms and buckets so arranged as to throw 39 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: the water upon the crockery with force, and thus acting 40 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: upon and cleansing each and every article. In the eighteen sixties, 41 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: another person, l A. Alexander, got a patent for a 42 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: dishwasher with a rack that would turn the dishes on 43 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: a circular spinner that would move through a tub of water. 44 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: This was for like a gentle dish bather. It was 45 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: not particularly effective. No. Uh So. The woman who is, 46 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: as we've said, generally credited with inventing the dishwasher is 47 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: Josephine Garris Cochrane. She was born Josephine Garris on March eight, 48 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: eight thirty nine, in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Her father, John Garris, 49 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: was a civil engineer. He worked largely when she was 50 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: born with mills along the Ohio River. Her mother, Irene 51 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: Fitch Garris, was the daughter of John Fitch, who was 52 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: an inventor. He invented the first patented steamboat, and for 53 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: a while he ran a service that connected Philadelphia to 54 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: other ports with that steamboat. She never actually knew her grandfather, 55 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: but her family's engineering background is often mentioned in Josephine's 56 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: biography to kind of suggest that becoming an inventor was 57 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: inevitable for her. But Josephine didn't really grow up showing 58 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: any real inclination to follow in her grandfather or father's footsteps, 59 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: John moved Josephine to Valparaiso, Indiana for his work. Her mother, Irene, 60 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: had died before the move. Josephine had an older sister 61 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: who had started her own life and was living in Illinois. 62 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: Josephine attended a private high school in Indiana, although that 63 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: particular school burned down and that ended her formal education. 64 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: After that, Josephine first moved in with her sister in Shelbyville, Illinois, 65 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: and then she did what a lot of young women 66 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: at the time did, which was she got married. She 67 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: was nineteen at the time. Her new husband was William A. Cochrane, 68 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: who was twenty seven. As a young man, William had 69 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: been quite entranced by the idea of striking it rich 70 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: in the California gold Rush, and he had traveled to 71 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: the West Coast in eighteen fifty three to seek his fortune. 72 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 1: I did not really go as planned, and he had 73 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: moved back home, and by the time he met Josephine, 74 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: he had been back for roughly a year and he 75 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: had started to build a successful dry goods business. He 76 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: was working in the business with his uncle, so she 77 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: was marrying into a pretty comfortable and stable situation. They 78 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: were married on October eighteen fifty three. Josephine and William 79 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: had two children. Their son, Hallie, died as a toddler, 80 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: and they also had a daughter, Catherine, who lived to adulthood. 81 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: One interesting detail of Josephine's married life is that she 82 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: and her husband spelled their last name differently. William you 83 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: c O c h r A N his name by birth, 84 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: but Josephine preferred to add an E on the end 85 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: of Cochrane. Some biographers say she thought this looked more 86 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: fancy or refined. Her daughter Catherine used the version without 87 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: the e, the idea that she just made her last 88 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: name a little bit more fancy. I love it, go 89 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: for it. It's like plu to flourish um. Some biographies 90 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: kind of differ on whether she was actively doing this 91 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: when William was still alive, but particularly after he had passed, 92 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: she was definitely full time using it with the E version. 93 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: Twelve years into their marriage, when William Cochrane had grown 94 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: his business to a point not just of comfort but 95 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: really of true wealth, he purchased a luxury home for 96 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: the family in Shelbyville, Illinois. Both he and Josephine recognized 97 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 1: that they had moved up the socioeconomic ladder, and they 98 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: both worked really hard to fit into a higher class 99 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: than they had grown up in, and they both wanted 100 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: to move even higher. In short, Josephine aris Cochrane was 101 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: at this point considered a socialite, and she really loved that. 102 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: One of her greatest joys was having fancy dinner parties, 103 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: and as part of this hosting hobby, she used only 104 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: the finest china. The set she really prized was an 105 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 1: heirloom originally made in the sixteen hundreds, and if you've 106 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: ever washed antique china, you may know it's often delicate 107 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: and easy to chip. That is exactly what