A Invention Between 1900-1914

This invention can be found in pratically every home in Canada and has become a staple for familes for generation. Odds are if you looked in your closer you'd find one too. This invention is the vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner is a machine which sucks up dirt and dust. One of the first manual vacuum cleaners was invented by H. Cecil Booth in 1901. Booth noticed that to clean the seats in trains a machine was used to blow the dust away. He thought it would be a much more cleaner system if the machine were to sucked up the dirt instead of blowing it away. He then invented the Puffing Bully which had to be drawn by horses. Though his invention never became successful his idea help shape future versions of the vacuum cleaner. The Vacuum didn't become widly popular until 1906 when a janitor invented a electric cleaner using a fan, a box and a pillowcase. His invention also included a rotating brush which loosened the dirt. He sold his rotating brush idea to his cousin's Hoover Harness and Leather goods store. Hoover became very rich from this invention and became so associated with the cleaner that in Britain a vacuum is sometimes called a hoover. Though the vacuum was becoming more popular it wasn't until after World War II that vacuums became affordable for the middle class. What had started out as a luxury item then became a must for most households. The vacuum significantly changed domestic life and provided a more sanitary and faster way to clean. I feel that the vacuum is a very useful invention and has even improved our quality of living as it gets rid of the dust and dirt instead of just blowing it to another spot.

Why Study 20th Century History?

Though the 20th century is now considered the past, the major political events,inventions & pop culture of this time have help shape our lives today. By studying important events such as the World Wars we can learn form the actions that lead up to these events and even how they might have been prevented. The significant leaders of this time, such as Hitler, Marting Luther King and JFK who had great influence over many people; by observing their leadership styles we can see what was successful and effective and what brought about social change. By studying the past we can also see how inventions, which we take for granted today, caused much change to overall lifestyles back then. Inventions such as the vacuum, the iron and the refrigerator lead to families (particularly women) having more leisure time as it now didn't take all day to clean the house. While this was a positive change, it caused many women to redefine their roles in life. By studying major inventions, we can see how they affect people individually and also how they can change a society. The world at this time also became closer as different countries became connected by the television, radio and telephone. Pop culture of the 20th century is also important to study as much of the music reflected the thoughts and feelings of the people. Celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles are now icons that have influenced the music and movie industry of today. Studying the 1900's lets us see how certain minorties were treated and how these prejudices changed over time. We learn from our mistakes, by studying the past we can learn what went right and what shouldn't happen again.