happened when 108 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: Josephine's house staff washed up after these parties, and Josephine 109 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: was really upset by this, so much so that she 110 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: would not let any of the staff wash her good 111 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: china anymore. She took on that shore herself. There are 112 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: debates about how long this actually went on, but it 113 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: turned out she just didn't love doing an entire party's 114 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: worth of dishes on her own. Who would not me? 115 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: Not me either, and she thought at first that someone 116 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: must have already come up with a machine designed to 117 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: handle such tasks. And after she looked around for such 118 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: a solution and finding that a truly functional washer had 119 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: not yet been created, she has often quoted as saying, 120 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: if nobody else is going to invent a dish washing machine, 121 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: I'll do it myself. She is said to have sat 122 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: in her home's library to think on this matter, and 123 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: to have come up with a basic design after only 124 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: about thirty minutes of sketching out ideas. Previous attempts at 125 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: making an automatic dishwasher had not been very successful. The 126 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: dishes just didn't get as clean as a person could 127 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: get them themselves. There was also inconsistent cleaning in any 128 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: given loads, so some items would come out okay and 129 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: other ones would still be dirty. Josephine saw that one 130 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: of the biggest failures of those machines was a lack 131 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: of water pressure, and she intended to fix that in 132 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: her version. And at this point in her life, Josephine 133 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: was very well connected to a lot of wealthy people, 134 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: many of whom her husband had business relationships with. William 135 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: was not only a businessman, he was so very politically active. 136 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: He was a prominent member of the Democratic Party in 137 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: Illinois in a community that was not supportive of Lincoln. 138 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: During the Civil War, William was sometimes called Judge or 139 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: the Judge. He held no such position, but people called 140 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: him that as a nickname because they trusted his opinion, 141 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: and they often went to him for business and political advice. 142 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: And the plan was that William could call on his 143 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: vast network of friends and use his influence and his 144 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: attachments to various business associates to assist in forming a 145 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: company that could build and sell Josephine's dishwasher. Just as 146 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: Josephine conceived of her design, William left for a visit 147 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: to a hot spring to take the waters. She stayed 148 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: behind to work on her idea, but he came right 149 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: back home because his health precipitously got a lot worse. 150 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: Over the course of their marriage. William had started to 151 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: drink heavily, and he died of an illness that was 152 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: exacerbated by alcohol miss used just two weeks after she 153 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: had started on this dishwasher project. Grieving aside that was 154 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: going to make it a lot harder for Josephine to 155 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: get financial backing. People had trusted her husband in business, 156 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: but she did not have any practical experience to expect 157 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: the same confidence, and to make matters worse, after William's death, 158 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: it became apparent that the lavish lifestyle that the Cochranes 159 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: had been living was kind of built on a house 160 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: of cards. They did make a lot of money, but 161 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: apparently William also spent a lot of money, and Josephine 162 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: was left with only fifteen hundred dollars and a debt 163 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: that was far greater than that. She no longer had 164 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: the business world favor or financial backing that she thought 165 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: she was going to start this enterprise with, but that 166 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: just made her really more adamant that she had to 167 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: follow through on her plan because she needed an income. 168 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: She did not seem interested in downsizing her life. She 169 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: was forty five at this point. We will talk about 170 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: how she approached making her idea into a reality after 171 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 1: we pause for a word for one of our sponsors. 172 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: Josephine's resolved to see her invention through the reality was, 173 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: as we said before the break, stronger than ever. After 174 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:23,440 Speaker 1: her husband William had passed, she found herself without income. 175 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: Her first step in testing Her design was done in 176 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: her kitchen, although it involved no actual machine at all. 177 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: She just wanted to make sure that she was correct 178 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: in thinking that water pressure was sort of the key 179 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,719 Speaker 1: to this whole thing. So she assembled dishes in her 180 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: sink and then proceeded to throw that was the word. 181 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: She used hot soapy water onto them, and as she 182 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: suspected through his trial and error, it was possible to 183 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: apply enough force to the water that the dirt was 184 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,719 Speaker 1: rinsed from the dishes without damaging them. So then her 185 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,440 Speaker 1: next step was to try to build an actual working 186 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: model of her machine idea. This is where George Butters 187 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: enters the picture. Butters was a railroad mechanic. He worked 188 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: for Illinois Central Railroad, and Josephine hired him to help 189 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: build her machine since she needed somebody familiar with actual machinery. 190 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 1: He became indispensable, not just in creating her first prototype, 191 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: but just throughout the entirety of Cochrane's work. Although there 192 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: isn't a lot written about their relationship, it seems like 193 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: they must have gotten along great and really trusted each other. Yeah, 194 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 1: she often talks about how many men discounted her, but 195 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 1: she and Butters worked together for a long time. He 196 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: ended up, you know, in a high position in her company, 197 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: so clearly that was not a problem for him. The 198 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: first version of the dishwasher that Cochran and Butters assembled 199 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: took about two months to put together. There was some 200 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: trial and error, and it sounds not the different from 201 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: dishwashers today. They measured out dishes and then carefully built 202 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: wire racks that would hold standard dish sizes, and then 203 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: they had built it so that when an operator turned 204 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: the crank on it, there was a pump that pushed 205 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: streams of hot, soapy water onto the dishes, and then 206 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: you did the same thing again without soap to rinse 207 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 1: them clean. Josephine put the first finished prototype to work 208 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: in her own kitchen, and soon the entire neighborhood wanted 209 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: to stop by for a visit and see it in action. 210 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: And words spread really quickly about Mrs Cochrane's contraption, inviting 211 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: people to visit and see what she had been working on. 212 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: Achieved the thing that Josephine Cochrane had thought she lost 213 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 1: when her husband William died. It got her the support 214 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: of the business community. She started collecting written testimonials from 215 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 1: people who had come and witnessed the Garris Cochrane dishwashing machine, 216 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: as she called it in action. Initially, Josephine was able 217 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: to take orders from some of her friends and build 218 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: them dishwashers of their own, but soon she realized this 219 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: was not a very sustainable business model, not as a startup, 220 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: and not at a time when the unit was just 221 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 1: well out of the price range of most homes. Many 222 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,679 Speaker 1: years later, she told her reporter or quote, when it 223 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 1: comes to buying something for the kitchen that costs seventy 224 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: five dollars or a hundred dollars, a woman begins at 225 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: once to figure out all the other things she could 226 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: do with the money. She hates dishwashing what woman does not, 227 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:21,320 Speaker 1: but she has not learned to think of her time 228 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: and comfort as worth money. Besides, she isn't the deciding 229 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: factor when it comes to spending comparatively large sums of 230 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,840 Speaker 1: money for the house. Her husband sees that adversely, generally 231 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: in the case of costly kitchen conveniences, though he will 232 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: put kartometers and all that into his office every day 233 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: of the week without even mentioning the fact to her. 234 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,320 Speaker 1: If you don't know what a charmtometer is it was 235 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: like an early form of a calculator, and it was 236 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: all the rage in businesses at the time. Also, obviously 237 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: this is all very gendered. Uh, and a lot of 238 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,680 Speaker 1: this discussion is, uh, just know this is you know, 239 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: kind of part and parcel of what's going on throughout 240 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 1: one of those things that we should expect, but we 241 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: also see it is so gendered in every quote. I 242 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: just want to warn you going forward, there will be 243 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: more of the same. Josephine filed her patent application for 244 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: this machine on New Year's Eve of eighteen eighty five, 245 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: writing in it quote, my invention relates to an improvement 246 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: in machines for washing dishes, in which a continuous stream 247 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: of either soap, SuDS or clear hot water is supplied 248 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: to a crate holding the racks or cages containing the dishes, 249 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: while the crate is rotated so as to bring the 250 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: greater portion thereof under the action of the water. It 251 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: took almost an entire year, but she got her patent 252 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 1: on December six, and she was ready to launch a 253 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: company with it. Since she had realized that the home 254 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: market was going to be tricky to get into, she 255 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: pivoted and started targeting businesses. This was something some of 256 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: her community business leaders had suggested to her. For restaurants 257 00:14:57,680 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: in hotels, she knew that she could make the case 258 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: that it dishwasher could cut down on expenses and man 259 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: hours while improving service. Josephine, from her years on the 260 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 1: social scene, knew that the best way to make connections 261 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: with decision makers in business was through introductions and referrals. 262 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: She started writing everyone she knew in Chicago who might 263 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: know people in the hospitality industry. Through just such a connection, 264 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: she got her first commercial order from the Palmer House hotel, 265 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: which had opened in eighteen seventy three and had quickly 266 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: become synonymous with luxury. After that, she followed up with 267 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: sales to other hotels, and sometimes she had introductions, but 268 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: sometimes she didn't. She later described making a sales call 269 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: to the Sherman House Hotel with no contact or introduction, saying, quote, 270 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: that was almost the hardest thing I ever did. I think, 271 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: crossing the great lobby of the Sherman House alone. You 272 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: cannot imagine what it was like in those days, twenty 273 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: five years ago, for a woman to cross a hotel 274 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: lobby alone. I had never been anywhere without my husband 275 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: or father. The lobby seemed a mile wine. I thought 276 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 1: I should faint at every step, but I didn't, and 277 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 1: I got an eight hundred dollar order as my reward. 278 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: Those first orders have been placed in seven by the 279 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: next year. The Garris Cochrane dish washing machine Company offered 280 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 1: two different models. The smaller of the two was still 281 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: hand cranked, and it pumped soapy water onto the dishes 282 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: through the motion of the operator. To rinse the dishes 283 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: that you had to pour clean hot water over them. Yeah, 284 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: that was the lower end. The second model was larger 285 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: and it had the option to be motorized. It was 286 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: much easier for anyone of any size to operate, whereas 287 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: the basic model required some strength to provide enough power 288 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: to wash hundreds of dishes at once. Both of these 289 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: machines were touted as washing as many as two hundred 290 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: forty dishes in only two minutes. I have a dishwasher. 291 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: It takes much longer than that. Part of me is like, 292 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: what have we lost. Both of these models offered by 293 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 1: Cochran's company could be built to custom specifications to fit 294 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:08,879 Speaker 1: in any kitchen building. To spec was not something that 295 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: Cochrane and Butters were doing on their own and Josephine's 296 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: shed obviously that they had support from businessmen within the 297 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:21,200 Speaker 1: community that was largely moral support, not financial, so they 298 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 1: didn't have the capital to open their own manufacturing facilities 299 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 1: and had to work with a contractor. This was deeply 300 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,680 Speaker 1: frustrating for Josephine, who found that even though she invented 301 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: the machine and held the patent, none of the men 302 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: involved wanted to listen to her. Additionally, there was a 303 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 1: firm in between her and the manufacturer, and that seemed 304 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,640 Speaker 1: to be making most of the money. She later said 305 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: of this period, quote, women are inventive, the common opinion 306 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: to the contrary. Notwithstanding, you see, we are not given 307 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:54,120 Speaker 1: a mechanical education, and that is a great handicap. It 308 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: was to me, not in the way you suppose. However, 309 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: I couldn't get men to do the things I wanted 310 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: in my way until they had tried and failed on 311 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: their own, and that was costly for me. They knew 312 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: I knew nothing academically about mechanics, and they insisted on 313 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: having their own way with my invention until they convinced 314 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: themselves my way was better. No matter how I had 315 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 1: arrived at it. One of her friends, who was a businessman, 316 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: thought that she just needed to make more pitches to 317 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: investors to gain capital so she could be a little 318 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: more independent, and he actually put together a pitch package 319 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: for her and went out to other members of the 320 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: business community to try to drum up money himself, but 321 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: it never really gained much traction. There were a few 322 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 1: potential investors who showed interest, but to echo what she 323 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,679 Speaker 1: said in that quote Tracy just read, there were a 324 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: lot of them that said they would only invest if 325 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 1: Cochrane stepped aside as head of the company and let 326 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: a man run the business. That was not going to happen. Similarly, 327 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: campaign started by women to try to support a woman 328 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: inventor didn't garner the hoped for in lucks of money. 329 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,880 Speaker 1: There were some ads placed in women's magazines that were like, 330 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: we should be supporting this other woman, but it never 331 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: really got any kind of cash flow. Josephine was tenacious, though, 332 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: and she kept going as she had and making her 333 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: visits to hotels and restaurants and taking orders. Cochrane had 334 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: a breakthrough in EE. At the same time, many other 335 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: business people found themselves in an economic crisis during the 336 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 1: Panic of eighteen. We'll talk about the World's Columbian Exposition 337 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: after we take a little sponsor break. In the World's 338 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,640 Speaker 1: Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago. It ran from May 339 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 1: to October that year, and in Machinery Hall, Josephine's dishwashing 340 00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:55,680 Speaker 1: machine was on display. There were demonstrations of its effectiveness 341 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,120 Speaker 1: as two hundred dishes at a time were loaded into 342 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: it and then washed in that two in its cycle. 343 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: The garris Cochrane machine drew crowds. People marveled that this invention, 344 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: invented by a woman, could so easily handle a job 345 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: that every household needed. But the restaurant capabilities of the 346 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 1: machine were also on display, not just on the show floor, 347 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: but throughout the expo. There was a total of ten 348 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: garris Cochrane machines at the expo because in addition to 349 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 1: the one on the show floor, Josephine had arranged for 350 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: the fair's nine large restaurants to use them as well, 351 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: which is so smart. The garris Cochrane dish washing machine 352 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: won the judge's highest award at the fair, with the 353 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: prize for Best Mechanical Construction Durability and adaptation to its 354 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: line of work. That recognition was soon parlayed into advertising copy. 355 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: One advertising flyer for the dishwasher that came out shortly 356 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: after this touted quote the great domestic problem solved the 357 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: only machine used at World's Fair, and it goes on 358 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: to say, quote, attention, hotel in Steward's restaurants and boarding housekeepers, 359 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: increase your profits and safe space by using a Garris 360 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: Cochrane dishwashing machine. The last block of text in the flyer, 361 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: which has a large detailed illustration of the machine, is 362 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: at central focal point Warren's quote, Every enterprising and progressive 363 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: hotel man should investigate this machine. In November of the 364 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: newspaper The Dispatch of Muline, Illinois ran an article about 365 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: Josephine and it's woman's World section. Though she's lauded for 366 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,120 Speaker 1: her inventiveness, it seems the paper got almost everything else 367 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,360 Speaker 1: about her wrong, right down to her name. It opens 368 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: with quote, few people living in park manor one of 369 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: Chicago's pretty suburbs, are aware that the quiet little woman 370 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:51,159 Speaker 1: living in an unostentatious manner at Anthony Avenue is Mrs 371 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 1: Elizabeth garris Cochrane, a name familiar to inventors the world over. 372 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: Never mind the weirdness of an address being given out 373 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,679 Speaker 1: some public, which is like way more common in newspapers 374 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:04,760 Speaker 1: of this era than it would be for now. For sure, 375 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: the fact that she's called Elizabeth like what this article 376 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:12,679 Speaker 1: goes on to say that she came up with this 377 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: idea after she was widowed, and it gets additional facts wrong. 378 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: So even though her invention had been really well received, 379 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 1: it seems that to some degree to some people, she 380 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:23,959 Speaker 1: was still just seen as a novelty more than as 381 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: an inventor and a businesswoman. I'm gonna talk more about 382 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,119 Speaker 1: that article in our Friday. Behind the scenes sounds like 383 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,240 Speaker 1: a mess. It's a mess, and I have some theories. 384 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: Um though she was not taken serious as seriously as 385 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 1: she would have liked. Frankly, Josephine Cochrane had other issues 386 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,399 Speaker 1: at this point. The one that was really taking up 387 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: her time was the onslaught of copycat machines that sprang 388 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,680 Speaker 1: up after she became so well known from the Expo success. 389 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: Josephine defended her patent ardently. She was very quick to 390 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: go after anyone infringing on it. But that was taking 391 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: up a lot of time. By the end of the 392 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties, Josephine's business had grown to the point that 393 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: she was getting busier than ever at an age when 394 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,400 Speaker 1: most people at the time might be retiring. In her fifties, 395 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 1: she was traveling all over the country to visit order 396 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 1: sites to ensure that the Garris Cochrane dishwashers were properly 397 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: installed for her customers. Over the course of just seven 398 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: years since her idea and since being widowed, she had 399 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 1: built not just her dishwasher but her entire career. The 400 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: hotels who bought her machines spoke really highly of them. 401 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: The ones that had been on display at the expo 402 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: had performed really well, and that continued to be the case. 403 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 1: This wasn't like a situation of that test model worked, 404 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: but everything else has been a mess. Hotels reported that 405 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 1: they didn't need as many people on dishwashing duties, so 406 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: they either didn't need as much staff or they could 407 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: allocate staff to other more important activities. Many also reported 408 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: that they had less loss through breakage than they had 409 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: with just hand washing. There was also the hygiene benefit 410 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: of the dish is not just being cleaned, but sanitized 411 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: due to the high tempts of the water that was used. 412 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: That particular benefit actually helped expand the business because more 413 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: institutions like hospitals adopted the Garris Cochrane dishwasher. Throughout all 414 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,719 Speaker 1: of this, Cochrane had an eye on becoming more independent 415 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,400 Speaker 1: in her work as well. She had been putting money aside, 416 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 1: and by she had saved enough to open her own 417 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: factory and finally be out from under the manufacturing contracts 418 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: that she disliked so much. George Butters headed up the 419 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: operation as chief machinist and foreman. They set the factory 420 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 1: up in a former schoolhouse. The employees answered only to 421 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: Josephine and George, and she no longer had to wade 422 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: through scores of other people to get things done or 423 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,919 Speaker 1: to make changes. Yeah, there's not a lot that I 424 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: could find written about it, but it sounds like her 425 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:56,479 Speaker 1: factory was definitely um very big on mutual respect, Like 426 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,440 Speaker 1: I trust these people who work for me, and in return, 427 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: they trust me when I say we need to change something, 428 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 1: which sounds sort of idyllic. I don't know how truthful 429 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: those accounts are, but it sounds great. She also shifted 430 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,080 Speaker 1: the name of the company to Cochrane's Crescent Washing Machine Company. 431 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,480 Speaker 1: When she opened that factory, she tried once again to 432 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: get into the home consumer market. She had tried to 433 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: manage production in ways that would reduce costs, but that 434 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 1: still stayed well beyond what most families could afford, and 435 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: the ones that neared affordability tended to lose a lot 436 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,399 Speaker 1: of the features that made them effective. Additionally, most homes 437 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,040 Speaker 1: at this point just did not have plumbing capable of 438 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:40,479 Speaker 1: supporting a built in washing machine. The marketing efforts tried 439 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,679 Speaker 1: to make use of things like touting the sanitation benefits, 440 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: as well as the fact that you can simply use 441 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:49,639 Speaker 1: it to store dirty dishes out of sight until you 442 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,200 Speaker 1: were ready to run aload, but the home market remained elusive, 443 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:57,919 Speaker 1: and the company's primary customers continued to be hotels, restaurants, hospitals, 444 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,719 Speaker 1: and schools. In nineteen well, Cochrane wanted to expand her 445 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: business even more. She made a trip to New York 446 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 1: to make sales calls at several big hotels and also 447 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,879 Speaker 1: sold several machines to the Lord and Taylor Department Store 448 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:14,960 Speaker 1: for its in house restaurants. She also promoted the company 449 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: through interviews. She was in her seventies at this point 450 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 1: and still working full time. She told a reporter that 451 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: year quote, if I knew all I knew today, when 452 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,359 Speaker 1: I began to put the dishwasher on the market, I 453 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 1: never would have had the courage to start. But then 454 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,400 Speaker 1: I would have missed a very wonderful experience. But though 455 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,239 Speaker 1: she may have found her work a wonderful experience and 456 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: very fulfilling, it was also taking a toll. Like we said, 457 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: she was in her seventies, and like doing all this travel, 458 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,040 Speaker 1: she was traveling also outside the country in some cases, 459 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: to these to these visit sites to make sales calls. 460 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: And in is a consequence of all of this, Josephine 461 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: likely experienced a stroke. She had something happened after which 462 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,440 Speaker 1: she was paralyzed. Her doctor recorded her condition as being 463 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 1: the result of nervous exhaustion. She never recovered and died 464 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: on August third, nineteen thirteen. Josephine's last patent, which she 465 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: had applied for to reflect updates to her design, was 466 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: awarded posthumously in nineteen seventeen. Josephine's company continued after her death, 467 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:20,720 Speaker 1: and it still does as part of a larger company. 468 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: In nine, Crescent was acquired by Hobart Manufacturing company. Dishwashers 469 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 1: made after the acquisition carried the brand name Kitchen Aide, 470 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: and then Kitchen Aide became part of Whirlpool in nineteen six, 471 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 1: still going strong uh and they still mentioned Josephine and 472 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 1: in their founding So we mentioned that during her work 473 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,639 Speaker 1: with her company, Josephine defended her patent with Gusto. But 474 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,439 Speaker 1: there were other inventors and companies also just working on 475 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: their own models and slightly different approaches at the same 476 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 1: time that cochrane was building her company. In nineteen for example, 477 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: the Walker Company offered a small hand crank dishwasher for 478 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,159 Speaker 1: home use for the low price of twenty dollars. But 479 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: that was pretty tiny though. It was kind of the 480 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,200 Speaker 1: size of a large stewing pot on four legs, and 481 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,680 Speaker 1: because it was strictly handpowered, it didn't offer the level 482 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: of pressure spraying and it didn't have any real automation. 483 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,719 Speaker 1: Josephine did not hold a patent overseas, and new dishwasher 484 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: started popping up in Europe in the early twentieth century. 485 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:24,159 Speaker 1: In four a new dishwasher with a rotating sprayer was 486 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:28,239 Speaker 1: developed by William Howard. Levin's had racks that were a 487 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: lot like what listeners are probably accustomed to seeing, and 488 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: a rotating sprayer. Levin's filed for European patents, but his 489 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,080 Speaker 1: dishwasher doesn't appear to have ever gone into production, and 490 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: German manufacturer Mela brought their first electric dishwasher to the 491 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: European market in Mila, named for one of its founders, Carl. 492 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: Mila made a lot of different mechanical home goods, including 493 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:56,240 Speaker 1: butter churns, washing machines, and even motor cars. Melas still 494 00:28:56,280 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: exists and continues to manufacture a wide range of home appliances, 495 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: including dishwashers. In the nineteen fifties, as well plumbed homes 496 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,640 Speaker 1: came to be commonplace, so did home dishwashers. They were 497 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: still considered a luxury item, though it took another twenty 498 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 1: years before home dishwashers became fairly standard in home kitchens, 499 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: but even now not every home has one. One of 500 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 1: my best friends does not have a dishwasher. In the teens, 501 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: it was estimated that about seventy five percent of homes 502 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: in the United States had automatic dishwashers. Josephine Garris Cochrane 503 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 504 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: two thousand and six. Today, the site of the shed 505 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: where she built her first dishwasher with George Butters has 506 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: a historical marker which was placed there in n It reads, 507 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 1: in part quote in a wood shed located at the 508 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: rear of this site. In eighteen eighty six, Mrs Josephine 509 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: Garris Cochrane eighteen thirty nine to thirteen invented one of 510 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: the first mechanical dishwashers ever built. Over the years, the 511 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: home itself changed hands and it was for a while 512 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: a rental property that had been split into two units. 513 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: Was purchased by a family who intends to restore it, 514 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: and kitchen Ade gave them a new dishwasher to help 515 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: with that renovation. That was I read that in a 516 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: press release from the Whirlpool website, so I thought it 517 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 1: was kind of cute dishwashers. Thank you Josephine and all 518 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 1: other engineers and inventors who have worked on perfecting the dishwasher, 519 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 1: because I sure like it. I have listener mail that 520 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 1: is about another one of our invention episodes. This listener 521 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: mail tickled me because its title is how Many Zippers 522 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 1: is too Many? Which sounds a little bit like a 523 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties documentary educational film how Many Zippers? But it 524 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 1: is not. It is from our listeners, Zia, and it 525 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 1: is very charming. She writes. I have only recently caught 526 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,880 Speaker 1: up on stuff you missed in history class episodes, so 527 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: I heard the Zippers episode on the day it am out. 528 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: I wonder about the early efforts of home sewers to 529 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,840 Speaker 1: sew in a zipper for the first time. My first 530 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: attempts required multiple tries and probably some frustrated tears and cursing. 531 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,360 Speaker 1: I now teach sewing to elementary and middle school students, 532 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: and sewing in a zipper is one of the skills 533 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: we practice. They do pretty well, no cursing. To have 534 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: a supply of zippers, I try to source them cheap 535 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: or free. Recently, I replied to an ad for free 536 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 1: zippers from a business that was closing, and it said 537 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 1: quote must take all. It turned out to be about 538 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: five thousand zippers. Am I exaggerating? I'm not really sure. 539 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: So when your Zipper episode came out, it was perfect 540 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: for listening while I worked on my project assorting all 541 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: of these zippers by type, color, length, and also brand. 542 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: I was surprised to learn that Talent is the brand 543 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: that evolved from the original, and not y k K, 544 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: which is so ubiquitous. I don't know what I will 545 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 1: do with this massive quantity of zippers, but I think 546 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,000 Speaker 1: I have enough for my classes. I love the show 547 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: and the wide variety of topics, Zia. I love this 548 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 1: because I too love a freebee. And if you are 549 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,960 Speaker 1: like me and you sew a lot, really, if you 550 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: do anything a lot and people know it, they tend 551 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 1: to always dump a lot of stuff on you. Like 552 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 1: I can't tell you how many times someone has contacted 553 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: me and said, hey, my aunt or grandmother passed away 554 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,000 Speaker 1: and they have a sewing room full of things. Do 555 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,360 Speaker 1: you want it? And whether I do or not, I'll 556 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: just go sure because I can sort through it and 557 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: I know what's worthwhile and what's and it saves the 558 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: family one more thing to work through. Um. I also 559 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: will say I got one of my favorite sewing implements 560 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: in a very fun way, which is that um it 561 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,800 Speaker 1: is also sad. I used to work for a long 562 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 1: time in a hair salon. We had regular clients and 563 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: when one of them passed, she specifically left me her 564 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:51,080 Speaker 1: sewing mannequin, and I just thought that was the greatest 565 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 1: thing of all time. I still have it. I'll have 566 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: it forever. Um anyway sewing supplies sometimes freebees come in 567 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:03,240 Speaker 1: bulk um zeeah. I also want to make sure I 568 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: thank you for being an educator and for teaching kids 569 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: to sew. I was that kid that did not want 570 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,959 Speaker 1: anyone to teach me, so I would have been absolutely 571 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,800 Speaker 1: a nightmare. But I love that that people are still 572 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,680 Speaker 1: learning that skill because it's one that not as many 573 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: people do as they used to, and I feel like 574 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: it's very useful. You don't have to be creating entire 575 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: wardrobes to get the benefit of knowing how to sew. Um, 576 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: So more sewers, please, I'm all for it. If you 577 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: would like to write to us about your thousands of 578 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: zippers or thousands of something else or anything else you'd like, 579 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: you could do that at History Podcast at i heeart 580 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 1: radio dot com. You can also find us on social 581 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History, And if you haven't subscribed 582 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:44,479 Speaker 1: yet and you would like to, that is so simple. 583 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: You can do it on the I Heart radio app 584 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:53,320 Speaker 1: or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you 585 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 586 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 587 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 588 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. H